An Improved Timing Device for Monitoring Pulse Frequency of Temperature-Sensing Transmitters in Free-Ranging Animals

Abstract

-We describe the design and use of a simple and inexpensive timing device for recording body temperatures (Tb's) of a free-ranging animal. This timing device is the first to use CNT-35-26 programmable counters, making it more efficient than recently described timing devices (e.g., Beaupre and Beaupre, 1994). The device is used with a cassette recorder and the researcher's existing telemetry equipment to create a highly mobile temperaturemonitoring system. The CNT-35-26 programmable counters allow for easy programmability for any time interval, observation of timing status due to digital LCDs, and the ability to record precise and accurate pulse frequencies without calibration for changes in cassettetape recorder speed. Use of this simple timing device to operate equipment or various datacollecting systems may be of interest to many researchers. The design, operation, and use of this timing device to create a telemetry monitoring system are discussed.