Hi Arwen, Gary and all,
See below for comments from Vicki Powys regarding the SongFinder.
Cheers,
Carol
From: vickipowys
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:00:40 +1000
Hi Carol,
Arwen mentions the SongFinder. I believe it was Lang Elliott,
renowned US birder and wildlife sound recordist, who developed the
SongFinder initially because he himself had a hearing defect. My
understanding is that the SongFinder is an excellent device. By the
time one buys a recorder and directional microphone, for the same
cost or less you could have the SongFinder, especially useful if you
were not interested in recording but more in bird watching. Sounds
perfect for Gary.
I see from the SongFinder website that Max Moulds, entomologist and
retired cicada expert from Australian Museum, is delighted with his
SongFinder, to find those higher-pitched small cicadas. I feel sure
it was me who mentioned the SongFinder to Max some years ago when we
were corresponding about cicadas and Max mentioned he could no longer
hear many of them.
It looks like the SongFinder also allows you to record from it but I
don't know any details of this aspect. If I had lost my high
frequency hearing I would certainly get one!
cheers,
Vicki
From: "Arwen B. Ximenes" <>
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:26:53 +1000
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Grey Grasswrens and how to boost high
frequency hearing
Gary and others, I'm a novice, but my understanding is: some
microphones are more sensitive to sounds directly ahead (and above)
and others have wider pick up fields, and omnis I think pick up
sound equally around the full 360 degrees (on a 3D plane). An
omnidirectional microphone can alert you to the presence of the bird
(which would help if your brother isn't with you) but a directional
microphone will also help him locate it if you're not with him, as
the sound simply gets louder if it is pointed towards the bird (and
of course if you move closer to it). To make an omnidirectional mic
directional you can put it in a parabolic reflector (or a wok!) and
wave it around. I haven't tried this yet, but apparently it works
(not only does it cut out some of the sound coming from the sides
but it should also amplify those sounds in front of you.
Alternatively a directional mic waved around.
It is interesting birding with a microphone running, and I imagine
in the case mentioned it would be very handy as those higher
frequencies would be amplified, so people with hearing loss in the
upper frequencies might have a chance of hearing them (but after a
while they may not be able to - if they can). However listening with
a mic sounds a bit unnatural, expecially with the handling noise and
footsteps etc. which can be so distracting that I prefer my own ears
most of the time. It is a little disorienting if you are used to
using your ears to locate birds i.e. waving your head around rather
than waving a mic around. Also the danger is if you have louder
noises mixed in (such as a flock of cockatoos screeching as they
take off nearby) you can risk adding noise induced hearing loss to
the age related issue (though this is more likely to affect lower
frequencies)!
OK, I was just about to post and then I remembered I had seen
something somewhere, a bit of digging and here it is:
an article on hearing loss and bird sounds on Nathan Pieplow's
Earbirding website: http://earbirding.com/blog/archives/2105
Which then has a link to a review of a very interesting sounding,
SongFinder: http://earbirding.com/blog/archives/1538
And here is the link to the SongFinder website for those who want to
go direct: http://www.nselec.com/
In a nutshell I think it will play back all the sounds above a set
frequency (input by the user) at a lower frequency (also set by
user), so you can actually hear the sounds you would normally hear
without any distortion, and the sounds you can't hear would be at a
lower frequency than normal so you can hear them. Withough looking
into it in too much detail it seems a very useful device - though
not cheap. I would be very interested in feedback if anyone goes
down that route. Incidentally the husband of a friend of mine has
developed an app which is supposed to show you what your children
will sound like when they are adults (iGrowUP) - so I wonder then if
there is an app like SongFinder - there's an app for everything
these days - might not be far away.
Regards, Arwen
.........................................
Arwen Blackwood Ximenes
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:09:17 +0930
From:
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Grey Grasswrens and how to boost high
frequency hearing
Hi Judith
Thanks for info. I have been assessed as borderline for hearing aids so
haven't gone that path. My hearing loss is in the high frequencies. My
brother is completely deaf in one ear but can hear well out of the other.
We are like Mac and Myer for hire when we go birdwatching together as he
can hear the bird but doesn't know where it is(only one ear hearing) and if
I could hear it I would know where it was! When you say the recorder is
directional I assume it wouldn't help in his case, but only mine?
Gary
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