This page provides detailed instructions for connecting to a monitoring station (MS) using the free 'Comfy Creatures Monitor' app. If you have just bought a monitoring station, first refer to the installation guide and the commissioning guide. Note that you will need to grant the app various permissions, location, camera access etc the first time you use the app.

Connecting to a Comfy Creatures Monitoring Station

1. Download the free 'Comfy Creatures Monitor' app to your smart phone. It has a logo with two kookaburras.
2. Walk up to the tree with the nest box and monitoring station.
3. Put your phone in flight mode and open your phones Wi-Fi network list. Connect to the monitoring station Wi-Fi network. By default it will be 'CC_MS_1' although the pre-fix and number can be changed by the owner. 
4. Ignore any warnings about no internet connection. You're connecting your phone directly to the monitoring station. If you get a list of options 'Connect automatically', 'Connect only this time' etc we suggest selecting 'only this time'.  
5. Return to the 'Comfy Creatures Monitor' app and select 'Retry connection'. Now that your phone is in flight mode and you're connected to the monitoring station Wi-Fi network, the app will open its main window.

Monitoring Station Features

Live video stream

Start a live stream from inside the nest box.

You can pinch to zoom in on the image.

Sensor status bar

The sensor status bar shows live values from the monitoring station sensors. Slide the status bar to see all values. 

It includes:

• Battery voltage
• Temperature inside the nest box (typically at the height of the animal depending on the installation)
• Temperature outside the nest box
• Air pressure
• Humidity
• Ambient light
• (Coming soon) Air quality - A software update will be released soon. We are looking at early bush fire detection. Your monitoring station is hardware ready.

Image watermark

The Live Stream window can include an image watermark that is associated with the MS Wi-Fi network name prefix. Contact Comfy Creatures to get a custom watermark to describe your project and recognise your project sponsor.

Pin code protected features

The pin code is associated with the MS Wi-Fi network name prefix. Contact Comfy Creatures to get a custom pin code for your project. Once set, the natural light, pest alarm and settings becomes pin code protected. The default Wi-Fi name prefix 'CC' in 'CC_MS_1' has no pin code.

Record video

Record and save a live video to your phone.

Quick observation

A quick observation captures a photo and data from the environmental sensors with a single click. It is stored on your smart phone until you 'sync' when the phone is reconnected to the internet; flight mode off and disconnected from the MS Wi-Fi network. 'Quick' and 'Detailed observations' can only be performed on commissioned stations.

Observations are coupled with the MS's commissioned data which captured the variables of the nest box design and installation that might affect its success. Once synced, observations are added to the Comfy Creatures public database dashboard. This allows anyone to discover what nest box designs and installations have been successful at supporting particular species. It is a powerful tool that enables the scientific development of tools like nest boxes to support the conservation of our endangered arboreal fauna.

Even if the nest box is empty, you should capture an observation when you check in. This captures information on the animal's behavior. For example, how long they take to move in and when nest boxes are being used by particular species.

Detailed observation

A detailed observation allows the user to enter details about what they are seeing inside the nest box. For example, the type of animal and their activity.

Syncing observations

You can take observations from as many nest boxes as you like in remote locations as they are stored on your phone. When you return to an area with internet access, turn off flight mode etc. and click 'Sync' in the upper-right corner of the app window. This will upload observations to the public database. In special cases you can contact Comfy Creatures to support private project databases; although this is not encouraged.

Natural light

The natural light button turns on a set of white LED lights on the monitoring station to illuminate the nest box. This feature is pin protected on public projects to prevent disturbance to the animals.

Night vision

The monitoring station uses true no-glow 950nm infra-red LEDs for night vision mode. It provides a completely unobtrusive way to monitor the nest boxes in low light.

Take photo

Capture and save a photo to your phone. It will be available in your phone's gallery.

Pest alarm

The pest alarm combines a siren, red flashing LED's and vibration to deter pest species like the common myna and starlings from nest boxes. It is a pin protected feature on public projects.

Download data

An environmental log file can be downloaded from the station to the phones documents/files folder.

About

Provides information on the specific project site. The displayed text is controlled by the prefix of the Wi-Fi name e.g. 'CC' in 'CC_MS_1'.

Settings

The settings menu allows the MS owner or project administrator to configure the device. It is pin protected on publics.

Set SSID

Use this feature to change the MS Wi-Fi network name (SSID). This must be done on sites with more than one MS. The prefix in the SSID controls the image watermark, the pin and the 'About text'. Project administrators can contact Comfy Creatures to let us know what you want these variables to display.

1. Set the pre-fix and nest box number.
2. Click save.
3. The unit will restart and start broadcasting with the new SSID. You will need to connect your phone to this new Wi-Fi network and return to the app. You may need to restart the video stream if it was active.

Set time

Set the time on the MS to the current local time on your mobile phone. This needs to be done for all new devices. If the time is not set, the MS will ignore any set wake periods and will be on all the time. This will result in the monitoring station discharging it's main battery. It will only turn on again when it gets recharged by the solar panels. In this state it may be hard to connect to the monitoring station.

Wake schedule

The monitoring station can be configured with two wake periods. During these times the MS will be awake, broadcasting it's Wi-Fi network and available for connection. Outside of these times, the unit will be in deep-sleep and will not be available for monitoring.

If no wake schedule is set, the MS will be on while it has charge. This makes the availability of the device unreliable. For installations where at least one of the solar panels gets full sun for a couple of hours, a morning wake period from 7-9am and an evening wake period from 4-6pm is recommended. All monitoring stations have a maintenance wake period for 15 minutes from 12pm which can't be changed.

Auto-Captures

For remote sites, observations can be captured automatically at the start of each wake period. These auto-captured observations and the associated lighting mode can be toggled on in the wake-schedule menu. Note that a low battery charge may
cause the wake time to be delayed so Auto-Captures might occur later or not at all.

Auto-captured observations are stored on the MS until downloaded using this auto-capture sub-menu. Select the Auto-Capture menu item in Settings to view all captures and then download these to your mobile phone. They can then be synced in the same way as manual observations.

Firmware updates

Comfy Creatures is actively developing new features and improvements in response to customer feedback and special project requirements. You can upgrade your monitoring stations wirelessly with these new features by updating its software using this menu. 

Your phone will receive the latest software when you open the app while connected to an internet connection. Once you re-connect to an MS, clicking on this menu will then display the stations current software version, the latest available and the feature updates. The new software is uploaded to the monitoring station from your phone and the MS reboots. Done! Your monitoring station will then support the latest features.

If you have a special feature request, contact Comfy Creatures. You may have it running on your station in a couple of days!

Commissioning

The commissioning wizard captures variables of the nest box and its installation. This is coupled with the photos and environmental data captured as observations. Together with observations, this data makes up the public database. By commissioning your nest box, you can contribute to this public database that enables the scientific development of tools like nest boxes to best support our endangered species!

The nest box is usually commissioned when it's first installed so a baseline observation can be captured. Follow this commissioning process.

This commissioning wizard has eight sub-pages capturing all sorts of variables that may affect its success. These fields can be updated at any time with only updated
fields being applied.

Access log

The access log shows the total number of different visitors and connections to the monitoring station. It is particularly useful for project sponsors to measure the engagement of their investment. Administrators can use this information to review the
success of the project, consider improvements, plan public information sessions and
report to project sponsors.