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8.
You can now switch off or on as normal.
If you accidentally switch the system into “Set” mode, and at any point you get
either 3 or 6 flashes, disconnect the nest box from the battery box by pulling the
plug out of the socket in the Battery Box. This will avoid resetting the switching
points.
The Camera is very sensitive to light, as it is designed to work in the dark interior
of a nest box. Because of this, (depending on how large your nest box is) you
may find that the lights (which have their own lenses built in to focus the light on
the nesting area) are a little too bright for the camera, when pointing straight onto
the nesting area. You can tell if this is the case, because you will notice circular
rings of brighter light in the picture. If you experience this effect, simply care-
fully bend the wire legs of the lights to point slightly away from the nest area, so
that they light the general area within the nest box.
5.3
Audio Volume
The audio system is fitted with an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) which in-
creases the amplification when the microphone is picking up little sound, and
decreases it when it picks up more noise. In quiet situations, this results in high
gain, and can result in what sounds like a steady hum.
We suggest you set the volume on your TV or PC to a level where in quiet condi-
tions, any background noise or hum is barely audible, and is not intrusive. When
the birds take up residence, and start making a noise, the AGC will ensure that
you hear their sounds well above the level of the background noise.
5.4
Transmission Range
The Transmitter and Receiver have a nominal range of 100 metres.
The actual distance achieved will vary depending on atmospheric conditions, the
position and type of nearby obstacles (such as walls, trees, or metal objects) and
the state of the batteries.
Moving the Receiver just a few centimetres can sometimes make a big difference
to the strength of the signal, so to obtain the best reception, we suggest you move
the Receiver around to find the best location by trial and error.
5.5
Cleaning
Once a year, after the nesting season has finished and all the birds have left the
nest, we recommend that you clean out the nest box and dispose of all nesting
material and unhatched eggs etc. Under UK legislation, you can only remove
unhatched eggs between August and January, and then must dispose of them.
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