General
I’ve never soldered before, will I be able to do this?
BoomBox comes with detailed instructions on how to solder BoomBox to the camera trap, how to set up the Arduino IDE and how to configure the devices, so if you’ve never done it before but are keen to give it a go, then yes, BoomBox is for you!
I’ve never used Arduino before, how difficult is it?
The BoomBox Assembly Guide takes you through how to set up and configure the Arduino IDE for BoomBox, as well as how to connect BoomBox and configure the system through the serial monitor.
If you’re familiar with using computers, you’ll be fine.
Is BoomBox compatible with my camera trap model?
Please check the camera trap compatibility here.
Please be aware, circuit boards can change between releases of the same camera trap model / series. If this happens, or the camera trap you’re using isn’t listed, please contact us here about interfacing to it. Usually, we ask for a sample camera trap to be sent so we can check signal and pins to connect to. We then send a working sample back.
Will I permanently damage the camera trap?
BoomBox doesn’t affect the normal operation of the camera trap. It passively ‘listens’ for the trigger signal on the camera trap circuit board to know when to trigger. If you disconnect BoomBox, the camera trap will revert to a normal camera trap.
You do need to drill a small hole through the camera trap enclosure to allow BoomBox wires to exit the camera trap enclosure. This can’t be undone. With some camera traps, such as Reconyx, opening the device to look at the circuit board voids the warranty.
When soldering, please also be careful you don’t create a short circuit on the camera trap circuit board by accidentally joining two separate pins together with solder. This may cause irreversible damage to the camera trap.
Instructions and training on soldering are provided, and you can also test your solder connections using a multimeter to check it’s ok.
How long does Boombox last in the field on one set of batteries?
Battery life can get a bit complex because it depends on how often the Boombox device gets triggered. In a low power sleep mode, Boombox can stay alive for approximately 3 months in the field. However if it gets triggered often, the battery life will shorten due to the power consumption from the audio playback and amplifiers. We generally recommend checking on Boombox devices approximately every two weeks, which often coincides with typical research periods for checking on camera trap batteries and SD cards.
How should I set up my ABR experiment?
There are many ways to set up an ABR experiment and it really depends on the research goals. The first thing is that if Boombox will be used on wild animals, the experimental setup should go through an ethical review. As for how to set up the rest of the experiments, we recommend checking out the forums and posting your questions there. We work with many researchers and we or other researchers may be able to answer your specific experiment questions in the forum. If it’s posted here, it can also help someone in the future with the same question.