Frontier Labs BAR-LT User manual

BAR-LT
Bioacoustic Audio Recorder - Long Term
User Guide
Version 1.2

© 2017 Frontier Labs All Rights Reserved

1TABLE OF CONTENTS
2 Features .............................................................................................................................. 1
A message from Frontier Labs .............................................................................................. 1
4 Overview............................................................................................................................. 2
4.1 Getting to know yo r recorder (o tside) .............................................................................. 2
4.2 Getting to know yo r recorder (inside) ................................................................................ 3
4.3 Recommended operating proced re .................................................................................... 4
4.4 Men s .................................................................................................................................... 6
5 Microphones ....................................................................................................................... 7
5.1 Attaching a microphone ........................................................................................................ 7
5.2 Microphone Calibration ........................................................................................................ 8
6 Recording Schedule ............................................................................................................. 9
6.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................ 9
6.1.1 Sample rates ................................................................................................................. 10
6.1.2 Compression options / file formats ............................................................................. 10
6.2 Programming the sched le on a comp ter ........................................................................ 10
6.2.1 Copying a new recording sched le onto the recorder ................................................ 11
6.2.2 Saving a sched le back onto the SD card .................................................................... 11
6.3 Programming the sched le on the Recorder ...................................................................... 12
6.3.1 Making a new sched led recording ............................................................................. 12
6.3.2 Viewing / editing a sched led recording ..................................................................... 12
6.3.3 Deleting a sched led recording ................................................................................... 13
6.4 Man al Recording ............................................................................................................... 13
7 Configuring the recorder.................................................................................................... 14
7.1 Setting the Device Name ..................................................................................................... 14
7.2 Setting the Time and Date ................................................................................................... 14
7.3 Setting the Timezone .......................................................................................................... 14
7.4 Setting the Gain ................................................................................................................... 14
8 Utilities ............................................................................................................................. 15
8.1 Viewing the stat s of the SD Memory Cards ...................................................................... 15
8.2 Formatting SD Memory Cards ............................................................................................. 15
8.3 Viewing the GPS Satellites ................................................................................................... 15
8.4 GPS Transect Mode ............................................................................................................. 16
8.5 Viewing the Firmware version ............................................................................................ 16
8.6 Upgrading the Firmware ..................................................................................................... 16
8.7 Viewing the Battery Voltage ............................................................................................... 17
8.7.1 Defining a c stom battery............................................................................................ 17
8.8 Config ring for Solar Power ................................................................................................ 17

9 Tips and Troubleshooting .................................................................................................. 18
9.1 Diagnostic Log files .............................................................................................................. 18
9.2 Recording time vs Sample Rate ........................................................................................... 18
9.3 SD CARD Size vs Recording D ration ................................................................................... 18
9.4 Disabling Windows cache settings ...................................................................................... 19
9.5 No GPS lock ......................................................................................................................... 20
9.6 Showing The incorrect time ................................................................................................ 21
9.7 Incorrect Dawn/D sk times ................................................................................................. 21
9.8 “No Recordings Sched led” when there sho ld be ............................................................ 21
9.9 Silent recordings .................................................................................................................. 22
9.10 Calc lating Gain ................................................................................................................... 22

2FEATURES
• Small and light.
• Easy to se interface with large graphical display.
• Ultra-low noise recordings.
• B ilt in GPS for location, transects and time synchronisation.
• Record p to 2TB of data on 4 SD memory cards.
• Optional FLAC lossless compression (store aro nd 40% more recordings!).
• S nrise and s nset based sched led recordings.
• Microphone serial n mber tracking.
• Microphone detection line so yo know the microphone is properly connected.
• S pports m ltiple sample rates: 8kHz, 16kHz, 22.05kHz, 32.0kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 96kHz
(with corresponding anti-aliasing filters at their Nyq ist freq encies).
• Adj stable gain from 10 to 60dB in 1dB increments.
• Standard microphone incl des a 20dB class A pre-amp and o tp t driver to drive long
cables.
• View and edit the sched le in the field on the recorder itself or via Sched ler software on
yo r PC.
• Detailed diagnostic log files.
• Camo flaged, rob st, waterproof, lockable enclos re made from a d rable UV resistant
plastic.
A MESSAGE FROM FRONTIER LABS
Thank you for using our Bioacoustic Audio Recorder – Long Term (BAR-LT).
We designed the BAR-LT with the goal of creating the est possi le ioacoustic recorder for
scientific field research. To that end we created a recorder that is simple to use and easy to deploy
with est in class sound quality so you can hear quiet and distant calls, and we made it strong and
relia le with the smallest size and weight possi le so it's easier to carry in a ackpack. We included
features like GPS location and time-synchronisation to save you manual work in record keeping
and we designed smart microphones with the lowest noise, a uilt in pre-amp and ca le driver that
tells the BAR when they're connected and what type of mic it is. And we designed it to use high-
density rechargea le lithium atteries instead of ulky and wasteful Alkalines that just end up in
landfill.
We designed the BAR to make your field work easier and more relia le. We hope you enjoy using it
and if you have any feed ack or ideas for improvements, we would love to hear from you.
Michael Maggs Mark Calder

4OVERVIEW
4.1 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR RECORDER (OUTSIDE)
FRONT
BACK
External power input:
Connect this to an external DC power
so rce like a 6V or 12V SLA battery.
Lock ring:
Use a small pad lock or
cable tie to sec re the
lid of the recorder.
Microphone B input:
Connect yo r microphone or
extension cable here. Make
s re yo see the mic-detect
icon appear on the home
screen.
Microphone A input:
Connect yo r microphone or
extension cable here. Make
s re yo see the mic-detect
icon appear on the home
screen.
Slot for mounting bolts
or a cable lock:
Insert a cable or python
lock thro gh this slot and
aro nd the tree to sec re
it in place.
Yo can also se these
slots to screw or bolt it to
a mo nt.
Slot for the mounting strap:
Thread the mo nting strap
thro gh these slots and aro nd
a tree.
Slots for mounting bolts:
Use these slots to screw or
bolt the recorder to a
mo nting fixt re e.g. a star
picket.
Screw holes:
Screw the recorder to a post or
tree.

4.2 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR RECORDER (INSIDE)
Inserted SD cards (1 to 4):
Shows % sed space.
Underline shows active card.
Microphone detected:
Shows if a microphone is
detected or not. The channel A/B
is displayed next to the icon.
GPS status:
Shows n mber of visible satellites.
Flashes when getting a GPS fix. Shows
a tick when completed.
Battery level:
Shows the battery level (% f ll). Will
adj st to show the correct level If
powered from an external 6V or
12V battery.
Recording information:
Shows sample rate, channels,
and file format.
Large digits show the d ration
of the c rrent recording and
the time it will end.
Current time and date:
In HH:MM:SS [UTC timezone] DD/MM/YY format.
Flashes when pdating from the GPS.
Battery slots:
Insert p to six 18650 Lithi m-Ion
rechargeable batteries. The more
batteries yo se the longer it will
record for.
SD Card slots:
Insert p to 4 SD cards
to store recordings. To
eject the cards, p sh
them down and they
will spring back o t. Do
not eject cards while
the BAR is on.
Desiccant bucket:
Insert the silica gel desiccant b cket here
every time yo deploy. The colo r changes
from orange to dark green when it is wet
and needs to be replaced.
Power button:
Press this to t rn the recorder ON or OFF.
Powering off the recorder stops all f t re
recordings ntil it is powered on again.
Keypad buttons:
Use these b ttons to
navigate the men s.
Press the circ lar
ENTER b tton to access
the Main Men or
select/accept the
c rrent men item.
Use the UP/DOWN
b ttons to scroll
thro gh men items or
increment / decrement
a selected item.
Light sensor:
This is sed to detect if the lid is open or closed. If yo
se the recorder in a very dark environment, it might
think the lid is closed and t rn off the screen.

4.3 RECOMMENDED OPE RATING PROCEDURE
Before you deploy:
Format yo r SD cards before every deployment. (Do not j st delete the files.)
Formatting yo r cards keeps them r nning at their maxim m speed by cleaning
o t the filesystem. We recommend sing exFAT for cards 32GB and above. Yo can
format yo r cards sing a PC or directly on the BAR-LT.
We recommend sing San Disk ltra, class 10 or higher. We have fo nd them to
have the best power cons mption and reliability in the field.
Check yo r recording sched le on the BAR-LT or sing the Sched ler program on
yo r PC. ( See 6.0 Recording Schedule. )
• By defa lt, the BAR-LT comes pre-programmed with a sched le that records
contin o sly all day every day, broken into 1-ho r blocks.
• If yo r sched le contains s nrise or s nset based recordings, it is good practice
to set the location in the Sched ler program to ro ghly where the recorder will
be deployed. This provides a back p location val e inside the sched le file that
the recorder can se to calc late s n-based times if it is nable to get a GPS
position fix in the field.
• To load a sched le onto the recorder, save the sched le file as schedule.fls on
yo r SD card then insert it into the recorder. If yo are r nning firmware v3.30
or later then it will a tomatically detect the new sched le file and ask if yo
wo ld like to copy it across. Otherwise press the ENTER b tton to bring p the
main men then navigate to Utilities  Transfer Schedule  Copy from SD
card.
Charge yo r batteries. Unfort nately, d e to transport reg lations we are not
allowed to ship yo r batteries f lly charged. Please make s re yo charge yo r
batteries before each se. O r chargers take p to 6 batteries each and take abo t
5 ho rs to charge from empty.
Now is a good time to check everything is working as expected before heading o t into the field.
R n thro gh the operating proced re listed below and check the time of the next sched led
recording is correct. Yo can then t rn it off ntil yo are ready to deploy it.

Operating procedure:
1. Insert the SD cards into the SD card slots of the BAR-LT.
2. Insert p to 6 batteries in the battery holders.
3. T rn the recorder on with the Power b tton.
•As the recorder t rns on, it shows the serial n mber and firmware version on the
screen.
•If the nit has been witho t a battery for a while, the Set p Wizard will appear and ask
yo to enter the time zone where the recorder is being deployed (note daylight savings
is not taken into acco nt).
•The home screen will then say “Waiting for GPS synchronisation” ntil the clock is
a tomatically pdated by the GPS or man ally set by the ser.
•Once the clock has been pdated it will display the time of the next sched led
recording or start recording if it is in the middle of a recording period.
3. Connect the microphone(s) and check the microphone detect stat s icon appears.
4. It's a good idea to wait ntil the GPS has acq ired a fix before leaving the site in case yo
need to move to a clearing to get a better signal. It only records a GPS fix once after it has
been switched on, then disables the GPS to conserve power. If yo t rn the nit on more
than 1 day before the first recording is sched led it will a tomatically try to get a new fix
when it starts p for that first recording. This lets yo set p everything in the office, lock
the lid and have ntrained vol nteers deploy the recorders witho t having to do anything.
WARNING: Never eject SD cards while the unit is switched on as this can result
in loss of data and corruption of the file system. Always switch the BAR off
before swapping SD cards.
Frontier
Labs
SN: 00123456
Firmware: v3.30
Please select the
local timezone where
the nit will be
deployed.
UTC +00:00.
NEXT
FL
Next recording:
07:00:00 01/01/19
06:10:00 01/01/19
Next recording:
07:00:00 01/01/19
06:10:00 01/01/19

4.4 MENUS
Press the ENTER b tton from the home screen to access the Main Menu and se the UP/DOWN
b ttons to select different men items.
Menu Item Description
Recording Sched le >
Transfer Sched le > Copy the sched le file from the SD card onto the recorder. Yo can also save the
stored sched le back on the SD card so yo can transfer it to other nits.
+ New entry Add a new recording to the sched le.
[ recording name ] View, edit or remove an existing sched led recording.
Man al Recording >
[ Start ] Starts a man al recording and ignores the sched led recordings. This can be sef l
if yo want to make a short annotation when yo are deploying yo r recorder.
Settings >
Gain ChA: Set the gain of the recordings on channel A from 10dB to 60dB.
Gain ChB: Set the gain of the recordings on channel B from 10dB to 60dB.
Name: The name yo give to the recorder. This will appear in the filename and meta-data
of yo r recordings and in the logfile (if enabled in the Filename settings men ).
Solar powered: YES/NO This setting is sed to protect external batteries from being over discharged. (See
8.8 Configuring for Solar Power )
Clock settings > Set the local time, date and time zone of where the nit is being deployed and
disable/enable the GPS time sync feat re.
Filename settings > Config re the file name layo t incl ding name, serial n mber, and GPS stamp.
Utilities >
Battery Stat s > View the voltage of the internal or external batteries.
GPS Stat s > View the signal strength of the available satellites.
GPS Transect > This starts a GPS transect where the position is recorded every second to a .gpx
file and recordings are saved as waypoints.
SD Card Info > View the stat s of the SD memory cards and format the SD memory cards.
WARNING: Formatting the cards will permanently erase any recordings on them.
Mic Calibration > This shows the sensitivity of the microphone elements allowing yo to track the
health of the microphones. (See 5.2 Microphone Cali ration )
Device info > View the serial n mber and c rrent firmware version. Yo can also pdate the
firmware of the recorder from the SD memory card.
- MENU -
Recording Sched le >
Man al Recording >
Settings >
Utilities >
< Back

5MICROPHONES
All o r microphones have a b ilt-in class A pre-amp with a fixed gain and an o tp t driver so the
signal does not atten ate over the cable.
They also incl de an onboard memory chip containing a serial n mber and date of man fact re.
This information is saved in the diagnostic log file as well as embedded in each recorded file as
metadata, allowing yo to better track yo r data and microphone age. Microphone extension
cables are available so yo can place the second microphone in a different place away from the
first one.
The recorder can detect which type of Frontier Labs microphone is attached and adj st its
internal gain so that the total system gain stays the same even when yo change to a
microphone with a different pre-amp.
There are c rrently 3 types of microphones yo can connect to yo r BAR-LT recorder:
Microphone Pre-amp Gain Frequency response Description
Standard
(black)
20dB 80Hz – 20kHz The standard black bodied microphone is ideal for
most applications. It ses a highly sensitive, ltra-low
noise, omnidirectional sensor element with an 80dB
S/N ratio and 14dBA self-noise.
Low frequency
(green)
20dB 20Hz – 20kHz The low-freq ency green bodied microphone is
exactly the same as the standard microphone b t ses
a 20Hz high pass filter to allow more low-freq ency
so nds thro gh. This can be sef l for st dying
creat res that prod ce low freq ency so nds, like
Elephants or Koalas.
Hydrophone 0dB 20Hz – 4kHz High-q ality omnidirectional hydrophone designed by
Aq arian A dio Prod cts designed for depths <80m.
5.1 ATTACHING A MICROPHONE
Pl g the microphone into the connector. P sh the locking ring in and t rn it clockwise ntil it
locks the microphone into place. Do not try to twist the entire microphone.
Make s re yo see the microphone detect icon appear on the home screen.

5.2 MICROPHONE CALIBRATION
Over time, the sensitivity of yo r microphones will decrease as the materials age and are exposed
to the elements. Calibrating yo r microphones allows yo to meas re and track their sensitivity
over time.
It sho ld be noted that most so nd level calibrators only o tp t 1 freq ency (1kHz) and there is
anecdotal evidence that higher freq encies are affected more as microphones age, so while this is
not a complete test it does give a sef l indication of overall microphone health.
To calibrate yo r microphone, yo will need:
Any standard IEC942 Class 1 so nd level calibrator with a 94dB o tp t
at 1kHz.
A 1” microphone adapter. Please contact [email protected] to
order one of these.
To meas re the sensitivity of yo r microphone:
1. Insert the 1” microphone adapter into the calibrator.
2. Remove the foam windshield from the microphone by c tting the zip tie aro nd the base.
3. Pl g yo r microphone into the BAR-LT and insert the end into the microphone adapter.
4. T rn the BAR-LT on and navigate to Menu  Utilities  Mic Calibration.
5. The Mic Calibration screen shows the sensitivity of the microphone, the serial n mber,
microphone type and date of man fact re of microphones connected to channel A and B.
6. T rn the calibrator on and set it to 94dB o tp t. The sensitivity of the microphone sho ld
be aro nd -28dB ± 2dB when a 1kHz so rce is sed.

6RECORDING SCHEDULE
6.1 OVERVIEW
Recording times and settings are controlled by the recording sched le which is stored in memory
on the BAR-LT. The sched le allows yo to program recordings to start at a partic lar time and
date with repeating periods thro gho t the day and over m ltiple days. In this way yo can
maximise yo r deployment time by only recording the times yo are interested in or s b-sampling
thro gho t the day and/or alternating days.
The sched le can contain m ltiple sched le entries which can be individ ally programmed to have
different start and end times, repeating periods and different recording settings like sample rate,
compression and the channel it records from.
Each sched le entry has the following fields that determine when the recordings will take place:
Field Description
Start time This the time that the first recording of the day will start. This can be an absol te
time, e.g. 06:00 or s n based e.g. s nrise - 01h30m
Start date This is the date that the first recording will take place. If this is set in the f t re, then
recorder will sleep ntil this date is reached.
Recording duration This is the length of time each recording will r n for.
Repeat throughout the
day? (YES/NO)
This option allows the recording to be repeated every repeat period ntil repeat
stop time is reached. This allows yo to easily s b-sample across a day. E.g. start at
s nrise and record for 10 min tes every ho r ntil s nset.
- Repeat period The period of time between the start of a recording and start of its next repeated
recording. If repeat period is eq al to recording duration, then it will perform back-
to-back recordings with a 5 second gap it ses to prepare each new recording.
- Repeat stop time This is the time that the last recording of the day will start. This can be absol te
time, e.g. 20:00 or s n based e.g. s nset + 01h30m
Repeat over multiple days?
(YES/NO)
This option allows the recordings to repeat over days and then stop at a partic lar
date.
- Daily repeat period This is the length (in days) of the repeating cycle. If this is set to 1 it will record every
day ntil the stop date is reached. If it’s set to 2, it will record every second day. If
it’s set to 3 it will record for one day every third day, etc.
- Stop date This is the last day on which recordings will occ r.
Some examples of the types of recordings yo can sched le are shown below:
Entry name Description
Dawn Start at S nrise -1hr and record for 2hrs every day @ 44.1kHz with FLAC compression from mic
channel A.
Dawn to Dusk Start at S nrise +1hr and record for 5mins every ho r ntil S nset - 1hr every day @ 22kHz with
no compression (WAV) from mic channel B.
All day Start at 01/May/2019 at 00:00 and record for 5mins every ho r ntil 23:00 every 2nd day ntil
31/J ly/2019 @ 22kHz with no compression (WAV) from both mic channels A&B.
Sched les can be created and edited on a comp ter or on the recorder itself.

6.1.1 SAMPLE RATES
Recordings can be sampled at 8kHz, 16kHz, 22.05kHz, 32.0kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz. Choosing
the sample rate is a trade-off between file size and the maxim m freq ency that can be recorded.
This maxim m freq ency is called the Nyq ist freq ency and is half of the sample rate. As a
reference, CD q ality a dio is sampled at 44.1kHz.
Below is a table of common samples rates that are typically sed for a given target species. This
table sho ld be considered as a g ide only.
Common sample rate (kHz) Target species
500
250 Bats
96
48
44.1 Birds
32
22.05
16 Frogs
8
In order to acc rately record a so nd, we m st sample it at at least do ble the freq ency
of the so nd.
6.1.2 COMPRESSION OPTIONS / FILE FORMATS
Recordings can be saved in either WAV ( ncompressed) or FLAC (compressed) file formats. FLAC is
a lossless compression format and files are abo t 40% smaller than ncompressed WAV files for
typical nat re recordings. However, compression res lts will vary depending on the density and
complexity of the so nds being recorded.
6.2 PROGRAMMING THE SCHEDULE ON A COMPUTER
To create a sched le on yo r comp ter yo m st first install the Sched ler GUI program which can
be downloaded from the Frontier Labs website: https://frontierlabs.com.a /software
The Sched ler GUI program allows yo to create and edit recording sched les and view the
estimated battery life and time when the SD-card will be f ll.

For more information on creating sched les please see the Sched ler User Man al which is
incl ded with the Sched ler software.
6.2.1 COPYING A NEW RECORDING SCHEDULE ONTO THE RECORDER
To se a new sched le file created in the Sched ler software yo m st first copy it onto the
internal memory of the recorder.
To copy a new sched le onto the recorder yo m st:
1. Save the sched le file as schedule.fls on yo r SD card then insert it into the recorder.
2. If yo are r nning firmware v3.30 or later then it will a tomatically detect the new
sched le file and ask if yo wo ld like to copy it across.
3. Otherwise, press the ENTER b tton to bring p the main men and navigate to Recording
Schedule  Transfer Schedule  Copy from SD card
6.2.2 SAVING A SCHEDULE BACK ONTO THE SD CARD
There are times when yo may want to save the sched le that is c rrently stored in a recorder
back onto an SD card e.g., to program into other nits, for record keeping or to send to other
colleag es.
To save the sched le that is r nning on a recorder:
1. Press the ENTER b tton to bring p the main men .
2. Navigate to Recording Schedule  Transfer Schedule  Save to SD card.
3. The file will be saved as sched le.fls and will override any existing file that may be present
on the card.

6.3 PROGRAMMING THE SCHEDULE ON THE RECORDER
6.3.1 MAKING A NEW SCHEDULED RECORDING
To create a new sched led recording on the BAR-LT recorder:
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Recording Schedule.
2. Use the UP/DOWN b ttons to select + New entry then press ENTER.
3. Set the Start Time/Date, recording Duration and the recording settings s ch as sample
rate and file/compression type (WAV of FLAC).
4. To repeat a recording d ring the day, select the Repeat option and press ENTER to toggle
the stat s to YES. Then set the repeat period and the time yo want the repeating to stop.
5. To repeat the recordings every day or every n days (skipping the days in between), select
the Repeat daily option and press ENTER. Then set the repeat period in days and then the
day yo want the repeating to stop. Note this is the last day on which recordings will take
place.
6. Set the sample rate for the recording. The options are: 8kHz, 16kHz, 22.05kHz, 32.0kHz,
44.1kHz, 48kHz, 96kHz.
7. Select Save and press ENTER.
Note, when creating a new entry on the BAR the name will be a tomatically set to REC,
REC_SUNRISE or REC_SUNSET depending on the type of entry being made.
6.3.2 VIEWING / EDITING A SCHEDULED RECORDING
To view or edit an existing sched led recording:
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Recording Schedule.
2. Use the UP/DOWN b ttons to select the sched le entry yo wish to edit then press ENTER.
3. Edit the fields yo want to change then select Save and press ENTER.
-EDIT ENTRY -
Start 06:00
Start 01/01/19
D ration 01h00m
Repeat: YES
every 01h00m
ntil 09:00
Repeat daily: YES
every 01 days
ntil 01/06/19
Rate 44.1kHz
Channel A+B
File WAV ncompressed
[ Save ]
[ Delete ]
< Back
- SCHEDULE -
Transfer Sched le >
+ New entry
REC >
REC_SUNRISE
REC_SUNSET
< Back
- SCHEDULE -
Transfer Sched le >
+ New entry >
REC
REC_SUNRISE
REC_SUNSET
< Back
-NEW ENTRY -
Start 07:00
Start 01/01/19
D ration 01h00m
Repeat: YES
every 01h00m
ntil 09:00
Repeat daily: YES
every 01 days
ntil 01/06/19
Rate 44.1kHz
Channel A+B
File WAV ncompressed
[ Save ]
[ Delete ]
< Back

6.3.3 DELETING A SCHEDULED RECORDING
To delete a sched led recording:
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Recording Schedule.
2. Use the UP/DOWN b ttons to select the sched le entry yo wish to delete then press
ENTER.
3. Use the UP/DOWN b ttons to select Delete then press ENTER.
6.4 MANUAL RECORDING
A man al recording starts recording immediately and records ntil yo press the ENTER b tton.
Whilst in a man al recording, it ignores any sched led recordings. This can be sef l if yo want to
make a short annotation when yo are deploying yo r recorder or j st want to start recording
witho t having to edit the sched le.
Yo can start a man al recording in 2 ways:
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Manual Recording.
2. Select the desired sample, recording channel and file format.
3. Select [ Start ] then press ENTER.
Or yo can se a shortc t from the home screen:
1. Simply hold down the UP and DOWN b ttons and it will start a man al recording sing the
recording settings yo sed last.
- SCHEDULE -
Transfer Sched le >
+ New entry
REC >
REC_SUNRISE
REC_SUNSET
< Back
-EDIT ENTRY -
Start 06:00
Start 01/01/19
D ration 01h00m
Repeat: YES
every 01h00m
ntil 09:00
Repeat daily: YES
every 01 days
ntil 01/06/19
Rate 44.1kHz
Channel A+B
File WAV ncompressed
[ Save ]
[ Delete ] >
< Back
- MANUAL RECORDING -
This will start a
contin o s recording
and ignore all
sched led events.
Contin e >
< Back
- RECORD SETTINGS -
Sample Rate 44.1kHz
Channel A
File WAV ncompressed
[ Start ] >
< Back

7CONFIGURING THE RECORDER
7.1 SETTING THE DEVICE NAME
If set, the device name will appear in the filenames and meta-data of the recordings and in the
logfile.
1. To set the name of the recorder, navigate to Main Menu  Settings  Device Name.
2. Press the UP/DOWN b ttons to select the desired letter/digit then press the ENTER b tton
to move to the next character. (Available characters are A-Z, a-z, 0-9)
3. To finish editing the name select the blank character and press the ENTER b tton.
7.2 SETTING THE TIME AND DATE
The time and date are a tomatically set from the GPS once it is t rned on however yo can
man ally set the time and date.
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Settings  Clock Settings.
2. Select the time and with the UP/DOWN b ttons and press the ENTER b tton to move to
the next digit.
3. Increase the val e of each digit sing the UP/DOWN b ttons then press ENTER to contin e.
7.3 SETTING THE TIMEZONE
Use the following steps to set the timezone of the recorder. (Note that daylight savings is not
taken into acco nt.)
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Settings  Clock Settings  Timezone.
2. Use the UP/DOWN b ttons to increase/decrease the timezone val e then press ENTER to
save the selection.
7.4 SETTING THE GAIN
Yo can set the total signal gain of the recorder between 10 and 60dB. This fig re takes into
acco nt the gain of the microphone. The BAR can detect what model of Frontier Labs microphone
is attached and adj st its gain so that the total signal gain will stay the same even if yo change to
a microphone with a different pre-amp, see 5.0 Microphones.
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Settings  Gain ChA / Gain ChB.
2. Use the UP/DOWN b ttons to increase/decrease the gain val e then press ENTER to save
the setting.

8UTILITIES
8.1 VIEWING THE STATUS OF THE SD MEMORY CARDS
To view the stat s of the SD memory cards incl ding the amo nt of sed and free space:
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Utilities  SD Card.
2. Use the UP/DOWN b ttons to select a specific card (1-4) for more information.
8.2 FORMATTING SD MEMORY CARDS
We strongly recommend formatting yo r SD memory cards each time yo deploy yo r recorder
and not j st delete the files off them. This allow yo r cards to keep r nning at their maxim m
speed by cleaning o t the filesystem. We recommend yo format yo r cards on yo r comp ter
b t can also do it on the recorder. When yo format yo r card on the recorder it will a tomatically
choose the best file system (FAT32 or exFAT) for the size of yo r card.
WARNING: Formatting the cards will permanently erase all the data on it.
To format yo r SD memory cards, follow these instr ctions:
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Utilities  SD Card.
2. Use the UP/DOWN b ttons to select the card (1-4) that yo want to format then press
ENTER.
3. Select the Format Card option and press ENTER.
4. A confirmation message will appear, select YES then press ENTER.
5. The SD memory card will be formatted (this may take some time) then yo will be ret rned
to the SD Card men .
8.3 VIEWING THE GPS SATELLITES
To view the stat s of the GPS system and the available satellites:
1. Navigate to Main Menu  Utilities  GPS Info.
This screen shows the stat s of the GPS as well as the signal strength of p to 12 GPS satellites
that are visible to the recorder. The n mber nder each graph shows the satellite ID n mber and
the height represents the signal strength of that satellite as a percentage o t of 100%.
It is normal for the n mber of visible satellites to change over time b t the more satellites and
higher signal strength then the faster and more acc rate the position fix will be. Generally, a signal
strength above the first dotted line (25%) is good.

The GPS works best with a clear nobstr cted view of a large area of the sky, if yo are
nable to get a fix and the n mber of visible satellites is low and/or the signal strength of
each satellite is low then consider moving the recorder into a clearing ntil it gets a fix. This
sho ld only take a few min tes.
8.4 GPS TRANSECT MODE
GPS transect mode contin o sly logs the GPS position once per second to a file on the SD card
called GPS_log.gpx. GPX files are a common file format compatible with most GIS and mapping
software.
Each time GPS Transect mode is enabled it starts a new track, which saves a contin o s path of
GPS positions, ntil Transect mode is disabled. Each time a recording starts it saves a waypoint to
the file which contains meta-data of the recording s ch as the sample rate, channel gain, d ration,
recorder serial n mber.
8.5 VIEWING THE FIRMWARE VERSION
To see what version of firmware yo r recorder in r nning, navigate to Main Menu  Utilities 
Device Info.
8.6 UPGRADING THE FIRMWARE
As new feat res and b g-fixes are released, we enco rage yo to pgrade the firmware of the
recorder to take advantage of these improvements.
If yo are r nning firmware v3.30 or newer, then it a tomatically scans the SD card for new
firmware when yo t rn the recorder on and asks if yo wo ld like to pgrade.
If yo are r nning older firmware than v3.30, then follow the steps below.
1. Download the new firmware file and save it onto an SD memory card.
2. Insert the SD memory card into the recorder.
3. Navigate to Main Menu
 Utilities  Device Info.
4. Select Upgrade Firmware then press ENTER.
5. A confirmation message will appear, select YES then press ENTER.
6. The firmware will be pgraded then yo will be ret rned to the Firmware men .