naturerecordists
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Kayaking with Hydrophones

Subject: Re: Kayaking with Hydrophones
From: Wild Sanctuary <>
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 09:15:12 -0800
Sound travels about 5 x faster in water (approx. 1100ft/sec in air
and 5000 ft/sec in water, depending on salinity and temperature),
Charlie, and has very different transmission properties because of
the density of the medium. Given our experience, my guess is that a
three foot spread ain't gonna work very well. You'll need more.

>Bernie,
>
>I am going to use 2 - H2's wired together. Interesting information
>about the 33 ft
>spread. Aquarian suggested that it might be much closer, like 3 ft?
>His theory was
>that if sound travels three time faster in water then in air three
>times the thickness of
>the human head should do it. Sounds like your experience is
>different. Glad I bought
>the 6 meter cable package. I might actually need three kayak with me
>in the center
>with the recording equipment. This could be interesting.
>
>Thanks for the info.
>
>Charlie
>
>--- In  Wild Sanctuary <> wrote=
:
>>  Looked at Aquarian's web site, Charlie, but couldn't anything related
>>  to a stereo unit. Did I miss something? Also, if you're recording
>>  stereo, optimally we've found that one would need approximately a 10m
>>  (33ft) spread between transducers to get a spatial effect equivalent
>>  to the illusion of stereo space one would expect with good
>>  terrestrial recordings. How, from a kayak (unless you have a floating
>>  spreader or two kayaks), do you plan on doing this? In our
>>  experience, because of the density of the medium (water), a spread of
>>  just a couple of feet won't work too well.
>>
>>  Once, when recording and counting migrating bowhead whales off the N.
>>  Slope of Alaska and trying to get a handle on the numbers and
>>  locations, we set up a tetrahedral system. With four hydrophones, we
>>  located three at 10m apart on the surface on buoys, and one below,
>>  suspended equidistant from the others, and captured the sound on a
>>  four-channel recorder. By measuring and charting the slight
>>  differences in arrival times, we were able to get a 3-D image of what
>>  was happening under water with bearded seals and the whales. By
>>  playing back any two channels, the stereo imaging and illusion was
>>  really pretty awesome which is how we arrived at the 10m formula.
>>  Less that that, everything sounded more or less like a two-track mono
>>  recording.
>>
>>  Bernie
>>
>>  Wild Sanctuary, Inc.
>>  P. O. Box 536
>>  Glen Ellen, California  95442-0536
>>  Tel: (707) 996-6677
>>  Fax: (707) 996-0280
>>  http://www.wildsanctuary.com
>>
>>  >--- In  Walter Knapp <>
>wrote:
>>  >>  >    From: "charlieo12345" <>
>>  >>  >
>>  >>  > I am heading to Baja, sea kayaking with a set of stereo
>>  >>hydrophones going after
>>  >some
>>  >>  > neat sounds. Other then dropping them down over the side
>>anyone have any
>>  >specific
>>  >>  > experience recording that way?
>>  >>  >
>>  >>  > Any suggestions to get me started would be appreceated?
>>  >>
>>  >>  Check the whole system out before you go. And note how just about
>>  >>  anything you do will produce noise they record. You'll have to work=
 out
>>  >>  how to quiet all that.
>>  >>
>>  >>  I'm curious just what stereo hydrophone? I've not seen any adverts =
for
>>  >>  stereo ones.
>>  >>
>>  >>  Walt
>>  >>  
>>  >
>>  >Thanks everyone for the great ideas! I enjoy the depth of stereo
>>in my nature
>>  >recordings so I bought two H2 Hydrophones from "Aquarian Audio Product=
s",
>>  >http://www.aquarianaudio.com/products.htm
>>  >Robb there is making me up a special pigtail to connect them to a
>>stereo jack.
>>  >I'll report back how it works.
>>  >
>>  >Charlie
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >"Microphones are not ears,
>>  >Loudspeakers are not birds,
>>  >A listening room is not nature."
>>  >Klas Strandberg
>>  >Yahoo! Groups Links
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>
>>
>>  --
>
>
>
>
>"Microphones are not ears,
>Loudspeakers are not birds,
>A listening room is not nature."
>Klas Strandberg
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


--

Wild Sanctuary, Inc.
P. O. Box 536
Glen Ellen, California  95442-0536
Tel: (707) 996-6677
Fax: (707) 996-0280
http://www.wildsanctuary.com


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the naturerecordists mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU