Thanks for the thorough and interesting report,
Jerry. I'm sure others will be apply many of the
tips you provide.
The low frequency, interior sounds from your
house can probably be reduced substantially by
inserting a waterproof cushion or pad between the
house and the mic. "Float" the mic housing so
there's little or no direct contact with anything
that is screwed or otherwise attached to the
wall-- 1/4" in thickness should do it. Great
that the EZB/O mics are taking the weather well.
How far apart are they? Can you locate distant
sound events in their stereo image? Rob D.
At 9:38 AM -0500 3/13/06, Jerry Berrier wrote:
>Bringing Bird Sounds Indoors
>
>
>I spend a lot of time sitting at my computer, and I enjoy hearing nature
>sounds while I work. Based on suggestions from some avid nature recordist=
s,
>I have installed an audio setup with which I am well pleased. My goal was
>to bring reasonably good quality stereo sound from outdoors into my home
>office. The following is a description of my setup:
>
>
>Microphones: I purchased two Shure EZB/O Omni-directional boundary
>microphones for approximately $100.00 each. I mounted one under the eaves
>on my back deck and the other under an overhang in the front of my wood
>frame house. It is important that they be mounted where they will be
>protected from direct rain. I was told that they should be mounted on a
>fairly large flat surface and not too near a corner or perpendicular wall.
>The one on the front of the house is only a couple of feet from the ground
>and hidden by bushes. I suspect that neither of my mounting points permit=
s
>optimal audio input, but they perform well enough to suit my ears. These
>microphones are very sensitive and will pick up even very light sounds. O=
ne
>slight disadvantage is that they pick up some unwanted sounds from inside
>through the wall of the house. Wind is not a problem at all, unless a gus=
t
>blows directly into one of the mics.
>
>
>
> The EZB/O mics include preamplifiers and require phantom power. I used=
a
>100-foot XLr microphone cable for one of them, with no noticeable hum or
>interference. Initially I had some static from moisture getting into the
>XLR fittings, but I used silicone sealant and have had no more trouble.
>
>
>
>Mixer: I purchased a Behringer UB1202 audio mixer for just under $100.--.
>It provides the phantom power needed by the microphones, and it offers a
>number of useful features that made it well worth the investment.
>
>
>Speakers: I cabled the "Tape Out" output from the mixer into the Line-in
>input on my computer sound card. This serves two purposes; I can hear the
>sounds through my computer speakers, and I can also record via the compute=
r.
>(See below) I cabled the mixer's main output channels to inputs on my
>stereo system for even better sound.
>
>
>Recording: I use an audio editing program called GoldWave, available from
>http://www.goldwave.com/
>
>I set GoldWave to accept input from the Line-in, and I set the record mode
>to "bounded and looped". I set the initial file size to 2 minutes, althou=
gh
>I could have used a much longer time period. Once I begin recording in th=
is
>mode, GoldWave continually captures the most recent two minutes of sound.
>If I hear a sound I want to save, I simply stop the recording within two
>minutes of hearing the sound. I then save the current file, which contain=
s
>the past two minutes of audio. With GoldWave, it is easy to edit and
>convert audio files. I prefer the MP3 format, because MP3 files are only
>about a tenth the size of comparable WAV files.=A0
>
>
>Although this equipment cost a little more than I had initially planned to
>spend, I am happy with the outcome.
>
>
>Jerry Berrier
>
>http://www.townisp.com/~jerry.berrier
--
Rob Danielson
Film Department
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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