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RECORDER Manual


Shut Down / Sleep Time


This dialog box allows defining a daily automated shut down of the computer at a certain time (list box option shutdown) or a daily sleep period (list box option sleep) in order to save power on a battery-operated recording system.



The option enable activates the specified shut down time or sleep interval.

In case the (desktop) computer supports a Real Time Clock Alarm (RTC Alarm), it would be possible to switch on the computer for a certain time period every day. The start time has to be entered from the BIOS setup (‘RTC Alarm’ in the ‘Power Management’ section). The shut down time can be entered from this Shut Down / Sleep Time dialog box in the RECORDER software. Additionally, the above Autostart option must be activated. In this way it would be possible to run the RECORDER software on a battery-powered (desktop) computer in the field for a limited period of time (e.g. 30 minutes) each day over several days without any inspection.

Laptop or tablet computers usually do not offer an RTC Alarm option in their BIOS, which prevents that kind of RTC alarm / shutdown operation. Most computers can however be put into a power-saving sleep mode that can also extend the battery life. By selecting the list box option “sleep”, the daily sleep period can be entered. The computer will be put to sleep at the “from” time and will be waked up at the “until” time. To make this work, it is important that the power management options of the computer have been adjusted properly. For instance, the automatic sleep mode offered by the operating system should be disabled (“Put the computer to sleep” should be set to “Never”) and the mandatory input of a “password on wakeup” should be disabled (Control Panel > System and Security > Power Options). In order to enable the wakeup mechanism, make sure that wake timers are allowed (Control Panel > System and Security > Power Options > Edit Plan Settings > Change advanced power settings > Sleep > Allow wake timers > On battery : Enable). In addition to that the corresponding BIOS ACPI option (S1) must be activated.

The advanced option allows defining more complex activation patterns by means of a time program. If this option is activated, one of 8 time programs can be selected from the list box and the individual activation intervals can be defined from the Edit button. See the chapter on the time table functionality (Time Interval Definition) for further details.

The list box option “pause” is similar to the sleep option except that it deactivates the monitoring mode rather than putting the computer to sleep.

The list box option “close RECORDER” terminates the RECORDER software at the speceified time. Use this option if the power supply of the computer should be switched off by an external timer without properly terminating the Windows session.

Avisoft Bioacoustics

last modified on 26 February 2021