Matthew M Webb
Avian Ecologist and Motus Wildlife Tracking System Coordinator
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Motus project #281
Hi all,I've been working on setting up two CTT Sensor Stations in the North Carolina and we're having a lot of trouble getting them powered (and keeping them powered).Currently, each tower has 1 100W solar panel, 1 marine battery, and the solar charge controller that CTT sells (10 AMP blue box, unsure of the brand), all connected by 10 gauge wire. Each sensor station connects to 1 433 mhz omni (for nodes), 2 433 mhz yagis (for hybrid tags) and 1 166 mhz yagi (for lotek tags). The charge controller is sitting in the battery box, with the sensor station and solar panel mounted about 10 ft up the pole.For one tower, we initially got the setup working on one tower, but now the charge controller is acting finicky and seems to just stop recognizing that things are attached to it any time it's even a little bit jostled. I'm not sure if this is just a consequence of a cheap charge controller or if something is wrong with our setup. We also purchased a 500 watt charge controller from harbour freight to see if that worked better, but it showed 0 Amps coming from the solar panel and 0 Amps going to the load and that was it.For the other tower, the blue charge controller recognized the solar panels and the battery, but the sensor station only flickered and then buzzed loudly when connected. This didn't happen with a direct connection to the battery, so the issue must be in the sensor station somewhere.We're running out of field season and I'm getting increasingly frustrated with driving 45 minutes up a mountain just to fiddle with some wires that won't stay connected. Has anyone had a similar experience powering their towers? Any suggestions that could help us get ours up and running?Best,Heather
Blue Charge Controller - https://link.edgepilot.com/s/b30ae20f/RblhCOWlk0aLKIWq4PeJtA?u=https://celltracktech.com/products/lna?variant=14115322298403Harbour Freight charge controller - https://link.edgepilot.com/s/3c9edcfc/v5FtQErUM0WPp_dz4qK8ZQ?u=https://www.harborfreight.com/30-amp-solar-charge-controller-68738.html--
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System (Motus) is an international collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry to facilitate research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. Motus is a program of Birds Canada in partnership with collaborating researchers and organizations. Learn more at https://link.edgepilot.com/s/380ddb66/KwfJx_mlfkycBx5BMYYNXg?u=https://motus.org/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Motus Wildlife Tracking System" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to motus-wts+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://link.edgepilot.com/s/f083f8b9/VfukhLDifUaHk5eqJeX8Cg?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/motus-wts/14c96195-6f82-4609-8f3d-775af78fc07en%2540googlegroups.com.
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System (Motus) is an international collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry to facilitate research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. Motus is a program of Birds Canada in partnership with collaborating researchers and organizations. Learn more at https://motus.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "Motus Wildlife Tracking System" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/motus-wts/pYZJFPS7NFI/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to motus-wts+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/motus-wts/ca8613be-c780-4bd4-87c8-91d6af02d050n%40googlegroups.com.
On Jul 12, 2022, at 4:16 PM, Heather Gaya <heather...@gmail.com> wrote:
All the connections seem to be working well now (thanks everyone!), but the tower is draining a lot of battery very rapidly. Our 100W solar panel produces about 11.3-11.7 volts, but as soon as the CTT sensor station is turned on, the battery starts to drain faster than it's charged.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/motus-wts/5bfb2b56-3c73-4596-b3da-6d5b3f450f13n%40googlegroups.com.
On Jul 12, 2022, at 7:36 PM, Pat Lorch <plor...@gmail.com> wrote:
I’m with Matt on suspecting the charge controller. It is also suspicious that your panels are only producing 11V. Are they shaded? Is it really cloudy?
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/motus-wts/DF9981C3-8BB7-46D5-A385-0F21E8D8400D%40gmail.com.
On Jul 12, 2022, at 6:31 PM, heather...@gmail.com wrote:
The panel isn’t in the perfect location, but it looks like it’s getting enough light. The panels can charge the battery from 10.7 to 12.8 in about a half hour (even with clouds, which we’ve had this week) , but as soon as the load (sensor station) is connected it drains the battery below 10 in about 45 minutes or less.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/motus-wts/CCA5C299-8A00-4AC1-9BEA-37AAF5E918E6%40gmail.com.
Cory Holliday
Cave and Karst Program Manager
The Tennessee Chapter of The Nature Conservancy
750 Big Branch Rd., Granville, TN 38564
615-504-7427 Mobile
--
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System (Motus) is an international collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry to facilitate research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. Motus is a program of Birds Canada in partnership with collaborating researchers and organizations. Learn more at https://motus.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Motus Wildlife Tracking System" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to motus-wts+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/motus-wts/70db08ff-b319-4011-8207-e787391a2306n%40googlegroups.com.