TSI Tracker Guide

TSI VHF Tracker Guide

How to use the tracker and keep it safe!

Editor: Sam Trull
Authors: Sarah King, Tom Lawrence and Eisha Miah

The Sloth Institute Costa Rica Proprietary and Confidential.
8th February 2017

Tracker Guide
Tracker Guide
1. Attach the cable to antenna and box
2. Turn on using on/off button on top left corner
3. Press MNZ button and input collar number of desired sloth
4. Press the tick to confirm
5. Turn up the gain until you hear a signal ‘beep’
6. Good to go!

Tips for Tracker Use
When carrying the tracker through the jungle detach the cable and pack carefully, if
this is not done it can become easily tangled and result in damage to the tracker. The
tracker needs to be handled with extreme care!! It is not 100% water proof and the cables
break very easily, therefore should be stored away out of the rain and cables detached
whenever possible when moving around.
When close to the target sloth (good signal on less than half gain) find an angle (45˚
works well) and try to maintain this angle as you search from different surveying points
towards the tree tops. Keeping a similar angle at this stage will help you pin point the sloths
location much more easily. The highest signal for the tracker is 99 but unless the gain is at
half or less this is not a very accurate indication of sloth location. Don’t forget that the sloth
may not be at the top of the tree and could be lower towards the ground so point it at
various heights to best judge accuracy.
Don’t be afraid to play around with the gain. Although the aim is to ultimately ‘zero in’
on the target by turning the gain down, some areas are denser than others so you may have
to turn the gain up/down accordingly to get a better idea of the direction to pursue.
When in a good surveying spot (high up locations with little canopy coverage work
best as the signal may be blocked by trees etc.) rotate the tracker slowly through 360˚ and
follow the direction where the signal is strongest. If you are unsure, move to another
suitable surveying spot nearby and try again, if the direction is the same from both spots
you know that is the right direction to go!
Once gain is half or less survey often. It is better to survey too much and take a little
longer to find the sloth then to survey too little and walk past the location/direction of the
sloth – take your time and be patient.
Trust the tracker, although it’s nice to be able to stick to trails and roads sometimes
the only way to successfully find the sloth you are looking for is to blindly follow the tracker
The Sloth Institute Costa Rica Proprietary and Confidential.
8th February 2017

through dense jungle – particularly if you don’t have a general idea of where the sloth is
located! This can take a little longer and can be frustrating, it’s advisable to set aside a good
amount of time if tracking sloths that are a long distance away, in dense areas or ‘lost’.
Be patient – at times it will feel like you are going around in circles, and at times you
will be! But don’t give up hope, you may end up walking up and down the same routes more
than once and backtracking, that’s normal, you aren’t doing anything ‘wrong’ sometimes
that’s just part of the tracking process.

The Sloth Institute Costa Rica Proprietary and Confidential.
8th February 2017