Hi everyone! So, I'm involved in a project where we use 40 AudioMoth devices (version 1.1.0) to sample bird vocalisations at dawn chorus and around sunset time. I've updated every AM device to firmware version 1.4.3 and used Set Time and checked the Local Time option on Configuration App (UTC -3). I created a regimen of continuous recording (for example: 06:30-08:30 and 17:50-18:50). Recording at 48kHz, Medium gain, Enabled LED, Enabled low-voltage cut-off, Enabled battery level indicator. Everything else is turned off. Everything packed up with fresh alkaline batteries form Duracell (reading was >4.9V). Everything with brand new FAT-32 formatted SanDisk 32GB Extreme microSD. So, I'm in the process of downloading the data collected and I'm surprised to find that after 15 days on field some of the devices stopped recording on day 3. When retrieving the devices from field sites I saw the green light flashing in the Custom mode - indicating that it was working properly and just waiting to record on next schedule. Batteries are still good after 15 days (4.2V-4.5V). Can someone shed some light on what could be the problem? I saved the configuration file and applied the same configuration to every device. So it doesn't seem to be human error. Any input to solve this problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! Sincerely, Humberto Mohr
Support Forum
Get technical support and coordinate group purchasing
Hi Humberto,
Thanks for the message. Can you check to see if any of the files are shorter in length than they should be? If there are some shorter length files you should be able to identify why they stopped in the WAV file comments.
Could you share your config.txt file that should be written on the SD card along with the WAV files?
Thanks,
Andy
Hi Andy, On the devices that stopped recording: They seem to be the right length of time for each recorded period. WAV comments are just about battery, gain and temperature. Attached to this message you can see the info about the last recorded file on one of the faulty devices and the correspondent txt file as well.
The temperature reading is not accurate.
Some additional info: I've updated every device to firmware version 1.4.4 expecting it solved the problem, because we're amidst a big project involving the federal government and the devices must be in the field to collect data. After updating firmware, formatting microSD cards and configuring schedule all over again I plugged the devices back to computer to check if the clock was ok before deployment and it seems to be ok.
I noticed that on the devices that stopped working around day3, the clock was messy: each second was taking 3-5 seconds to pass and the exact time was nowhere near where it should be. Now I'm worried that not even the 3-day data can be trusted, because I'm not sure if the recordings started at real time.
Thanks for providing the additional information. The temperature measurement is unusual, what sort of environment are these deployed in and what enclosure are you using?
Is it just that one device that has a weird clock issue?
No, many of them. Every device that stopped working before planned had it's clock messed up. By the end of the day I will be able to give precise numbers on how many of the 40 AudioMoth devices stopped working properly. I just arrived from field and I'm in the process of sorting things out. I would say around 20 or more. In the meantime: when I move the recorded WAV files to an external HD, the information on "More Info" section disappeared. Is it normal? Info and comments are visible only in the folders where I downloaded the files straight from the microSD, but not on the copied files I moved to an external HD.
Thanks for the additional info, where were these devices acquired? The "more info" problem is normal, it takes a while for the OS to read and cache that information it should appear after a while.
https://www.labmaker.org/collections/earth-and-ecology/products/audiomoth-v1-1-0