Vectronic Aerospace VERTEX Lite Collar, User Manual

Page: 15 / 87

The Vertex Lite collar system 15
© 2017 VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH
Each position data is sent by the collar (1-2 Fix per message with minimum pause of
30min between each message). Data is send out several times to increase
transmission probability but data reception is not confirmed by the satellites. The
satellite sends its data to a base station on ground which forwards it via web to our
system. It is possible that transmissions are blocked (e.g. thick canopy, bad angle
towards ski etc.) and do not reach the satellites and thereby you. Most often the data will
get through and to our system from which your GPS Plus X software will automatically
download the data. You can also get the data as email forwarding when the Http
download is unsuitable for whatever reason. You can get the full dataset by downloading
it after collar retrieving with the USB Remote stick.
NOTE: You can set a skip count to exclude some fixes from the data satellite
transmission pool to receive fewer messages and thereby extend the collar lifetime (e.g.
skip count 2 means sending only every second fix, all data remains stored on the collar
too). Please keep in mind that you cannot alter the settings once the collar is deployed.
A skip count could potentially drastically reduce the collar messages you receive up to
getting no data (e.g. high GPS skip count in a very unsuitable habitat such as dense
forest). For further information please contact our customer service.
3.7.2 Iridium Communication
Iridium offers a two-way communication means you receive GPS data from the collar
and can send new commands and schedules remotely to the collar. The Iridium system
contains of 66 satellites with global coverage for 24 hours per day.
Figure 7: Iridium 24h worldwide satellite coverage
You can download and upload schedules and configurations remotely. Due to the two-
way communication, the collar knows which data have been received by the satellite and
which data need to be resent again. That means you will get all data even so it can
happen that some data packages come in later.
For transmitting the data the collar needs clear view to the sky. The number of fixes
defines the message size and thereby transmission time.