Wildlife computers Rainier-S20 User manual

v.202007
Rainier-S20 Quick Start Guide
This quick start guide will give you all the essential
information needed for successfully deploying and accessing
your data from a Wildlife Computers Rainier-S20 tag.

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The information contained in these documents is confidential, privileged and only for the information of the intended recipient and
may not be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of Wildlife Computers.
Table of Contents
Before you Begin........................................................................................................................................................................3
About the Rainier-S20..............................................................................................................................................................3
Anatomy of a Tag.......................................................................................................................................................................4
Tag Storage and Battery Maintenance ..............................................................................................................................4
Testing Tags.................................................................................................................................................................................4
Deploying the Tags...................................................................................................................................................................6
Peel Ply ..........................................................................................................................................................................................6
Accessing Your Data.................................................................................................................................................................7
Additional Information............................................................................................................................................................8

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The information contained in these documents is confidential, privileged and only for the information of the intended recipient and
may not be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of Wildlife Computers.
Before You Begin
The information contained in this guide is designed to help you get the most from your
deployment. In the guide, you will see the yellow icon highlighting information where special
attention should be paid.
The list below shows what is required to interact with a Rainier tag:
•A Windows® computer with Tag Agent and our USB driver installed
•A Wildlife Computers Portal Account
•A Wildlife Computers Communications Cable
Visit wildlifecomputers.com to create a Portal account and download the required software.
About the Rainier-S20
The Wildlife Computers Rainier-S20 tag is a rechargeable, solar
powered, GPS-equipped Argos transmitter (PTT) specifically designed
for birds. The Rainier-S20 is suitable for birds weighing as little as 650
grams to be tracked with GPS precision and accuracy over land and
sea for multiple seasons.
The tag collects GPS locations and other sensor data on a flexible,
customer-programmable schedule saved prior to deployment. The
archived data are stored locally as well as transmitted via the Argos
satellite network.
The Wildlife Computers cloud-based portal automatically downloads
and processes the data and makes it available in near real time.

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The information contained in these documents is confidential, privileged and only for the information of the intended recipient and
may not be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of Wildlife Computers.
Anatomy of a Tag
Below is a Rainier-S20 tag showing: (a) Argos antenna, (b) communications port with plug, (c) LED
indicator light, (d) magnetic switch, (e) solar panels, and (f) GPS patch antenna.
Tag Storage and Battery Maintenance
Store tags in a room temperature environment, around 25° C, with the magnet holder in place on the
tag. Do not store in direct sunlight.
Do NOT store these tags in extreme hot or cold environments. This will cause a
significant drop in the capacity of the rechargeable battery.
To check the operating voltage, select “Advanced,” and then “Send Test Transmission.” The
transmission voltage should read between 3 and 4 volts.
Testing Tags
Please ensure you test the Rainier-S20 tags after you receive them, or after they have been in storage
for more than a month before deploying them. This not only initializes them to the new location after
shipping from our offices, but also gives you (and us) peace of mind they are working properly prior to
deployment and that you can access your data on the Wildlife Computers Portal (see “Data Access”
section).

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The information contained in these documents is confidential, privileged and only for the information of the intended recipient and
may not be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of Wildlife Computers.
Tags are shipped and stored at half capacity so we suggest giving them a boost charge initially via USB
using the USB communications cable supplied in your shipment, especially if they have been in
storage out of the sunlight. Each tag may take up to 90 minutes to charge depending on its battery
state at the start of charging. It does not matter if you plug the USB via a computer connection or
through a wall plug. Battery charging is fully automatic and it is impossible to overcharge or damage
the battery through USB or solar charging.
1. With the magnet holder on the tag, plug the USB connector end into the communications
port of the tag. Take care to ensure the pins in the tag align exactly with the recesses in the
charging end of the USB. There is only one orientation of the connector that will work. Look at
the communications port on the tag and you will see three pins in a row, a space, and then a
fourth pin. You will see the same configuration in the recess of the USB cable.
If the pins and connector are not aligned correctly and you apply force as you insert the
charger, you may bend and damage a pin.
2. A blue LED lights up on the tag when you insert the charger. When fully charged, the blue LED
extinguishes, this takes up to 90 minutes per tag. You can charge with the magnet cover on or
off, but if its off, don’t forget to replace the magnet cover as soon as complete if you are
indoors.
3. Once fully charged, you need to test the tag. Remove the magnet cover outdoors and leave in
clear view of the sky with the solar panels exposed to the sun.
4. When you remove the magnet cover, the tag will be in Start mode and a red LED will flash
giving you visual feedback of the tag status. The sequence is 10 rapid flashes followed by an
extended blink then off (about four or five seconds max).
5. If you are testing multiple tags they should be separated by a short distance with their
antennas in as much free space as possible. The antennas are naturally droopy, a characteristic
of the antenna material. They will tend to droop more in colder weather.
6. It can take several hours for Argos transmissions to be downloaded, processed, and displayed
in your Wildlife Computers Data Portal (portal) account.
7. Once you are satisfied with the data received and happy the tags are functioning as required,
put the tag in Stop mode by replacing the magnet cover. The visual feedback from the red
LED is two quick flashes, a pause, two flashes, a pause, two flashes (about six seconds in total).
8. If you are not deploying the tags immediately, please leave in Stop mode with the magnet
covers in place to maintain an adequate charge.

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The information contained in these documents is confidential, privileged and only for the information of the intended recipient and
may not be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of Wildlife Computers.
Deploying the Tags
1. Mount any base or neoprene pad (if using, see the Peel Ply section below) onto the base of the
tags well ahead of your actual deployment. Make sure the tag is elevated appropriately for the
size and species of bird on which you are deploying the tag.
2. Insert the supplied black plug into the communications port recess of the tag to protect the
pins.
3. Remove the magnet cover and observe the flashing red LED Start mode sequence prior to
attaching to the bird.
When the magnet holder is in place on the tag, the tag is in Stop mode. When the
magnet holder is removed from the tag, the tag is in Start mode and ready to begin
deployment.
Peel Ply
Your tags were shipped with a sheet of heavy-duty white polyester peel ply attached to the base.
When the peel ply is removed, the tags will have a superior contamination-free bondable surface that
requires no additional preparation.
Attachment Instructions
1. Prior to attachment, peel off the peel ply fabric. Do not remove peel ply until immediately
before you are ready to attach the tag to the neoprene material.
2. Apply a contact adhesive to the base of the tag and neoprene pad (follow specific adhesive
instructions).
3. Attach the tag to the neoprene material with the fabric side towards the bird.
Recommendations
•Always remove peel ply fabric prior to tag deployment. It is not intended to be integrated into
your attachment method.
•If your application process includes sterilizing the tag, do so with the peel ply fabric in place.
•Do not touch the exposed tag bottom surface with anything other than your adhesive.
•Surfaces with peel ply should not be sanded.
•Always use a contact adhesive that dries soft, for example, barge cement, Aquaseal,
Weldwood.
•Do not use super glue/Loctite (cyanoacrylate) adhesives, they dry hard and brittle.

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The information contained in these documents is confidential, privileged and only for the information of the intended recipient and
may not be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of Wildlife Computers.
Accessing Your Data
“My Data” on the Wildlife Computers Portal is the interface that allows you to remotely access, store,
and manage your data. To do so, you need to create a portal account and link your Argos account
username and password (supplied to you by Argos) to your portal account. This allows the portal to
automatically and seamlessly pull and decode data from Argos for the tags supplied.
1. To create a portal account, visit wildlifecomputers.com and click on “My Data” tab in the
center of the page.
2. Click “Create Account” and complete the form.
3. Once created, log in to your account.
4. To register your Argos account, click on “Link Argos Account” at the top of the page
5. Click “Add Account” and enter the guest account username and password and hit Add. Once
your Argos account is synced with your portal account, data from deployed tags will
automatically be downloaded into your portal account.
6. Once testing is underway and data has been received, each individual tag will be identified by
its serial number and PTT Argos ID number as a separate row in the portal.
7. To access the data, click on the left-hand side of the row and click the blue Download tab.
See Wildlife Computers Portal and Tag Agent User Guide for further details.

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The information contained in these documents is confidential, privileged and only for the information of the intended recipient and
may not be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of Wildlife Computers.
Additional Information
Glossary of Terms
•Administrator—someone who has the authority to publish tag settings.
•Argos ID—uniquely identifies a transmitter for the Argos system. The ID consists of a decimal
number and a hexadecimal (base 16) number.
•Argos Location—a location generated by the Argos system from uplinks received during a
satellite pass. Get more information about how the Argos system works here:
http://www.argos-system.org/web/en/391-faq-general-questions.php
•Argos Uplink—a radio transmission intended for the Argos satellite system.
•Daily Data—generated from sensors over a fixed 24-hour period.
•Data Message—created by the tag to transmit data through the Argos system. Each data
message is transmitted as payload in an Argos uplink. In order to increase the likelihood of its
reception by the Argos system, each message is sent a fixed number of times.
•Data Products—the various types of data available from Wildlife Computer tags.
•Deployment—the period when a tag is associated with an animal and actively collecting and
sending telemetry data.
•Location Uplink—a transmission intended to generate an Argos location. These uplinks can
also carry a data message payload. Multiple uplinks are required to generate an Argos
location.
•PTT—position tracking terminals. CLS assigns PTT ids for every tag.
•Pinger—a UHF radio tracking beacon.
•Start/Auto Start/Stop—tag states. When Started, will generate locations and/or collect sensor
data. Auto Start will allow the tag to Start using a magnet or when reading wet. Stop causes
the tag to do nothing until reconnected to Tag Agent.
•Summary Period Data—generated from sensors during a defined number of hours.
•Tag Agent—the program used to change tag states and select tag settings and connect a tag
to the Wildlife Computers Tag Portal.
•Tagware—the software running on a tag.
•Wildlife Computers Communication Cable—the Wildlife Computers communication cable
required by Tag Agent.
•Tag Portal—the cloud-based service offered by Wildlife Computers for remote tag setup. A
historic record of tag settings and templates is maintained within the Tag Portal.

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The information contained in these documents is confidential, privileged and only for the information of the intended recipient and
may not be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of Wildlife Computers.
Contacting Wildlife Computers
U.S. and International
Members of the Wildlife Computers technical sales and support team are located in Redmond, WA,
USA, and Havelock North, New Zealand, allowing us to cover promptly a wide range of time zones.
Mailing and Shipping
Wildlife Computers
8310 154th Avenue NE, Suite 150
Redmond, WA 98052 USA
Email
Sales, Quotes, and Inquiries: [e-mail]
Technical Support: [e-mail]
Phone Website
[phone] WildlifeComputers.com
For Asian Clients
While we welcome your direct correspondence, we recommend that you contact our colleague, Yong
Huang, for assistance. Mr. Huang understands the special purchase processes for your countries, and
will provide you with the best service for the best price. He also is fluent in Japanese, Chinese, and
English.
Mailing Address—Please ship tags to our main office in Redmond, WA.
Yong Huang
Enfotran Corporation
816 Evergreen Point Road, #217
Medina, WA 98039 USA
Email Phone Fax
[email protected] [phone] [phone]