Rare Bird Alert, Reliable Bird News Services Since 1991

Please note:
We currently do not have new units available for purchase. If your pager is faulty, damaged or lost and you need a replacement please call the admin team on 01603 457016 who will be able to help you.

If your pager doesn't need replacing and you simply want to upgrade please email us and we will inform you as soon as new stock arrives.

Why upgrade to the X3 pager?

Our new X3 pager has been designed specially for RBA to put you in complete control of the news you receive, and how it alerts you. It boasts a wealth of great new features and its rugged and durable design make it perfect for birding. With pagers still offering the best coverage in the field, take advantage of this great upgrade offer and ensure you get the best out of the RBA service. Keep your old pager until your new X3 arrives and then simply return your old one to us to complete the upgrade.

Do I have to upgrade?

NO, we will continue to send messages to all pagers and if you do not upgrade your service will be unaffected.  However by upgrading now you will benefit from the new flexible birdnews service as well as the great new features of the new X3 pager whilst continuing to pay your old rates!

Key Features of the new X3 Pager

Flexibility
Top of the X3’s standout features is the flexibility it allows you to alternate the local areas that you get news from, whenever you wish, as often as you like. No matter where you happen to be birding, you can now have all the news for just that area. Next time you head out to a different county, simply scroll through the folders and select the area that you are heading to. Ideal for holiday use, weekend birding trips or when you are twitching.


Alert Priorities
Another big improvement is the alerting system on the X3. You can now set different alerting priorities depending on the news. In practical terms this means you can set your Mega alert to top priority, your local news to be next, followed by the rest of the news. This sets the order in which you will get alerted to messages as they arrive on the pager, and also allows you to set some (or all) of the news to silently store.

Improved Mega alert
The X3 Mega alert is greatly improved. When a Mega breaks, you get all the details instantly in your Breaking Megas folder, with no waiting for the full message to appear in your 'National' folder. You can also set whatever alert tone you like for Mega alert, and also set it to alert as top priority whenever you want.

• Set different alerts for each folder
  Enables you to easily distinguish news of breaking megas, breaking rarities, or your local news.
• Set alert volume and alert duration
  More choices to suit every situation
• Bigger memory
  The X3 stores 250 messages
• More rugged and durable
  Designed for use in harsh operating environments, the X3 has splash and dustproof protection and a toughened front plate, making it perfect for birding.
• Three sizes of text
  Use the X3 menu to make reading the news even easier. Choose from 3 fonts sizes, each in 'bold' or 'not bold'.
• Brighter backlight
  The X3 boasts a bright orange backlit LCD screen

Below you will find a table comparing the features of the new X3 to the 21a. 

How do the new X3 services work?

You choose a Subscription egg. Platinum, Gold, SilverPlus or Silver which determines what kind of and how many 'Birdnews Folders' you can subscribe to at a time.

Then, when you receive your pager, you select which birdnews folders you want, and you start receiving news immediately.

Whenever you want to change the birdnews folders on your pager, use the pager's menu to do so at any time, and as often as you like. You will be limited to the maximum number of folders that your subscription allows.

Birdnews folders

Birdnews folders are the pager’s mailboxes into which the news drops. There are three different categories, described below. Your RBA subscription level determines how many folders from each category you can access at any one time. 

You can easily select any of the folders in your category using the pager’s menu. So, if you go away for the weekend, simply switch one of your Local folders to any of the other 20 to suit the area that you are visiting.

2 National folders cover news for the whole of the UK and Ireland

• National - for all first reports and all updates on all scarce, rare and mega birds
• Earlybird - for very early morning updates on megas.

• Breaking Megas - for first reports of megas.
• Breaking Rarities - for first reports of all rarities and megas.
• Rarities - for first reports and all updates on rarities and megas.  

• Switch easily between any of these local areas whenever you want
  See a map of the areas covered by each local folder HERE

Upgrading costs and subscriptions

How do I upgrade?

Upgrading is easy

Follow the upgrade link below and complete the upgrade form.

You can pay online by card or send a cheque if you prefer

If you are unsure which service you currently subscribe to or if you own or rent your pager don't worry.  Simply choose option 3 on the order form, make the minimum payment of £149.00 and we will be in touch to sort out your upgrade.

You keep your old pager until the new X3 arrives and then simply return your old one to us to complete the upgrade.