I recorded the sage grouse and sharp tailed grouse by leaving the mic
hidden on the lek the evening before connected to a long cable, then
arriving well before dawn (the birds were displaying hours before dawn)
and powering up the mic with phantom power through the long cable. Be
sure to wait for the birds to finish their morning activities before
retrieving your equipment.
Kevin Colver
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Pelikan
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2003 2:00 PM
To:
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Long cable questions
Thanks to several of you for suggestions about sticking a mic out on a
mudflat and
running a cable back to a recorder. This sounds like a "grown up"
version of
what I did when I put a mic next to
a Carolina Wren nest (in our eaves) with a long enough wire to reach a
recorder. (Worked like a charm.)
This is also one of two approaches I've considered to recording Prairie
Chickens (or Spruce Grouse) on a lek.
The other approach I thought of was to dump the recorder and mic on the
lek
long before dawn. Turning it on might be a problem (though I thought
maybe a
radio-control would be possible), so my plan was to use an MD set in
"long
record mode" that would do almost 4 hours in low quality mono, and hope
the
birds started before the batteries died or the the disk filled. For my
one
chance, (I don't live near any leks) it got very cold overnight and the
batteries died long before there was any activity, even though I'd but
the
recorder in a styrofoam box. (Perhaps a small heater?) But the moring
was
calm and clear, the sun rising behind us, and the displays, viewed
through a
scope from about 1/2 mile were wonderful, so I have no regrets.
My questions, then, are:
1. How long a cable can I hope to use? I assume it should be shielded?
Do I
need an extra "repeater" or "amp" to use a really long cable? Is it
enough
to get inexpensive, shielded (3-conductor) wire and solder (I've learned
to
do that now!) connectors on each end, or are there other things to
consider?
2. What about my idea of sticking a recorder out near the birds and
turning
it on from a distance? Have you tried it? Can anyone offer suggestions
about
how to do it?
3. My first recorder (a hand-sized Sony) had a "voice acitvated"
recording
system that would start recording at either one of two user-selectable
sound
levels. When I tried sticking it next to an American Robin nest, it
switched
on and off too fast to make a useful recording. Has anyone considered
/built
improved versions of this sort of system? I guess I could program a
laptop
to start recording at a given level and keep going for a while. Or is
there
a way to "fiddle with" commerically available voice-activated recording
systems to adjust when they turn off? Could I use one of these (cheap, I
hope) systems to turn on recording by a higher quality recorder?
As always, I look forward to everyone's suggestions and insights. With
all
your help, someday I'll start to think I know what I'm doing!
Thanks,
Steve P
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