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Re: Microphone advice for Parabolic please

Subject: Re: Microphone advice for Parabolic please
From: "Peter Shute" pshute2
Date: Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:48 pm ((PDT))
I assume they're vacuum formed from sheets of plastic. You can search Youtu=
be to find plenty of demonstrations of vacuum forming with home made equipm=
ent, but a problem arises if you want a dish that's bigger than your oven. =
Then you have to pay someone else for the trouble they went to to acquire a=
 bigger oven. Contructing the mould would be fairly time consuming too. The=
re are instructions on the web for that.

It does surprise me though that you can't buy Chinese ones on eBay for $5. =
Perhaps the market just isn't big enough for them, and the postage would be=
 many times that.

I was considering making my own, contemplating ways to make it in four sect=
ions, but ended up buying an ME66 instead.

I came across an eBay dealer who sells them for quite a but less than the T=
elinga, although I have no idea how the quality compares, or if it's the sa=
me material. There are none up for sale at the moment, but here are some re=
cent auction results, with and without a microphone included:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/330776295615
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/230825168356

It looks like he sells one every few weeks, but at the bottom of the ad he =
says to contact him if you want one.

Peter Shute

From:   O=
n Behalf Of grummyaa 
Sent: Tuesday, 18 September 2012 1:06 PM
To: 
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Re: Microphone advice for Parabolic please



Yeah. I've seen a number of articles and at least one video on the DIY doll=
ar store umbrella hat reflector before. If I come across one of those silly=
 hats I will make one to try. I'm just skeptical of the audio quality of so=
mething like that. I read somewhere that I'd need a dish at least 18-19" if=
 I don't want to filter out anything below 500hz drastically. Does that sou=
nd accurate? In which case the little umbrella must cut off even higher up.

Also if it's not a true parabolic does it not risk comb filtering at all. O=
r is the advantage of a true parabolic simply just a bit more "amplificatio=
n"? Does a non parabolic potentially amplify more unevenly across the spect=
rum?

Known that the Telinga offerings are much cheaper than the other options I =
listed is indeed very helpful. I would hope to be able to get a decent size=
d plastic parabolic dish for under a hundred bucks though. Especially consi=
dering what the material to make such a dish would cost. In the end wouldn'=
t it just be a mold similar to how a plastic salad bowl would be made?

I hope I'm not coming across as too ignorant of a cheap dick. I just don't =
understand why it would cost $200 -$1000 for such a thing. I suppose some R=
&D was involved but in the end aren't they just moulding plastic to spec. O=
r are they using special material that normal hardened plastic cannot do?

--- In <naturerecordists%40yahoogrou=
ps.com>, Jim Lee <> wrote:
>
> Just to reinforce the "secret' allow me to reintroduce that really
> inexpensive and whimsical parabolic mic made from an umbrella hat. It
> does remarkably well considering what it is made of. Some sample
> recordings on the site:
> http://www.bambooturtle.us/ParabolicMicrophone.html
>
> Jim
> On 9/17/2012 6:56 PM, Avocet wrote:
> >
> > > So I'd like to know where you all are finding your suitable
> > > parabolic reflectors? Or are you folks seriously dropping $1000 + on
> > > something like a JonyShot, Lil' Ears, or Telinga and dropping $10
> > > electret mics into them.
> >
> > I'll let you into a secret - you don't need an exact parabola. If you
> > can find a cheap dome or a used skylight, experiment with that.
> >
> > The advantage of a custom made parabolic rig is that someone else has
> > made it work and ones like the Telinga fold up and are light to carry.
> > The original parabolic mics were made from ex-military radar dishes
> > which were heavy and difficult to handle. Sound parabolas were also
> > made on a mould out of fibreglass, but that is a messy job and they
> > are also heavy and clumsy.
> >
> > I'm playing with my alternative Brinibox design which can be lighter
> > and which gives a good stereo image with about 12dB boost so you can
> > get results from cheap mics.
> >
> > See:
> > www.stowford.org/sounds/brinibox.htm
> >
> > David
> >
> > David Brinicombe
> > North Devon, UK
> > Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
> >
> >
>
> --
> Jim Lee --- Bamboo Turtle Studio
> Website: http://www.bambooturtle.us<http://www.bambooturtle.us/>
> Blog: http://bambooturtle.blogspot.com/
> Rock Nest Monster:http://www.bambooturtle.us/Rock_Nest_Monster.html
>
>
>
>












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