PTT-100 5 gram Solar PTT
The 9.5g solar PTT was warmly welcomed by biologists interested in tracking birds such as Hen Harriers and Whimbrel but biologists studying shorebirds implored us to find a way to reduce the weight of the PTT so that they too could have a means of tracking these birds’ long range movements. The task was daunting. To reduce a tiny PTT by even a gram or two is a challenge. But to create a PTT small enough to track birds in the 150 to 250 gram range would require nearly halving the weight of the smallest PTT we had built thus far. We needed to further explore the latest developments in solar cells and microelectronics.
It took a year to prepare the first prototype 5g solar PTTs, which were tested on Red Knots in Florida in January 2007. Since then prototypes of this truly tiny PTT has also been used to track a Marbled Murrelet and a Hobby. The Hobby, which was tagged in June 2008, has been tracked from Berlin to its wintering grounds in Zimbabwe and Angola. It has since returned to Germany for the summer of 2009 and subsequently successfully migrated back to winter in Angola.
To take the 5g solar PTT from prototype to general production required a tremendous investment of time and money. New machinery was required to handle the smaller components used in this PTT. We had to expand our facility to accommodate the new machinery. We are now happy to announce that we will be offering the 5g solar PTT on a limited production run basis beginning January 2010.
Features
- Microprocessor controlled battery charging
- Duty Cycle timer
- Sensors: Temperature and Battery Voltage standard
- Mounting Loops
- Option - Activity sensor (this adds approximately 1g in weight and increases the length of the PTT)
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Microwave Telemetry, Inc.
8835 Columbia 100 Parkway, Suites K&L
Columbia, MD 21045
410.715.5292
