Dear list,
I received more information since my last post. Here is the updated
feedback.
Best regards,
Jerome
~ FrontierLab Bioacoustic Audio Recorder:
. Comment #1
So, I couldn't speak for their efficacy in tropical conditions, but
where I was using them was very wet, anything from freezing thick scotch
mist to heavy rain for long periods of time; I was leaving them out for
nearly a week in all conditions, and they kept working perfectly. I
would say in heavy rain the background of the rain hitting the ground
was pretty loud, but thats to be expected.
Battery use was phenomonally good, exactly as claimed on the website.
Even without upgrading the battery capacity they take 80 odd hours of
recordings, we opted for the increased battery capacity, which put it up
to 320 hours. And the really good thing is those values are as if it was
recording constantly; when it isn't recording it seems like it barely
uses any battery at all. The end result was that in 3 odd months I
charged the batteries once, and they were only 2 thirds empty.
Memory storage is down to what SD you put in it, and would really depend
on how you use it; I was using 32gb SDs, and filled them maybe 3 times.
It certainly isn't too demanding on memory, and you can adjust the quality.
Weight and size are pretty good, you can get 3-4 in a good sized
backpack, and they are pretty light; not too much of a hassle to carry
round.
The microphone quality is great, I had no problems with it at all.
Obviously worth making sure they are good for what you need, but they
are pretty high quality, clear recordings.
~ Arbimon Portable Recorder:
. Comment #1 from a student working in relation with Sieve-Analytics
Company which produces the Arbimon device: "I recommended this
recorders, there are light weight and practical to far away field work
(I putted 14 recorders in my bag and walked for 4 or 5 hours per day).
They had been mainly used in Tropical conditions (Puerto Rico, Colombia,
Perú, Costa Rica, Brazil). The new generations of devices could
recording for until 20 hrs (one minute each 10 minutes). The memory is
expandable with a MicroSD at the capacity that you want (I thought just
until 32 Gb, but the device came with a MicroSD of 16 Gb, which is a
lot!). The Mic work well, but it can change if you are not completely
satisfied."
. Comment #2 I am using Arbimon portable recorders in tropical marine
and terrestrial studies. I work in Central America with marine mammals
but I also do short-term studies in the rainforest of Costa Rica as part
of my zoology field course. The recorders come in a waterproof case. I
have exposed them to salt and rain with no issues. In terms of battery
use is pretty good, I have the recorders running for two weeks and still
have plenty of battery life. I think when charged properly these
recorders can stay in site for over a month. In terms of storage is
pretty good but of course it will depend of the recording settings you
select. If you select the one 1 min every 10 min each day for 4 weeks
the recorder won't have any issue saving this information. I am
attaching the manual of the portable recorders that I use for you to
check if further details are given. For my underwater studies I use the
HTI-96min hydrophone and the for land the default microphone that comes
with the recorder, both work well. However, I did noticed that in open
areas you can get a lot of noise from wind. I will be happy so send you
spectrograms of recordings made with this system.
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