Hi Marc--
Obstructions, of course, limit sound transmission as they do to the
ears, but I don't think typography will affect the measurement of
audible sounds, significantly. A 300 X 300 meter area should be
quite doable with three mics about 200' feet apart in a triangle
layout. In hilly or mountainous terrain, getting all three mics on
higher ground would probably improve accuracy. I've run much longer
lengths of balanced mic cable without issue using a recorder with
balanced mic inputs with no quality loss. As for the budget question,
there have been some good reports about the low cost Edirol R-44
noise-wise. With a 4 track recorder, a fourth mic can be added to
one of the mic positions for a high-quality master stereo track.
Just to be clear, I'm referring to a process to determine where
callers are with map coordinates as one would for scientific study.
I would definitely add copious notes about perceptual awareness as
you suggest. Let me know if this technique is of interest to you as
I'll be working on it myself over time myself. Good luck with your
project. Rob D.
At 3:29 PM -0500 12/19/08, Marc Myers wrote:
>The area depends on how far the calls can be heard. If one can say
>that the farthest call was at 300 meters, One has to say that's the
>limit. Topography, of course, effects everything but my guess is
>human ears will be more reliable than technology in terms of
>distinguishing the primary sources.
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