Long-interval logger (1 week)

[Cattle-GPS-logger]

Dear GPS-Experts

I don't know much about GPS-loggers so I thoght that you could help me...
I need a small and resistant device to log it's position every week or so. For my PhD we will put the devices on horns of cattle in Chad. The cattle belongs to nomads whose routes are very little known.
Does anyone know a device which can log once a week and shuts down in the meantime? It would be great if it would work for a year or at least 6 months. There is no electricity in the area to recharge the device and it should be quite resistant to movement, scratches and heat.

Thanks a lot for any ideas!

[afaq]

Think this is wrong arena/industry you're looking in. I'm sure some people here might have a clue but a smartphone/internet tablet would obviously not last a day on those beasts with the weather and environmental conditions.

Google tracking devices for cattle or something.
Interesting to see you created a uname just to post this question.

[SpeedEvil]

[QUOTE=Cattle-GPS-logger;651836]Dear GPS-Experts

I don't know much about GPS-loggers so I thoght that you could help me...
I need a small and resistant device to log it's position every week or so. For my PhD we will put the devices on horns of cattle in Chad. The cattle belongs to nomads whose routes are very little known.

Look on sparkfun.com - and other sites similar - there are many GPS tracker devices.
http://international.findmespot.com/ may also be suitable - though you may need to fit a moderately larger battery.

[CrashandDie]

Hi,

You may want to contact people who are specialised in this, rather than on a general consumer forum.

A few things to keep in mind: receiving the GPS positioning in your lab through GPRS/SMS or satellite phone will cost a lot of money and energy, and will require antenna's that will almost always be chewed or broken off. You can find such collars here (satellite phone) (http://www.alanaecology.com/acatalog/SaTraX_Sat-phone_GPS_Collar_NSG-LD1.html) or here (GSM/SMS) (http://www.alanaecology.com/acatalog/CellTrax_Cellphone_GPS_Collars.html).

The other option is to have the collar store the GPS data, and you then collect it back by approaching the animal. This means you will need to find it again, in a year's time or something. These are significantly cheaper, but will require significantly more work. More information here (http://www.alanaecology.com/acatalog/WildTrax_Wildlife_GPS_Collars.html).

You may want to email or call them directly. Phone and email information is provided on the website.

Edit: Another point to keep in mind is that you will need multiple specimens to carry the collars. Not only can they get lost, or be hunted/killed, the collars can become detached. You'll need a pretty good fund to get this going, as these puppies aren't cheap.