Location: Truba Field Research Station, Kostelec nad Černými lesy
Contact person: Kateřina Benediktová
At the Truba Field Research Station in Kostelec nad Černými lesy, a specialised experimental facility is available for research into magnetoreception and the orientation behaviour of mammals. The core of the infrastructure is a three-axis Merritt coil system (designed according to Kirschvink, 1992), measuring 4 × 4 × 4 m and housed in a separate dedicated building. The coil enclosure is shielded against radio-frequency waves, enabling experiments to be conducted under conditions where unwanted external influences are minimised. The Truba coil system is designed for controlled behavioural experiments with animals in which the parameters of the magnetic field need to be manipulated while other environmental conditions are standardised.
The system can generate defined static and slowly varying magnetic fields along three spatial axes (Bx, By and Bz). The system is controlled using MagFieldG software, a GMP4 RJ4.01 control unit and three current amplifiers, one for each field axis. This configuration enables precise control of the magnetic conditions used in experiments.
An important part of the infrastructure is a separate control room located in a dedicated building immediately adjacent to the coil system. This arrangement reduces the risk of experimental interference caused by the presence of personnel in the experimental area, while also allowing the experiment to be controlled safely and flexibly.
The interior of the coil enclosure is equipped with a movable camera system for monitoring and recording. The system comprises one central camera and four side-mounted cameras (AXIS P5624-E PTZ IP, 18× optical zoom, HD 720p, IP66, PoE+) oriented towards the four cardinal directions, enabling continuous monitoring of the experiment from multiple angles and detailed documentation of the behaviour of the test animals. The equipment also includes a network speaker with SIP and PoE support (AXIS C3003-E Network Horn Speaker) and a microphone (AXIS T8353A, 3.5 mm), providing two-way communication between the control room and personnel inside the coil enclosure.
