Wildcare are proud to be the only authorised Service and Repair Center in the UK for Wildlife Acoustics’ range of bioacoustics recorders.
Our engineers can also service and repair Batbox, Elekon, Anabat, Pettersson and Magenta bat detectors as well as other survey equipment, like torches, data loggers, extension cables and trail cameras.
Much of the equipment that we look at has been damaged due to improper care, and can be easily avoided. To save you time, money and data loss, we’ve put together a quick guide to help you care for your equipment until Spring and beyond.
Batteries
Improper battery usage can be damaging, and dangerous.
- We always recommend removing batteries before long-term storage. Batteries can leak and permanently damage the circuitry within your equipment.
- Never store equipment with flat batteries. When a rechargeable batteries are left flat for long periods of time, they can often not be recharged again and would need replacing.
- Never mix old and new batteries or brands, and stay away from value brands.
- Try to use the charger you received with your equipment to ensure it is of the correct voltage and prevent damage to the battery.
Water Damage
The unit may have taken a bath in a puddle or was accidentally left open during rain. Water damage can instantly destroy your equipment or condensation can corrode the electronics over many months.
- Avoid opening your equipment in a damp environment or using equipment in the rain that isn't sufficiently protected.
- When retrieving equipment and storing equipment that may be damp, leave the enclosure open on newspapers or towels
- Remove the main batteries and do not attempt to use until the equipment is dry
Microphones
Microphones are essential to your survey, and the quality of your data can make or break an ecological report. It is important to make sure your microphones have a health check too.
- When deploying microphones, avoid pointing them into the prevailing wind to prevent noisy recordings.
- If the microphone is mounted using a locking ring, only twist the ring and never the microphone to avoid damaging it.
- Microphones can go deaf over time. Be sure to test the sensitivity of your microphones annually to ensure your deployments are collecting the most data they can. Wildcare can offer microphone testing as part of your annual service, and you can also use an ultrasonic calibrator.
Sending your Equipment to Us
Accidents can happen, but Wildcare are here to save the survey should anything go wrong.
- The Bat Conservation Trust survey guidelines and Wildlife Acoustics recommend servicing and testing your equipment annually. Be prepared early and get your equipment repaired before our busy period February - June.
- When booking in your equipment, it is well worth writing a description of any problems you are experiencing so our engineer can effectively repair. We don’t own a crystal ball!
- We recommend not removing your SD cards. The data log may contain a valuable insight as to what is causing the problem, and our engineer can use it to update firmware. Remember to back-up your data.
- Do not leave your batteries in your equipment. There is a risk of the batteries leaking in transit and causing further damage. If the clock battery is accessible, please do not remove.
- When packing up your equipment for service or repair, where possible use strong, small boxes with lots of packaging to ensure your equipment is protected in transit. Consider labelling as fragile.
- Take a look at our Service & Repair hub for FAQs and booking instructions.
