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Zoomable Parabolic Dish Mic - Proper? Field Test

Subject: Zoomable Parabolic Dish Mic - Proper? Field Test
From: "tk7859" tk7859
Date: Thu May 3, 2012 2:12 am ((PDT))
One of the reasons for designing/building the parabolic zoom mic was to pro=
vide an easy way of making a species recording and immediately allowing a f=
ollow up recording of the soundscape setting.

Until yesterday the only field testing was in my garden.  Yesterday, I visi=
ted Weeley Hall Wood for the second time this week and took along the parab=
olic zoom.

The test conditions were not perfect; the nightingales were a little reluct=
ant to sing and the background noise made finding a suitable combination of=
 suitable quiet and singing birds difficult.  The last two photos in the al=
bum below show the rig set up in the wood (nice show of bluebells at this t=
ime of the year).

https://picasaweb.google.com/G0SBW.PM/ZoomParabolicMic

I have put on Soundcloud two short, annotated, recording snippets demonstra=
ting the zoom effect.  It is somewhat subtle and not as obvious as I expect=
ed.  Best listened to using headphones.  Apologies for the noisy background=
.

Interestingly there is some stereo effect even during the focussed, zoomed =
part of the snippets.  This could be due to the positioning of the focal po=
int capsules on the white plastic disc (seen in some of the photos) or, mor=
e probably, the zooming circuit allows through a little of the omni feed wh=
en in the zoomed position and vice versa.  It also proved impossible to see=
, and therefore accurately point at, the nightingales - I have not not seen=
 one yet!

Here are the two snippets:

http://soundcloud.com/g0sbw/parabolic-zoom-out-a

http://soundcloud.com/g0sbw/parabolic-zoom-zooming-1

More testing on the local salt marshes and shorelines is will be done.

Cheers, TomR












"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.



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