North Star Science and Technology, LLC
P.O. Box 438
King George, VA 22485 USA
Mobile Phone : 410-961-6692
Office Phone : 540-775-4698
Fax : 603-462-5144
www.northstarst.com
November 2006
Dear North Star Clients:
This mailing is a first for us, and we want to make it count. We have not sent out any advertising, newsletters, or the like in the past, and we will make sure this continues to be a rare occurrence. We thank you sincerely for your business, and we have a lot of new and important news that we wish to impart to all of you.
We have introduced a new GPS PTT for birds. This unit currently weighs 60 grams, and we are working to make it smaller and lighter. We hope to introduce a 45-50 gram birdborne GPS PTT in the spring of 2007. The GPS PTT is available with tubes or loops. Please visit our www site for more information.
We are currently developing smaller PTT models. Right now, our smallest PTT is 15.2 grams, and we are working to bring that weight down to 12 grams or lower by spring 2007. Please inquire (blakehenke@msn.com) this winter or next spring to determine what we have available, before you make a buying decision.
We use a true TCXO (temperature compensated crystal oscillator) in all of our PTTs, to ensure high percentages of 3, 2, and 1 location classes (LCs) from Argos (typically 20-50%). The TCXO controls our output frequency, not software; and it ensures that the output frequency of our PTTs is highly stable no matter what the ambient temperature may be. The high quality location estimates from our PTTs prove to be very accurate and reliable in the field.
An issue that has come up recently on several bird conservation list servers concerns the accuracy of Argos data (i.e., non-GPS data). There are studies available in the literature and Argos puts out their own information, which I encourage you to read. Here is an important point to bear in mind: The higher quality location classes (LCs) from Argos are more accurate and more reliable than lower quality LCs, and there is a difference among PTT manufacturers. North Star clients tell us that our units routinely get a significantly higher percentage of 3, 2, and 1 LCs than other PTTs on the market. In one field application in the Chesapeake Bay region of the USA, three bald eagles were tracked with our 80 gram PTTs. Over 2.5 years, all three of those PTTs got 80-82% 3, 2, and 1 LCs!
There are many factors that contribute to the LCs that Argos assigns to each location estimate, including the number of messages received per satellite pass, the geometry of the satellite passes, the strength of the signal, the level of noise at the same frequency in the same region, whether or not your PTT transmitted the day before, the condition and orientation of the antenna, and the stability of the transmitted signal (among many other smaller factors, too). On this last factor, stability of the transmitted signal, our PTTs outperform the competition, and it makes a significant difference in data quality.
In other news…
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We are making implant PTTs. We are making two-part loon implants (i.e., the subcutaneous implants with PTT and battery pack separated by a wire tether) and one-part abdominal implants for smaller ducks and the like. Our units are competitive (i.e., in size, weight, and cost) and they are likely to provide a much higher percentage of 3, 2, and 1 location classes.
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We have introduced a parrot PTT (neck collar) that weighs about 33-35 grams and can survive on the neck of a parrot. This could be a breakthrough in the conservation and management of many species of parrots in Central and South America.
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Our 2007 Annual Grant Program is underway at this time. As we did last year, we are again offering 8 PTTs. The deadline for proposals is February 2, 2007. For more information, you can download the grant program announcement from our www site (www.northstarst.com) or from the American Bird Conservancy www site (
www.abcbirds.org).
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We are updating our www site, so make sure to visit it often to see the new content. We are adding a number of new features and content, including an electronic newsletter, Argos data decoding software with user instructions for download, a detailed set of
Customer Instructions/Notes for a Successful Deployment, a new section featuring the grant program winners from previous years with some results from their projects, and much more.
We would like to include photos of our PTTs on your birds for use in our Gallery of Field Applications on our www site). Please e-mail your photos to me at
blakehenke@msn.com.
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Our detailed Customer Instructions/Notes for a Successful Deployment document is available. If you would like a copy, please e-mail me, and I will send you the pdf file. This document includes relatively new information about high levels of noise in Europe at the Argos frequency, which makes it very difficult for small, low power PTTs to successfully uplink messages to the Argos satellites.
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We have a new software program (with simple instructions) that will decode and parse the DIA and DS data from North Star PTTs. We call it “DSDCODE” because it was designed primarily to decode and parse the DS sensor data. If you would like a copy, let me know and I will e-mail it to you. This software tool will also be added to our www site.
We are accepting pre-orders for a new receiver that will enable you to recover downed PTTs. Essentially, the device will be a radio receiver (that can be tuned to the Argos frequency) with a directional yagi antenna and a digital signal strength meter. The price will be under $1,000 each.
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We have an in-house GIS/Remote Sensing Analyst who can analyze and map your data. We realize that not everyone who performs conservation work has a budget that can accommodate their own GIS capability. We offer a competitive hourly rate for GIS, remote sensing, and custom mapping services. We can also create custom animations of your bird tracking data, which we can save as Flash files. These are great for presentations.
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Our engineering staff has increased in order to help us keep up with rising demand and to enable us to be reliable with on-time deliveries. We do everything in our power to deliver your PTTs when you need them for your field work, and we will continue to do that.
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We have developed a new line of GPS collars that transmit through the Globalstar satellite system, for those who do research with species other than birds. I have included a fact sheet on that unit to share with your colleagues, as appropriate.
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We offer telemetry products for other applications, such as:
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Satellite telemetry system for transmitting water quality data and water level data, and
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GPS Tracker device for tracking personnel or items larger than a bird.
You can find fact sheets for these products (and several more) on our www site, or you can inquire with me and I will be happy to e-mail them to you.
For the coming year, we strongly urge you to get your orders in early and give us as much time as possible to complete them. We get very busy from about March 1 to end of August, and during this time we need all the lead time we can get for individual orders. We are offering a 3% discount on orders that are placed before December 30, 2006 for delivery no earlier than February 1, 2007.
Lastly: Please update your address books with our new address and fax number, if you have not already done so. Our billing address is now in Virginia at the address above. Our fax number is 603-462-5144. If you need to ship an item, please send it to: ATTN: Blake Henke, 8219 Gallant Green Drive, King George, Virginia 22485. Please check the box for the carrier to deliver the parcel without any signature; the package will be safe.
Regards,
M. Blake Henke
North Star Science and Technology, LLC
blakehenke@msn.com
