Friday, June 26, 2009

Do you trap feral cats for Trap-Neuter-Return?

You're probably using wire box traps (like Tomahawks, Safeguards), that automatically trap the FIRST cat that enters it.

Many times, however, you'd like to control the trap - to pick out a particular cat you want:

  • when some or many of the cats in the area have already been "fixed"! You don't want to waste time catching them again.
  • when there's a female cat who keeps having kittens, you'd like to catch her NOW!!
  • when there's an injured cat you'd like to get to the vet.

You can now control your traps up to 200 feet away, with radio waves!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Control your traps and catch that cat!

NEW! Radio Control (R/C) cat trapping is now available for both box/live/humane traps and drop traps. Among the many advantages of R/C are:

> Comfort and Convenience: Trap from the comfort of your car, home, or building. You have no physical connection to the trap. The radio waves do the work.

> Selective Trapping: Automatic traps get the first cat to enter. With R/C you can wait for and selectively trap that shy, elusive, untipped cat.

> Cluttered Sites: Sites with ground clutter or high weeds are tough with string trapping. You need a clear string path and have a limited pull angle that can restrict your hide spot. With R/C there's NO STRING and no limit on hide spot relative to the trap orientation.

> Long Range: Unlike string trapping, R/C systems have a range of 200 feet or more. Much easier to find a 'hide'. (you'll need binoculars!)

> Not Connected: The Receiver Unit is NOT connected to the trap's trigger in any way; it is hooked onto a trap and removed in seconds. It is always removed and safely stored when the trap is being placed or transported.

> Flexible: The same Radio Control System can be used on commercial box traps OR drop traps (using an optional Drop Stand). It only requires switching receiver mounting plates, a 2-minute task.


The Radio Control System Equipment



A Radio Control System is based on an off-the-shelf model ground vehicle (car, truck, boat) radio. The System consists of a "pistol grip" transmitter, used to trigger the trap, and a Receiver Unit that mounts on the trap, used to operate the trap. The Receiver Unit can be configured to close the door of a wire "humane" trap, or to drop a drop trap, by simply switching the provided mounting plates.

Controlling Commercial Box Traps




By using top mounting plates, the Receiver Unit can be mounted on a commercial box trap (Tomahawk, Safeguard, Havahart, etc.) There is NO connection to the trap's trigger system. The Receiver Unit can be installed and removed in seconds!

Controlling a Drop Trap



By using bottom mounting plates, the Receiver Unit can also be mounted on a Drop Stand. A Drop Stand is a device that replaces the typical support stick, and uses the radio signal to drop the drop trap.

TechTalk

The heart of the R/C system is the Receiver Unit. This box integrates a radio receiver, antenna, servomotor and Pull Rod (actuator), battery holder with 4 AA-size batteries, on-off switch, green "On/OK" LED, and red "Battery Low" LED. The Receiver Unit is 6" long x 3" wide x 2" deep. The Pull Rod extends from the center of the 2" face.


The associated "pistol grip" transmitter is approximately 11.5" high x 7.5" wide x 3" deep. It uses 8 AA-size batteries.  It has a Trim control for adjusting the Pull Rod extension.  The Alkaline transmitter batteries will typically last over one year.


The Receiver Unit will operate for 60-80 hours on a set of non-rechargeable Alkaline batteries (rechargeable batteries can also be used, and recharged between trapping sessions. Sanyo ENELOOP NiMH batteries are recommended).

Cost, Contact

The cost of the TNRTech R/C System is $125.00, plus shipping from Florida.
Please contact tnrtech@aol.com with questions or comments.
This blog is http://tnrtech.blogspot.com.