Vectronic Aerospace VERTEX Plus Collar User manual

VERTEX Plus Collar
Version: 1.3
Last Change: 19.03.2019
User Manual

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VERTEX Plus Collar
© 2017 VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH
User Manual
04.11.2015
Marcel Butz
Marcel Butz
Ulrike Herrmann
04.11.2015
16.02.2016
22.02.2016
Ulrike Herrmann
Ulrike Herrmann 22.02.2016

Document Change Record

4Contents
Table of Contents
...............................................................................................................8
1 Product overview
...............................................................................................................9
2 Fast guide to deploy the collar
...............................................................................................................10
3 The VERTEX Plus Collar
...................................................................................................................... 113.1 GPS Receiver
...................................................................................................................... 123.2 VHF Beacon
...................................................................................................................... 133.3 Communication options
...................................................................................................... 13Iridium Communication3.3.1
...................................................................................................... 14Globalstar Communication3.3.2
...................................................................................................... 15GSM Communication3.3.3
...................................................................................................................... 173.4 Internal Sensors
...................................................................................................... 17Mortality & Hibernation Sensor3.4.1
...................................................................................................... 18Temperature Sensor3.4.2
...................................................................................................... 18Activity Sensor (Acceleration)3.4.3
...................................................................................................... 19Proximity and Separation Sensor3.4.4
...................................................................................................................... 223.5 UHF Radio Communication
...................................................................................................................... 223.6 Virtual Fence
...................................................................................................... 26Virtual Fence in GPS Plus X3.6.1
........................................................................................................... 28
Virtual Fence in Google Earth3.6.1.1
...................................................................................................................... 303.7 Drop Off
...................................................................................................................... 313.8 External Sensors
...................................................................................................... 31UHF ID Tags3.8.1

5Contents
...................................................................................................... 32Expandable Fawn Collars3.8.2
...................................................................................................... 32Vaginal Implant Transmitter (VIT)3.8.3
...................................................................................................... 33Mortality Implant Transmitter (MIT)3.8.4
...............................................................................................................34
4 Data formats
...............................................................................................................37
5 System Set-up
...................................................................................................................... 375.1 User-Software Installation
...................................................................................................................... 375.2 Collar Registration
...................................................................................................................... 395.3 USB to VERTEX Plus Interface Cable
...................................................................................................................... 405.4 Test the Collar
...............................................................................................................40
6 Collar Main Tree
...................................................................................................................... 416.1 Information
...................................................................................................... 42Telemetry6.1.1
...................................................................................................... 46GPS Monitor6.1.2
...................................................................................................... 47Info File6.1.3
...................................................................................................................... 486.2 Configuration
...................................................................................................... 49User Configuration6.2.1
...................................................................................................... 54Time6.2.2
...................................................................................................... 55Virtual Fence Polygons6.2.3
...................................................................................................... 58Start Bootloader6.2.4
...................................................................................................................... 616.3 Schedules
...................................................................................................... 65GPS & Beacon Files Upload6.3.1
...................................................................................................... 65GPS Schedule6.3.2
...................................................................................................... 68Beacon Schedule6.3.3

6Contents
...................................................................................................... 69Communication Schedule6.3.4
...................................................................................................... 69External Sensor Receiver Schedule6.3.5
...................................................................................................... 69Proximity GPS Schedule6.3.6
...................................................................................................... 70Virtual Fence Schedule6.3.7
...................................................................................................................... 706.4 Collected Data
...............................................................................................................71
7 Remote Collar (Communication)
...................................................................................................................... 727.1 Remote User Configuration
...................................................................................................................... 757.2 Remote GPS Schedule
...................................................................................................................... 757.3 Remote Beacon Schedule
...................................................................................................................... 767.4 Remote Proximity Schedule
...................................................................................................................... 767.5 Remote Communication Schedule
...................................................................................................................... 767.6 Remote Virtual Fences
...............................................................................................................77
8 Calculate Collar Lifetime
...............................................................................................................79
9 Battery options
...............................................................................................................80
10 Changing of battery pack
...................................................................................................................... 8010.1 Oval Collar
...................................................................................................................... 8110.2 Round Collar, standard battery pack
...................................................................................................................... 8210.3 Round Collar, curved battery pack
...............................................................................................................85
11 Collar Deployment
...............................................................................................................86
12 Specification
...................................................................................................................... 8612.1 Environmental specification for the collar
...................................................................................................................... 8712.2 Declarations of Conformity
...................................................................................................................... 9012.3 Certificates

7Contents

Product overview 8
© 2017 VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH
1 Product overview
The VERTEX Plus Collar is a modular system that is customized to your project needs.
Your Collar is built with a combination of following options.
Remote Communication Options
- Iridium bi-directional Satellite Communication
- Globalstar Uplink Satellite Communication
- GSM bi-directional Communication
- UHF Radio Communication
- VHF Beacon transmitter (signal transmitter only)
Internal Sensor Options
- Mortality & Hibernation Sensor
- Temperature Sensor
- Basic Activity Sensor (3-axis acceleration, averaged data each 300sec.)
- Advanced Activity Sensor (High Resolution 3-axis acceleration, raw data up to 32Hz)
The VERTEX Plus Collar with UHF communication is able to communicate with UHF ID
Tags / various external sensors:
External Sensors (Proximity and Separation Application)
- Customizable UHF ID Tags for species interaction
- Expandable fawn collars for offspring survival studies
- StationaryUHF ID Tags for e.g. road crossings, waterholes
- Vaginal Implant Transmitter (VIT) for pregnancy observation
- Mortality Implant Transmitter (MIT) for instant mortality detection

Product overview 9
© 2017 VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH
Drop Offs
To simplify collar recovery a radio and timer controlled Drop Off mechanism is available.
All data are stored on the non-volatile memory on-board the collar and can be
downloaded via cable after retrieving of the collar.
2 Fast guide to deploy the collar
The collar is delivered thoroughly tested and fully programmed according to your
instructions. Please spend some time and make yourself familiar with the collar and all
its features. We recommend you to follow the next steps to check and test all functions of
your collar.
(A magnet needs to be attached to the electronic housing to keep collar in stand-by
mode, otherwise the collar will perform GPS fixes and transmissions.)
1. Setup your GPS Plus X software system (for further information please refer to
the GPS Plus X software manual)
2. Register your collar
3. Attach the VERTEX Plus Collar to your PC (USB to VERTEX Plus Interface
Cable)
4. Check the configuration and schedules of the collar
5. Check Drop Off configuration and lifetime (please refer to GPS Plus Drop Off
Manager or Info Files provided with the collar)
6. Make a lifetime calculation (optional)
7. Test the collar performance of sensors and data interfaces/transfer, also
remotely. For this you need to remove the magnet from the electronic housing
(not the Drop Off magnet!) and place the collar outdoors with a clear view to the
sky. Check signal quality and process incoming data. Try sending reconfiguration
commands remotely. Once you finish testing your collar deactivate it by
reattaching the magnet to the electronic housing. Do not trigger the Drop Off! It
can only be used once!
When deploying the collar:
8. Make sure the O-ring and the communication connector end cap are in place to
protect the communication connector from dirt and humidity.

Fast guide to deploy the collar 10
© 2017 VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH
9. Adjust the belt to the correct circumference and cut the extra belt to minimize the
risk to injure or handicap the animal.
10.Make sure the magnet is removed from the electronic housing and from the
Drop Off, otherwise it stays deactivated and will not perform any GPS fixes or
transfer data, and the Drop Off will not release the collar.
The steps of this list will be explained more detailed in the following chapters.
3 The VERTEX Plus Collar
If you want to achieve a deeper knowledge of all functions and features of your collar, we
recommend you to read the whole chapter carefully. If you do not want to spend this time
you may skip this chapter and go straight forward to the system setup. The system setup
gives concrete instructions how to check configurations and to test your collar before
deployment.
Figure 1: VERTEX Plus Collars: left: round collar for carnivores, right: oval collar for ungulate
The basic VERTEX Plus Collar consists of the following components:
- the electronic housing containing the GPS module, the VHF beacon, the optional
sensors (activity/mortality/temperature), the communication modem (GSM/Iridium/
Globalstar), an UHF module and the UHF ID Tag (optional)