PNNL

Abstract

In animal tracking applications, smaller transmitters can decrease the impact of the transmitter on the tagged animal and thus provide more accurate data about animal behavior. By combining a newly developed micro-battery technology and a novel circuit design, we developed smaller and more powerful radio frequency (RF) transmitters that are about 40% smaller and lighter than the smallest commercial RF transmitter for animal monitoring to date. Designs of two coding schemes were used: one transmits coded signals and the other transmits un-coded signals. To accommodate different transmitter life requirements, each design can be configured to provide high or low signal strength. Prototypes of these transmitters were fabricated to evaluate and confirm their performance in the laboratory. The prototype transmitter results have exhibited comparable or longer service life and improved signal strength compared to their smallest commercially available counterparts.