Without wanting to advertise the iPod, I can also vouch for them as an
excellent MP3s bird call system.
I've easily managed to download from CD and online approx. 1000
Australian bird calls. (In fact with 6GB memory, there's pretty much
room for all the worlds birds calls!)
I see that there are two real benefits with the iPod system:
1. The ease that you can play & access music file (read key bird
species). In a matter of seconds you can access any target
species - as well as also scrolling back and forward within a single
bird call.
2. and perhaps just as important, the ease that you can amplified bird
calls. To do this I use an FM radio transmitter called XtremeMac
Airplay (an iPod accessory - do a Google search to find out more info)
which tunes into any FM frequency (such as 88.7 FM, or 102.8 FM, or
whatever). Along with the iPod and the Airplay adapter, you'll need and
a decent, small, but WELL amplified FM Radio. It should also be able to
use batteries, so you can take into the field.
The Airplay adapter can actually be tuned into any FM radio, so you can
also play it through the car radio, good for learning calls but also
great for call playback. This can also be controlled while standing up
to at least 30 metres from your car!
The adapter actually allows you to play bird call through any FM radio,
such as the radio at your local pub! A Barking Owl usually does the
trick!
(Make sure you also buy the iPod car charger, which usually comes free
with the Airplay adapter.)
Sure beats the old tapes.
Cheers,
Tim
Dean Cutten wrote:
> I would just like to follow on with the recent thread on the
usefullness of
> PDAs in birding with reference to an iPod to store bird songs and
calls. I
> recently bought the Apple nano iPod with 4GB of memory to use in the
field
> to allow one to pull up a bird song or call to confirm or otherwise
the ID
> of a bird. A particular bird species can be located very quickly in
the menu
> list where the songs can be stored in 'playlists'. I have put 5 of
the BOCA
> CD's on the iPod creating a playlist for each CD (and still have
plenty of
> free memory). This can be done through the software program 'iTunes'
(that
> comes with the iPod) which is loaded onto a PC and connects with the
iPod
> via
> the USB. If one wants to edit out any speech there is a free program
called
> 'Audacity' that can be downloaded. The bird song files need to be in
MP3
> format for this program to work. Conversion to MP3 from the CD format
is
> done in iTunes. If broadcasting is required in the field the iPod can
be
> connected to a small active speaker system. (It comes with small
earphones.)
> The convenience of having all the songs stored in such a small unit
makes it
> a very attractive unit for birding. It is possible some songs might
have
> subtle changes made to them after being converted to digital format
but I
> think these would not be very extensive.
>
> Dean Cutten
>
> Victor Harbor, SA
> Australia
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