Product details - KiwiSat 101

Assorted KiwiSat transmitters

Steve Irwin & Dr. Mark Read with a KiwiSat PTT on a croc. Image © The Best Picture Show Company

Description:

Sirtrack´s KiwiSat 101 PTT (Platform Transmitter Terminal) has proven itself reliable, rugged, sensibly priced and ready for use in any terrestrial or marine environment worldwide for many years now. Researchers have been delighted with the performance of the KiwiSat 101 and its popularity is growing exponentially.

Features:

Can be solid cast in hydronamic packages for marine applications to withstand pressures at 2000m.

A Salt Water Switch (SWS) deactivates the PTT when an animal is submerged to conserve battery life and transmits again as soon as the animal breaks the surface.

In marine applications, a Haulout timer is available to save power by disabling transmissions if the PTT is out of the water for longer than a programmed time limit. Transmission is resumed when the PTT re -enters the water.

Up to 24 sequential duty cycles can be programmed during manufacture. This enables us to customise transmissions to specific times during the deployment. It can also be programmed with a turn on delay.

Internal sensors can transmit the temperature of the PTT package on the animal with an accuracy of +/- 1 degrees C.

A surface time counter (STC) can transmit the amount of time the animal has been dry over the past 24 hour period with a resolution of two seconds.

An activity sensor transmits the number of times that the activity switch has been activated over the past 24 hour period. This option doubles as a mortality sensor.

Can incorporate a VHF transmitter in the same package to aid in the recovery of the PTT.

Available at any repetition rate approved by Argos.

Supplied with a free beeper to confirm that the PTT is activated before deployment.

Feature summary:
Transmitter life	With a 90 second pulse repetition rate the 0.5W PTT will run for 42 days on a single AA battery, 84 days on 2xAA batteries and 169days on a C battery. Any number of cells can be used to produce custom designed packages and to extend transmission life.
Transmitter range	A clear unobstructed view of the satellites is required for a successful transmission.
Housing	Hermetically sealed in inert waterproof resins. All PTT´s are custom designed packages for specific applications - a Sirtrack speciality.
Activation	The PTT is turned on and off via the brief application of a magnet. A Light Emitting Diode flashes 10 times when the PTT is turned on, and twice when it is turned off.
Antenna	Usually 185mm long x 4mm diameter nylon coated stranded stainless steel cable.
Power output	0.5W and 1.0W.
Battery type	Lithium.
Battery size	3.6V and 7.2V.
Number of batteries	Variable.
Min. temperature	-40°C.
Max. temperature	50°C.
Max. depth	500m.
Attachment options	Collar, Harness / Backpack, Glue on,

Animal suitability:

Case studies:

Adventures of a rehabilitated loggerhead turtle .
In November 2007, a badly injured, dehydrated and exhaused female loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) was washed up on Baylys Beach in the north west of New Zealand. She was rescued by Department of Conservation staff and delivered to Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Auckland in an effort to nurse her back to full strength.
Read more »

Crocodile tracking using the Argos satellites.
Sirtrack were contacted by Bindi Thomas, a masters student at Massey University, New Zealand, regarding satellite tracking of saltwater crocodiles in the Northern Territory of Australia. Bindi had been in contact with Dr Mark Read of the Crocodile Management Unit from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services who had used Sirtrack KiwiSat PTTs very successfully in the past.
Read more »

Testimonials:

Good news with the latest KiwiSats, were getting very good locations...
Dan Costa, fur seals

I’ve deployed one of the KiwiSat PTT’s and the performance is nothing short of awesome.
Scott Eckert, Leatherback Turtle research

Sirtrack was really good about the original order. Kevin was excellent at helping look at data returns, I will definitely get more PTT’s from Sirtrack in the near future.
Dr Nicholas Pilcher, turtle reasearch, Malaysia

Take home message- If the goal is to get good quality locations on a regular basis, we should only consider buying Sirtrack PTT´s in future.
Robin Baird, NOAA, USA

We both feel the Kiwisats have performed fabulously, so we are reluctant to try anything else…
Rolf Ream

We used Sirtrack KiwiSat101 PTTs on nesting loggerhead turtles. With a duty cycle of 24hrs on/24 hrs off, they were expected to last about 500 days. One has transmitted 735 days and it still going strong. As far as I know, this is a record for this species.
Sally Murphy, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

You guys are delivering everything that Australia wants now...thanks for getting the PTTs here in late Aug.
Brad Page, Pinniped research, SARDI, Australia

You will be pleased to know your gear is working an absolute treat. We are getting really good tracks from Kings, Macaronis and fur seals.
Nick Gales, Australia

You´d be excited to know that one of the transmitters that we attached to a croc in the Nesbit River in September last year is still sending information, more than twelve months later! Im pretty impressed with that, and if the new group continues to send that level of data I´ll be chuffed.
Mark Read, crocodile research, Australia