Automatic Radio-Tracking System for Monitoring Animal Movements

Abstract

An automatic radio-tracking system was designed, constructed, and is being used to study the movements of various animals carrying radio transmitters. Two towers spaced 0.5 mile apart support antennas which are continuously rotated at 1 1/3 rpm. The signals received from the transmitters are fed, after amplification and conversion, to a 52-channel receiving and recording system located in a building between the towers. Time and bearing data for up to 52 animals can be continuously recorded on 16-mm film. Bearings are taken from the film, as desired, by an operator using a microfilm reader, and locations are determined by triangulation. Ranges of several miles to the radio-tagged animals and accuracies to the nearest degree are obtainable.