Hello Naturecordists, and thank you Doug, for making arrangements
for me to come on board.
I've been lurking on the side of this group for about 6 weeks. I've
been reading through the archived messages of the group - and
wondering which way to go. I've followed the arguments about MD vs
DAT and decided to go with cassette! I've tried to access an
Australian supplier of satellite antenna parabolas with no luck. I
did send a message to Klas at Telinga but to date have not received
a reply. Anyway, I thought I should start with a shotgun mike to
learn the tricks. I'll look a little less suspicious with it, until
people get used to my antics!
My interest in recording was sparked by the lovely little White
Plumed Honeyeater (Lichenostomus penicillatus) which is both
prolific in numbers and in song here in Alice Springs, Central
Australia. The male birds have a pre-dawn call which began to
intrigue me only recently. Previously its alarm clock timing had
only served to annoy. I searched the web and found some
ornithological references to recordings of the pre-dawn call of this
pretty little fellow and now - here I am. Unfortunately, I have
not recorded more than 30 seconds worth of birdsong to date. My ex-
reporter ex-wife loaned me her old Marantz Superscope C207LP but
it's mechanical days are over. Syd Curtis mentioned that same model
in a post to the Group in Message 1199. If anybody knows where I
can find information on how to safely pull a C207 apart I would
appreciate a pointer to it. I can get the case open, but haven't
ventured further as I have a batting average of 50% - it's either
fixed or broken. The VU meter is jammed and the machine won't fast
forward or rewind. However, it continues to record and playback.=20
My initial efforts with a dynamic uni-directional mike with stiff
cable leave much to be desired.=20
Anyway I plan to get recording as soon as the gear I ordered over
the web arrives. In the mail is a Marantz PMD222, an AT815b shotgun
mike, and a pair of Sennheiser HD-SP monitor headphones. These are
being sent by the folk at the "B&H Photo Video Pro-Audio" store in
New York City. I decided on that suite of equipment by looking at
Stith Recording's equipment "packages" which I got onto via the
Cornell web site. I thought I should start slowly as it takes $1.46
Australian to buy $1 US. The Sennheiser phones aren't in the
cheapest Stith package, AKG phones are. However, the B&H website
says that AKG can't be sent internationally. I am wondering if AKG
phones can be incorporated into WMD?
So....I'm 55, a medical doctor currently working in General
Practice. I began my medical life as the first ever Intern at the
Alice Springs Hospital in 1978. I have previously held positions
here as an Emergency Physician, Flying Doctor and Aboriginal
Community District Medical Officer.=20
My recent interests include gliding sailplanes; 4WD trekking in the
Simpson Desert in my LandRover - binoculars ever ready for the
elusive Eyrean Grass Wren; GPS games in the glider and in the 4WD
with GPS connected to Laptop Computer; Messing with computers =96 ie
surfing the web;Commuting on my mountain bike - blood pressure still
high but weight coming down; Fluorescent light technology =96 for the
front of the bike; and now...bird calls. I used to be a ham radio
buff =96 I'm VK8KMD. When much younger I spent a year at High School
in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania graduating in the Class of 1965.
Having come this far (?) I'm wondering how I get birdsong from the
tape onto a CD? I have Windows XP home on a Laptop with 1.2Gig
Celeron and 256K RAM. It has a CD burner. The computer has a mike
input and a sound card of indeterminate nature.=20
At present I'm not keen on parting with $(1.46 x 299) Australian
Dollars to get Adobe Audition. I have seen references to shareware
audio editing software in the Group's posts and am wondering if
there is a `top of the pops'? Alternatively, in an effort to tidy
things up, I guess I can use the ex's Marantz C207 on playback and
dub to the PMD222. (That still doesn't get the White Plumed
Honeyeater onto CD!) I am assuming that the PMD has variable speed,
so another beginners question is: how does one standardize speed
using such a setup?
Well, that should do as an intro. I'm very much looking forward to
getting some decent recordings that I can play in my office, and I'm
also looking forward to communicating with the Group.
I can't believe this but that bird just made another call and it is
way past dusk. That's the first time I have heard that.
Cheers,
Greg
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