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Re: Starting off with bird recording equipment

Subject: Re: Starting off with bird recording equipment
From: Rob Danielson <>
Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 09:21:24 -0600
At 7:34 AM +0000 3/12/05, fly_catcher27 wrote:
>Good morning folks. I would like to record bird sounds in a small
>way. Its been in my mind for a long time. I live in Bangalore which
>is in south India.
>
>To start off I have  more than a few questions to shoot. Hopefully
>someone can chip in! I just rejoined this group after about 4 years -
>  when I was thinking of getting started.
>
>1) I already have a parabolic reflector (18 inch aluminum). There is
>no mic. I wish to procure a cheap mic that is 'perfectly adequate'
>for personal use. I live in india. What do I need to tell a shop
>keeper? Non directional, dynamic mic? How do I judge the quality? Is
>there any forum for used mics that I can purchase?

Id go with a $100 Shure WL-183. (R-183B and C122 cable). If you don't
appreciate it now, you will later. You'd need to have someone make an
adapter or solder a 3.5mm connector. We can get you directions for
this step. Consider two for stereo.

>
>2) I wear hearing aids. Therefore I would use an adaptor that
>connects the recorder to my hearing aids directly (through the line-
>out socket). The line-in would need to be connected to the
>mic/reflector. I understand that it is important to hear the sound
>through the device that is being recorded. Is this generally
>available in most portable players?

The 3.5mm stereo headphone output connector  on the recorder is
designed for this. Is it not possible to use enclosed headphones?

>
>I located a player - Archos GMINI 400 (www.archos.com) which records
>in PCM/ADPCM and takes a line-in. Would this not be just right for
>my needs?
>
>I see many of you folks use Mini-discs by sony. A recent model
>apparently uses a newer version of ATRAC which is not as lossy. How
>do these devices compare with devices such as the one mentioned
>above?

I'd recommend a Sony MZ-NH800 or NH900 over the Archos. The Sony also
records non compressed PCM files or Atrac. Minidisco.com has
comparision charts for HiMD recorders.  If you own a PC, you can
upload to it just like the Archos and retain the MD discs if you
want. Rob D.

>
>I am looking at hard disk based devices. I donot think I will record
>for more than 2 hours at a time and hence donot believe that battery
>life is extreemely critical.
>
>Thanks
>Arvind
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>"Microphones are not ears,
>Loudspeakers are not birds,
>A listening room is not nature."
>Klas Strandberg
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>




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