If you are a new client and have just received your order, check your “CTT Shipping Notification” email. Your credentials will be attached in a document, along with your unit IDs. If you ordered a SensorStation and do not already have an existing account with CTT, please register for an account here.

• Equipment Orders & Purchases: When you receive a quote OR place an order, you will be prompted to create a Shopify account (this website!). If you forget your password, you can reach out to Sales for a password reset.

• Data invoices & other online payments: This is based on your email address and accessed via CTT's Stripe page. If you require a password change/reset, please reach out to Sales

• CTT Data Portal (Sensor Station, ES-400, ARGOS): To gain access, please reach out to Sales for account registration process. If you have an account already and are unable to log in, choose the “Forgot Password” button under the log-in button. 

• Internet of Wildlife Portal (new portal for Flicker, ES-420, newer ES-400/500s): Credentials will be provided in your “CTT Shipping Notification” email. If you did not receive this OR you need to obtain an additional set of credentials for project partners, please contact Sales.

• CTT Mobile App: Use same credentials as Internet of Wildlife Portal (above). Available on Apple & Android

• Iridium (SensorStation Iridium Portal) Please contact Sales for log-in information. 

Orders placed on the website store cannot use split payment methods. If you can confirm the full final order, our financial administrator can invoice against a P.O., or take multiple forms of payments over the phone.

If you haven’t already, please submit the Movebank Data Forwarding Request Form, and be sure to list your unit IDs as well as your CTT username and Movebank Username correctly. 

If you have already received confirmation from our team that your data has been forwarded & are not seeing your tags, please verify that you are in the correct Project/ Study and that you have thoroughly reviewed Movebank’s User guide

There are a few things to verify:

• -That the device is associated with your Movebank account (providing the CTT team with your correct Movebank username is imperative).
• -Appropriate tag ids & data feeds need to be associated with your project (Legacy ES-400s are included in the CTT GSM feed. ES-420s and newer ES-400s are included in the CTT Core Feed.)
• -A Movebank Study can have multiple device feeds (from CTT and/ or other manufacturers). Bottom line: Depending on the age/ model of your devices, you may have data available from CTT Core, CTT GSM, or both!

About CTT’s data sync with Movebank:

• Devices from both feeds are permissioned to an individual Movebank User/ account. Each account must have explicit permissions granted to view the devices
• -CTT pushes incoming device data from our servers to Movebank’s system on an hourly basis.
• -There may be a delay between when Movebank receives data from CTT and when it is displayed.

From Movebank homepage, select your “study”

Within your study, you should see a selection of “Live Feeds”

Select CTT Core or CTT GSM depending on your device type.

You will need to add available tags permissioned to your account to the appropriate project feed:

If you do not yet have a Feed set up within your project, you will need to select from the list of tags accessible to your Movebank account.

First, ensure that you have paid the Motus registration fee for each tag at time of purchase.

Next, send us the Motus project number and email associated with your Motus project (meaning the one used to establish the Motus project) and also the username associated with your CTT account, and we will handle your registration in a timely fashion.

The short answer is yes. For any tags with solar panels, such as LifeTags, HybridTags, and BlūMorpho, it's a resounding YES! For PowerTags and BlūBat (battery-only), it is a bit more complicated.

The amount of battery loss during storage is dependent on the battery size, if they’re properly powered off while stored, and stored in a cool, dry place. Large Lithium polymer batteries are best during the first three years of their life and can easily sit on a shelf for a year or more. Essentially, the smaller the battery, the shorter the overall shelf life, so take special care with those smallest of battery-only tags.

BlūSeries tags transmit on 2.4 GHz (the same frequency as Bluetooth) and are the lightest tags available. CTT and Motus are actively working to integrate BlūSeries tags into the Motus pipeline, and it is definitely in the high-priority pipeline.

BlūSeries tags are only compatible with CTT SensorStations outfitted with the BlūReceiver upgrade, and CTT Nodes (V3). Note that these new tags will not be compatible with SensorGnomes, and will only be detectable by SensorStations outfitted with the BlūReceiver.

Yes, but CTT does not currently provide them with a harness attachment. The tags have been successfully glued to existing harnesses and deployed on various species including hummingbirds. Otherwise, they can be directly glued onto the study species.

Mileage may vary, but in our tests on monarch butterflies, it was common to get detections in the 40-100m range using the CTT Mobile app (available for download on the iOS AppStore and Google Play Store), up to 1km using the CTT Sidekick, and up to 2KM using an aerial array of antennas ~10m above the ground (a SensorStation).

Detection distance will depend on line-of-sight, environmental conditions, and habitat heterogeneity.

BlūMorpho tags beep incredibly fast, as fast as once every 3 seconds, making them much more likely to be detected. The higher beep rate also allows for more accurate localization in Node grids. BlūMorpho tags also transmit the temperature of the tag, and there is no chance of a false detection.

No, there should not be any interference with our BlūSeries tags/receivers. The nature of the 2.4 GHz frequency allows for transmission on certain channels that our tags are programmed to use and maintain a connection even if the channel becomes "jammed."

A recent deployment on hummingbirds utilized a harnessing system attaching the tag to handmade harnesses with glue. However, the transmitter itself does not have attachment points at this time.

The Project Monarch app is managed by the Cape May Point Science Center, a local nonprofit leading a project to track Monarch butterfly migration. The app is available to download on iOS and Android. 

The Project Monarch app can detect BlūSeries tags deployed on monarch butterflies by the Project Monarch Collaboration and has the ability to upload any detections to the cloud where the data can be used for monarch conservation. If you are interested in using a modified version of the Project Monarch app for your project please contact us so we can determine whether it’s possible.

Detection ranges of 50 - 100 meters are typical for mobile devices. However, the detection range of a BlūMorhpo tag using a mobile device depends on the antenna of the mobile device, the presence/absence of obstructions between the tag and device, the species upon which the tag is deployed (ground vs. plane), among other factors, and therefore the observed detection range may vary outside these typical values.

To increase the detection range, consider using a CTT Sidekick, which has a greater range with the included Omni antenna. The optional Yagi antenna provides an even greater range.

The BlūBat has a base weight of less than 0.02 g.

Use any of the following:

• -CTT Sidekick using the CTT Mobile app
• -BlūSeries Receiver & SensorStation
• -CTT Node 3.0 (BlūSeries-compatible)
• -Project Monarch app (only for monarchs tagged by the Project Monarch Collaboration)

The Project Monarch app should be able to record detections outside of cell service, however it may not be able to associate tag IDs with the individual monarch wearing the tag (unless that was loaded prior to leaving coverage). Note that it is NOT possible to upload detections until the phone is in range of an area with cell coverage. 

For work outside of cell coverage it is recommended to use a CTT Sidekick and record any detections to a CSV file on your mobile device for later analysis. For long-term autonomous monitoring consider at CTT SensorStation with the additional BlūSeries Receiver, and/or a CTT Node 3.0 which includes a radio receiver for both 434MHz and 2.3GHz.

The detection range of a BlūMorpho tag from a Motus tower mainly depends on the antennas being used and the presence/absence of obstructions between the tag and antenna. 

In tests using this panel antenna to detect tags attached to a drone flying at an elevation of 150 meters with a clear line-of-sight to the tower, detections were recorded at distances of up to 2 kilometers away.

It depends on the chosen beep interval and the tag weight. When you place an order, please include your preferred lifespan or beep interval (if known), and we can provide a chart to help you determine the right beep interval.

All tags with a solar panel are activated by the sun. Battery-powered PowerTags are activated (and deactivated) with an Activator.

No, the Activator only activates CTT's PowerTags.

Theoretically, the life of the study species, as the tags are solar-powered. As long as they are getting sun, they should beep at their standard interval of every 5 seconds.

Theoretically, the life of the study species, as the tags have a solar panel that charge the battery. As long as they are getting sun, they should keep the battery charged and beep at their standard interval of every 5 seconds. If the battery should fail, they should then operate like a LifeTag and beep when there is sun on the panel. 

• -Determine if a board-only option is sufficient, or if it will need to be mounted in a weatherproof Nema case? 
• -If the latter, how many antenna bulkheads (one per antenna) will be needed in the Nema Case? (Options range from 1 to 9 bulkheads.)
• -Will it run on an AC power supply, or will it run directly off of 12V AC/DC? In other words, will it run off of a power adapter or will it be solar-powered?
• -Is the installation site(s) in proximity to wifi/ethernet? If not, opt for an LTE-enabled station with a prepaid data plans ($240/year).
• -If the SensorStation is intended to detect BlūSeries tags, add a BlūSeries receiver.

• Location: geography, latitude/longitude, altitude, recent/seasonal weather, ambient temperature.
• Movement/plans to move: Have you recently moved the station? Are there plans to change its location?
• Case/enclosure: How is the station enclosed, mounted, and oriented?
• Peripherals attached: What are the total number and types of antennas, USBs, etc.(i.e., Are there FUNcubes?)
• Connectivity: How is the station onnected: Ethernet? WiFi? Cell network? If cellular, what are the best providers in the area? 
• Network: If on a network, is it a managed network? Are there existing security limitations or firewalls that need to be addressed?
• Power: Is the station connected to the grid? If off-grid, what is the battery configuration and battery make/model/spec? What is the solar panel size/arrangement? What type of charge controller is being used, and how is it connected?
• Software & updates: Has the station been successfully updated recently?

Use this answer block to discuss some commonly asked questions you've discovered from your customers interactions. You could discuss product details, size fit, shipping policies, or anything you think would help merchants make an informed decision about your product or collection. This section will appear across all products.

The 434MHz frequency seems to be pretty immune to most noise sources. However, conditions are variable, so a useful best practice is to set up the station onsite with a single antenna and take a test tag around and ensure you're getting good detections out to a few kilometers (a drone is helpful).

If you're installing any 166MHz antennas, testing is warranted, as that frequency is typically more prone to noise effects.

No, provided you don't expose the station on a public network; in other words, be sure that the homeowner uses a secure network provider and a password-protected network . The Secure Shell password on the SensorStation’s Raspberry Pi compute module has been changed from the factory setting, which should reduce the ability for scanners to find and hack a station on a network, but ultimately network security is the responsibility of the person whose network is utilized

The SensorStation is set up to be secure. If you require specific IT information for locating a station on an existing secure network, please contact us for the important whitelist URLs.

We typically recommend deep cycle marine batteries for powering SensorStations.

If power issues occur or persist, it might be best to upgrade to a battery more suited for extreme weather. When switching from a lead acid to a Lithium polymer battery, check all peripherals for compatibility, especially the charge controller (many are specific to one or the other battery type).

Yes, send the station ID and we can suspend the SIM until the noise issue is resolved. You must let us know when you want it reactivated.*

*If you are doing this because a station collects excess noise data, and you’re attempting to shut it down from sending that noise data over the cell modem (and running up your cell bill), make sure you download AND delete all the data before reactivating it to avoid the data fees. Otherwise, the station will simply send all of the backlogged noise data if it remains. You can do that by following the directions in the video in Section 15 of the online user guide:

https://cellular-tracking-technologies.github.io/ctt_documentation/SensorStation-User-Guide.html#manually-managing-your-data-via-the-command-line

There is no SD card, it's all hard disk on the Raspberry Pi. In most cases it's 32GB (in some cases it's 8GB or 16GB, depending on Pi availability at the time of the station's build).

Yes, but that would just allow you to connect a computer or phone on the same network to the station. It does work for wirelessly accessing the station, but in the absence of an internet connection, its data will not be transmitted to the cloud .

If your stations are LTE-enabled, all you need to do is purchase the prepaid data plan(s) and be sure to include the project and the name under which the station was purchased under in the order notes so we can properly allocate the credit. If there is a secondary contact specifically for billing, we will need this as well. Once you have the credit applied, you will receive the monthly statements showing the data usage and the cost associated. Once your credit is exhausted you will begin receiving invoices with a non-zero balance, at which point you can purchase new data plans again.

It is recommend because it simplifies initial setup*. The power cord allows users to run any updates, test functionality, and basically figure out a flow for interacting with the SensorStation prior to installation.

*Pro Tip: If placing a bulk order (for example, a dozen stations) which ultimately will be solar-powered, simply order one or two of the stations with the power supply, and use those supplies to run through updates on all the boards. This eliminates purchase of unnecessary power supplies.

The recommended max distance from SensorStation to Nodes is 1 km. If you are using directional Yagi antennas to detect Nodes, then you can aim the antenna in the direction of your grid. If using an omnidirectional antenna, it would be best for the SensorStation to be fairly centralized, but you could supplement with a Yagi antenna angled towards any Nodes that might be out of range of the omni.

No, these are onlyh necessary in order to detect Lotek's tags.

A SensorStation runs on 12V DC power. In order to plug into AC power, it requires the power adapter, which is a standard option at point of purchase.

The higher the antenna's reach over the trees, the better. As you can imagine, pointing it at the trees will reduce the ability to detect tags. Most Motus station antenna arrays are over 25 feet high, or ~8 meters.

It has been done before! Pics or it didn’t happen!

There are many antenna options on the market of varying degrees of quality, making it difficult at best to provide a solid recommendation.

That said, we’ve tried a few in-house and have had good results with the following. We also recommend contacting your regional Motus Coordinator, who probably maintains a more up-to-date list, and knows which suppliers have stock right now versus who is backordered for months.

Bottom line: take these recommendations with a large grain of salt!

Omni Antennas

Data Alliance A433O5 is a simple monopole-style antenna that’s both inexpensive and has worked very well to pick up Nodes and tags. 

And you’ll need this bracket .** MAKE SURE YOU CHOOSE TO INCLUDE THE U-BOLT AND SET-SCREWS, AND CHOOSE THE VERSION FOR N-FEMALE CONNECTOR!**

And this adapter.

There are three independent data-sending processes:

• -Check-ins happen every 6 hours, which include summary statistics about the station’s operation, as well as summaries of detections. The station's last check-in details are the same as the most recent check-in in the check-in table (times are only offset from local vs UTC). 
• -Data files are sent every hour. These include Raw Beep (434 MHz), GPS, Node Health, Log, SensorGnome (VHF, e.g., 166 MHz in the Americas), BlūSeries (2.4 GHz), and Telemetry (for ES-200 devices)
• -Diagnostic data are provided every few minutes, including voltage.

Because these three events are independent, you can have a situation where one is out of date vs another. This separation is a safeguard feature that helps keep at least some data up to date in the event of a weak connection or any system malfunction.

Most stations aim to have 3-4 of each frequency (CTT 434, CTT 2.4 GHz, and Lotek 166 MHz) so you can best contribute to the Motus network. 

Ultimately this decision will depend on the goal of your station. For instance, a station set to pick up CTT Nodes may have a single 434 MHz omni antenna set to “Node”, and all tag data is expected to be picked up by the Nodes and sent to the SensorStation. Alternatively, several 434 MHz Yagi antennas could be added and set to detect “tags”, and pointed away from the Node grid to pick up animals that move beyond the grid, or to pick up animals migrating farther afield. Additionally, one or more 166 MHz Yagis could be added to pick up Lotek tags, and another one to four antennas added to pick up the BlūSeries tags with a BlūSeries Receiver SensorStation adapter.

There is no hard limit, but it’s best to keep that number around 50 or less.

Because our station cannot decode Lotek tags, the data need to be sent, encoded, to Motus, via a Funcube Dongle. Therefore for any VHF channels to pick up Lotek's 166 MHz tags,you do need FUNcube dongles, which can plug right into the USB ports available on the SensorStation. You will not need a dongle for the 434 MHz antenna since there are five (5) 434MHz radios soldered on the SensorStation board, and accessible via the SMA ports on the board, or the Type N bulkheads pre-installed on the case (if ordered).

There are still more 166 MHz antennas out there than other frequencies, but that gap is continuously narrowing.

434 MHz coverage is very extensive at this point; most researchers are less concerned about the coverage and more concerned with finding a tag that works best for their species.

The BlūSeries frequency is still not adapted to any but a few stations. We anticipate it will reach maturity over the next 2-3 years.

As long as the tag is beeping, and the funcube is working and has the proper frame rate, you should be able to see the beeps coming in on the SensorGnome interface (not the tag ID, but you should see bursts).

If you don’t see that, either the tag, funcube, antenna, and/or cable are likely malfunctioning. If you do see “traffic” via the SensorGnome interface, and you don’t see the tag ID showing up (after some delay) on the Motus site, consult with Motus HQ to ensure the tag is properly registered and deployed. Otherwise, the tag finder algorithm on the Motus end will not be able to find the tag.

To pick up 166 MHz tags, you'll need a FUNcube Dongle with the proper firmware, and set it to detect the appropriate frequency. It plugs into any of the station's USB ports. The SMA port on its other end can be connected to a bulkhead to get outside of the case (if you have unused ones pre-installed on the case, that would work, or you can install your own).

Unfortunately setting up and troubleshooting FUNcubes is not something in which our staff is well-versed. We recommend referencing the Motus user guide and/or googling “Motus FUNcube firmware.”

No, there should be no issues using versions 3.0 and 3.02 within the same array. The stations are built the same way, except that we started to manufacture them in-house, so the 3.02 identifies the in-house products.

On the SensorStation they are Type N Female, so you'd need Type N Male.

Nodes are meant to be used in conjunction with a SensorStation, but can also be used without one, as the data is collected on an SD card. However, if you have more than a few Nodes, this is not recommended.  

Potentially, but at some level there is a point of diminishing return. What point, exactly, is that? We don’t know! But if you discover it please do share it with the Node user community in our Support Slack!

Generally, 8' off the ground is the height recommendation. Most clients use 10-foot conduit to install Nodes, and bury the conduit about 2’ deep.

For aerial species, we recommend ~200 m apart, so, 21 Nodes/sq mi.

With a terrestrial study species we recommend getting enough nodes to cover the study area, including edges, with 50-100 meter spacing.

Generally, if there are more issues than just power issues it would be best to send them in for assessment. 

Replacement batteries are $20 and are available on our store for purchase. Replacing the battery can be an easy fix if this has not already been attempted.

V3 Nodes carry with them a 1-year parts and labor warranty against manufacturer defects, from the time of purchase.

V2 Nodes are discontinued and any existing or refurbished V2 Nodes include a 30-Day parts and labor warranty from the time of purchase, and only for manufacturer defects.

In some cases nodes can be refurbished; fees are outlined below.

• -Refurbishable $75- radio is bad, battery died, SD card failure, antenna, replacement
• -Refurbishable $100- solar panel (plus above) 
• -No discounts on full replacements unless it is clear the dysfunction was a manufacturing defect.

Yes, the Sidekick can be used in a vehicle. However, once a tag is detected from the vehicle, obtaining a precise location will require leaving the vehicle in order to search for and collect data.

The Sidekick is a handheld tracking device for use with the full line of 434 MHz and 2.4 GHz tags. It can be used to calibrate a Node grid. It can also be used to locate a tag or a tagged animal in the field.

If you are seeing blinking on the Sidekick but nothing is displaying on the app, it's due to filtering that happens based on whether or not the tag ID recording passes parity. If it does, you'll see it show up on the app.

It's possible that some noise can leak through (a tag ID that meets the specs of the way that we code them), but most gets filtered out this way. The best way to test this would be to take a known working tag out and make sure you're picking it up with the Sidekick.

For iOS, the CSV files can be located in Files (APP) -> On My Phone -> CTT Mobile (folder)

For Android the files are stored in your Download folder, specifically, here: storage/emulated/0/Download/

The BlūReciever provides up to 4 BlūSeries radios for up to four (4) 2.4 GHz antennas, and then allows the SensorStation to decode that datastream and integrate it into the file system on the SensorStation.

If all of your tags are being picked up by a Node grid, then you don't need a BlūSeries Receiver to detect tags, as the tag data are sent from the Nodes over 434MHz to the station.

If, on the other hand, you want your station to detect tags independently of the Node array, you will need to get the BlūSeries Receiver to upgrade your station to detect the 2.4GHz tags.

We are currently in the process of evaluating the performance of different types of antennas for the BluSeries Receivers. In our tests so far, we've found the following antenna to perform pretty well:

https://www.l-com.com/wireless-antenna-24-ghz-11-dbi-mast-mount-mini-panel-antenna-n-female-connector

With these antennas we were able to detect tags on a drone up to 2 kilometers away with the drone flying at an altitude of 150 meters. They also were found to have very little gain drop +/- 45 degrees horizontally off the main axis (so, about 90 degrees coverage per antenna), meaning four can be combined to get 360-degree coverage.  At this point these are the antennas we would recommend using. 

These antennas have a female N-type connector so you'll want a male N-type on the antenna side and a male SMA on the station adapter side. 

We would recommend mounting these antennas in a cross shape, where each antenna is positioned at least 25 cm (2 full wavelengths) from the central mast, pointing outward and level to the ground.  Please keep this in mind when deciding what length of cable you will need. 

No, we use a specialized service appropriate for telemetric applications.

There are a variety of reasons this occurs. The most common occurrence is that the animal is possibly out of cellular range. The second most-common cause would be battery voltage. All of our units have battery thresholds that protect functionality. if your unit has not connected recently, usually the first thing to check is the battery voltage of the most-recent connection, as the battery may have dipped below the threshold. Lack of sun and overly-aggressive duty cycles can also cause the battery to drop. However, unit connection issues vary based on the tech being used, so feel free to contact us.

Please submit your request here.

This is dependent on the style of unit that you purchased. Please reach out to Sales AT LEAST 10 DAYS before deployment in order to ensure that units are active prior to deployment.

Before deploying, provide the preferred rate of GPS collection (aka duty cycle) as well as preferred time of cell connection (aka check-in).

As part of a growing company navigating the ever-changing tech landscape, we continue to develop our platforms to best serve you. We are working to find a solution to merge the two portals.

Be sure to keep the units in the sun until you are ready to deploy, and of course you can adjust the duty cycle configuration to your liking, using the CTT Mobile app. 

It is recommended that you start with a more conservative rate of collection, utilizing the High, Med, and Low settings to optimize the collection with the battery voltage. 

Once you see that they are maintaining the batteries at the High level, you can always ramp up the GPS fixes.

It depends. If you want a GPS location at the time of connection, you can keep them the same. You might do this if you are actively looking for your study species and awaiting a connection for the most-recent connection. If you want the daily GPS to be taken at an off time that is not part of the intervaled GPS fixes, you can use it that way.

The FlickerGPS is rated to 5m accuracy, but when we set them up we put it in a power-saving state, and there are many environmental variables at play, so it’s more likely 5-30m. 

Yes, if you find the the unit battery is draining it is best to reduce the GPS locations to a lesser interval until you see the device maintains a good charge.

We can provide a Python script to force an Iridium connection, thereby testing your connection.

The script is called iridium_send_health.py and can be sent on request from support@celltracktech.com