Using the Initial Transect Calculator

If this is your first time calibrating your Motus Station, a basic calibration can be preformed to approximate any major blind spots in your array. To perform this calibration technique, co-locate a GPS receiver with logging capability with your RF tag. Your RF tag should have a clear line of site to its surroundings and should not be attached to any metal or RF-reflective surfaces.

Once your tag and GPS are positioned correctly, you should spiral outward from the station while using the GPS to log your position. A more complete explanation of calibration techniques is outlined here.

By entering the latitude, longitude and name of your station, the Initial Transect Calculator will provide you with some sample transects for your first calibration as well as a calibration metadata sheet.

Using the Calibration Report Generator

Upon the completion of your calibration effort, you will need two files to use the Calibration Report Generator. The first your GPS coordinates in either a Garmin FIT file or CSV. The second is a CSV of your tag detentions from your Motus Station.

Below is a zip file containing three files. The first, ‘Morning_Ride.fit’, is a GPS track of an aviation calibration effort conducted as part of this project. If you are running the calibration report tool with the test data, the values for latitude and longitude are: Lat.: 41.1531 Lon.: -71.5514. Using this file in conjunction with the second file, ‘SE_Light_Tag.csv’, will provide a sample calibration report. The third file, ‘sample_gps_track.csv’, which can also be used to in the calibration in replace of the ‘Morning_Ride.fit’ file, will not provide a robust calibration report and is instead an example file on how to format your own GPS files.

Once your files are formatted properly with the correct column headers, you can upload your files to the Calibration Report Generator and it will provide a calibration report for you.

In need of help? Experience a bug?

Email Dr. Pam Loring at pamela_loring@fws.gov or Mr. Erik Carlson at erikvcarlson@uri.edu.