Hi All
In message #21580 of 12th February this year I outlined my start in
nature recording and mic building. This post is an update of my
progress since then. I hope the sharing of it encourages other
beginners who are members of the Group.
I continued playing with mics made with the very cheap capsules and
constructed a couple more; a "T" mic and a stealth mike based on an
old bum bag. These are shown in the "DIY Mics" album at
http://uk.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos
These mics worked fine and the results achieved with them suggested I
follow a non binaural route in the immediate future. Accordingly I
have purchased a Rode NT4 stereo cardioid.
Compared to the cheap omni capsules the NT4 is more sensitive and very
prone to handling and wind noise. I have therefore built a
windjammer/carrier. This seems to work reasonably well but wind noise
is still evident in anything more than a gentle breeze.
The windjammer is based on a metric equivalent of 4 inch, thin wall,
PVC pipe. It will, hopefully, accommodate different sizes of mic
should the occasion arise in the future.
A series of photos showing the parts of the assembly is shown in the
"NT4 Windshield_Support" album at the above address.
On the basis that a second is always easier to make than the first I
made two. These are shown in the "Twins" photo (thinking of the
future when two separate mics might be deployed :-)
The arrangement seems to be working OK. Here is a 4 minute excerpt
from this morning's dawn chorus which includes the faint sound of my
first cuckoo this year and the doppler? sound of a close flyby.
m("btinternet.com/dawnchorus1.mp3","//uk.geocities.com/g0sbw");">http:
I am amazed at the sensitivity of this mike =96 in another part of this
morning's recording I can hear a clock inside a neighbour's house
chiming 5 o'clock.
I made the PCM recording with a Sony MZ-NH1 at rec. vol. 23. The NT4
used the internal 9V battery and I used a resistorless mic lead.
Maybe I should invest in a phantom power supply. I wonder if this
will improve the performance of the NT4? It will certainly widen the
choice of mics for the future ;-)
Any comments on any of the above will be welcomed.
Cheers
Tom Robinson
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