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 >
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