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RE: Long cable questions

Subject: RE: Long cable questions
From: Wild Sanctuary <>
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 09:19:44 -0700
In Africa I sometimes use a 100m (310ft) cable. No problem (except 
when you leave it out overnight and the field rats and mice get a 
crack at it). If you're running a very long cable, best to insure 
that most of it is suspended off the ground.

Bernie Krause

>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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-- 
Wild Sanctuary, Inc.
P. O. Box 536
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
707-996-6677 tel
707-996-0280 fax
http://www.wildsanctuary.com



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