Passive infrared systems are one-piece systems which are designed to detect the presence of both body heat and motion. Both body heat (temperature differentials) and motion must be present at the same time for an event to be recorded. Passive infrared detectors monitor an area. Almost any animal activity in the area will cause an event. A passive infrared detector cannot tell the difference between a rabbit and a deer. Our TM550 passive infrared monitor can record as many as 10 events per minute when the Event delay (Ed) is set to 0.1 minutes.

Kind and size of animal you are monitoring.

The active infrared monitors (TM1050 and TM1550) are well suited for all species of animals. You can use it to be size selective and count only the animals you want to. For instance, if you want to count deer and not count turkey, or count turkey and not count deer, the active infrared monitors are the best choice. The passive infrared trail monitors (TM300 and TM550) cannot differentiate between sizes of animals and will count all animals the same.

Area you are monitoring.

The TM700v passive infrared monitor and video camera will record everything that moves through an area. If you are monitoring a specific area (trail, scrape, bait, etc.) the active infrared monitors (TM1050 and TM1550) are a good choice because of the ability to be very specific in sensitivity. If you are monitoring a large open area where you might not know exactly where the animal will be, the passive infrared monitors (TM300 and TM550) are good choices. It is a good choice for bear, hogs and animals with similar habits. It will also indicate the length of time that something is in the area.

Type of hunting.

If you are strictly a meat hunter and need to know only the time/date of animal movements, the TM1050 (no camera can ever be added) will fit your needs. If you are a trophy hunter, the TM1550 and camera will let you be selective about the animal you want. The TM550 can also be used with the camera accessory.

Research tool.

The TM1550 with the camera accessory is the standard by which all other trail monitors are measured, and is used by research biologists all over the world to monitor everything from field mice to elephants. The TM700v with the video camera will give you the most thorough monitoring capability because it will record all animal activity in an area.

Expense.

The TM550 is a low cost way to get into trail monitoring. It does not allow you to be specific about the animals you are monitoring, but will do a good job of letting you know when something is in the area. The TM1050 is a state-of-the-art monitor designed with hunters in mind, but cannot be used with any of the accessories. The TM1550 is the top of the line state-of-the-art trail monitor for hunters and researchers. The TM700v is for serious researchers.

1. The digital cameras that we have evaluated use far too much power. If we were to keep them powered on and ready to take a picture like we do with our 35mm cameras, the batteries would go dead in a matter of hours. Even with a reasonably sized external battery pack the batteries would still go dead in a day.
2. The normal flash on digital cameras seems to be quite weak. This weak flash coupled with an equivalent film speed of ASA 100 yields a camera that does not produce acceptable nighttime photographs in our application.
3. One of the biggest problems is the long delay required to capture a photo. From the time the TrailMaster monitor tells a digital camera to take a picture until the image is captured can be as long as five (5) seconds. In our application this is far too long. In many cases the animal will be gone before the picture is captured. In our film-camera testing we have found that any delay over 0.75 seconds is too long for our applications.
4. None of the currently available digital cameras are weather proof. We could build an add-on weatherproof enclosure for the cameras if this was the only problem. However, we have also found that when cameras are placed in add-on weatherproof enclosures the photo quality is degraded, especially at night when the flash is used

We will continue to evaluate digital cameras. When we feel that we can offer a digital camera that meets our high standards, we will.

1. We have found that a modular approach is much better. It gives the user the flexibility to position the monitor well off of the trail and place the camera in the best possible position to get the desired photograph.
2. Our modular approach allows the user to add to, or change parts of the system in the future without discarding the entire system and starting over again.
3. All one-piece units that we know of are single zone passive infrared monitors. This limits the users ability to monitor and photograph a specific type of animal. Many users of this type of system have reported that they get mostly pictures of raccoons and other animals they are not interested in.
4. The quality of the photographs is degraded because the camera is shooting through an extra piece of glass or plastic
5. At night, the quality of the photographs is diminished further because the flash bounces around in the box that the camera is housed in and often creates a poorly exposed picture.
6. Some of the manufactures of this type of system are using low-end ($20.00) cameras that do not have all of the necessary functions to produce a high quality photograph in this application. They cannot properly use the newer high-speed films. (Click here to see example photos found on the web taken by a competitors unit that has the camera in an enclosure.)
7. Some units are housed in cloth bags that can easily absorb odors that can disturb animal patterns. Our monitors are built from Norel Plastic that will not absorb odors, and can easily be cleaned using rubbing alcohol.

All of our monitors are designed so that they can be concealed well off of the trail. Our Second Generation Active Infrared monitors have 150 feet of range. Our passive infrared monitors have 65 feet of range. With this range, our monitors can easily be concealed off the trail, ten (10) yards or more. Some of our competitor's monitors must be placed very close to the trails because they have very short range. If your unit is set very close to the trail it is much more likely to be seen. Once the unit is seen, if someone wants it, a lock and chain is going to do little to protect the unit.

1. First select two sturdy trees. One on either side of the trail you wish to monitor. These trees can be up to 150 feet apart with our Second Generation Active Infrared Monitors.
2. Loosely strap the transmitter to one tree and the receiver to the other. Set the transmitter and receiver at a height that is about chest high on the type of animal you wish to monitor.
3. On the front of the receiver there is a line molded into the plastic case called the "Sight Line". At arms length aim down the Sight Line like you are aiming a pistol. Aim the receiver at the center of the transmitter.
4. Tighten the strap on the receiver so that it is firmly positioned on the tree. (Your have now finished the alignment of the receiver and you will not need to move it again.)
5. Press the "Set-Up" button on the receiver to put it in the Set-Up mode. When the receiver is in the setup mode the red alignment light on the receiver will flash when the receiver receives infrared pulses from the transmitter.
6. Go to the tree where the transmitter is located. Look back at the receiver. Because the transmitter transmits a wide beam, the red alignment light on the receiver will probably already be flashing.
7. Slide the transmitter around the tree to the left until it is pointing away from the receiver and the red alignment light just stops flashing. This indicates that you have found the right edge of the transmitters beam. Remember this spot.
8. Slide the transmitter back to the right on the tree. The red alignment light on the receiver will start blinking indicating that the receiver is again receiving the infrared pulses sent by the transmitter. Keep sliding the transmitter to the right until it is pointing away from the receiver and the red alignment light just stops flashing. This indicates that you have found the left edge of the transmitters beam. Remember this spot.
9. Slide the transmitter back to the middle of the two edges and tighten the strap. You have now aligned the transmitter.

Your system is now setup and aligned. As you indicated, with the Active Infrared system you can set the unit to monitor the animals you want to monitor and not take a lot of pictures of animals you are not interested in. Pictures of animals you are not interested in can cost a lot of time and money.

  Click here for an alignment process in pictures and words. (PDF FORM)

B. CAMERAS- (If you can see that the camera is full of water proceed to C. FLOODED CAMERA below.)