Dan Groebner wrote to Dan Dugan:
>I'm a wildlife biologist working for Arizona Game and Fish
>interested in recording frog calls in the field (aerially and
>underwater simultaneously). We have been reintroducing threatened
>Chiricahua leopard frogs and want to confirm their survival at the
>reintroduction sites. The areas are so thick it is very difficult
>to get visuals and their call is not very loud. These frogs are
>known to call underwater but no one has tried surveying for them in
>this manner.
Acoustic surveying is a good idea.
>I was thinking about purchasing a Core Sound PD-Audio-CF and their
>new Mic2496 V2 to use with a PDA to fit my budget for a mobile
>digital system.
I've always been curious about the Core Sound recorders, but I have
shied away from them because they seem like such a hack compared with
the many choices of integrated recorders that are available.
>I already have a TDS Recon PDA with 2 CF slots.
Looks good.
>I was hoping to use the Ishmael software by Dave Mellinger to
>analyze the files and locate the target frog calls.
Interesting. Let me know how well it works. Nothing beats listening, tho.
I guess NOAA has reorganized its servers, as links to Ishmael I found
via Google are dead. Do you have a current site for it?
>The reintroduction areas do not have power so I will have to use
>batteries. I am however, raising frogs at a hatchery here at our
>Regional headquarters where I can test the equipment on captive
>frogs.
>
>Do you have any suggestions on equipment or other sources of
>information? Other folks who may be doing this same thing? Any
>assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time in
>advance.
There's an ever-increasing range of small CF recorders available now.
I'm using a Nagra ARES-M for casual pick-ups (disclosure: I'm a
dealer), but it's overpriced compared with what else is available.
Recordists on the Nature Recordists list (see below) are evaluating a
slew of recent-issue recorders for the factors that count most in
soundscape recording, quiet mics, quiet mic preamps, and long battery
life. All of them can record in MP3 format, which solves the problem
of memory capacity. MP3s are fine for spectral analysis, don't let
anybody at Cornell tell you otherwise.
All the tiny recorders power electret mics by the "plug-in-power" scheme.
If you need professional phantom power and XLR connectors, there are
also recent mid-priced and professional recorders available. The
Fostex FR-2LE has received very good reviews from nature recordists.
The Tascam HD-P2 is in the same class.
In the professional class nothing beats Sound Devices recorders for
price/performance (disclosure: I'm a dealer).
You don't mention what mics you have or whether you need to purchase
mics. All the tiny flash recorders include built-in mics, of varying
quality. Reports on the Zoom H2, for example, are that its internal
mics are very good but inexplicably the external mic input is noisy.
The Oade Brothers specialize in selling modified field recorders, so
perhaps they will have an H2 fix out soon.
I suggest you subscribe to the Nature Recordists list,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/
I'm on that list along with many other experienced recordists,
including Walter Knapp, who's a frog specialist, and Oryoki, who
keeps track of the relative specs of all the new recorders. I'm
copying this to the list, and if you sign up I'm sure you'll get the
advice you need.
-Dan Dugan
--
Dan Dugan Sound Design _/_/_/_/_/_/ Automatic Microphone Mixers
290 Napoleon St.#E USA _/ _/_/ _/ Location Audio Repair
San Francisco,CA 94124 _/ _/_/_/_/ _/ CD and DVD Mastering
voice (415) 821-9776 _/ _/_/ _/ Nature Recording
fax (415) 826-7699 _/_/_/_/_/_/ http://www.dandugan.com
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