Guest Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 (edited) Does anyone use parabolic sonic ears? What kind do you use? Anyone know how to make a good one? This might be a good idea if you have a recorder also, not sure how to hook it up to one though. Edited November 21, 2013 by Wag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeafTalker Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 I love this thing: http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-Geosafari-Sonic-Sleuth/dp/B0002VJYRC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiefoot Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 (edited) I made this.... uses a Sony n44 mic and a teac recorder at present. Edited November 21, 2013 by indiefoot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airdale Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 The concept is pretty simple. I built a basic one in about '64 in 8th grade using an old fashioned reflective electric heater for the dish. Those had a chrome plated dish, not sure if it was a true parabola or not, with a standard light bulb socket in the center into which a ceramic form wrapped with coiled ni-chrome wire was screwed. When plugged in, the wire heated until glowing orange and the heat was reflected in the desired direction by the dish, no fan (and no safety screen) included. I removed the heating element and socket, then attached a plastic funnel with most of the side panels cut away leaving only a skeleton frame, wide end facing the same direction as the dish. The wide end of the funnel was about 4 inches across, and into that I installed a 4 inch speaker salvaged from an old radio, with the cone facing towards the base of the reflector. I soldered 2 conductor wire from the speaker terminals and ran it down the funnel and out the back of the reflector, ending in a 1/8 inch phone plug (the same size as the larger headphone plugs for current cell phones). I plugged that into the mic jack on a portable RCA reel-to-reel tape recorder. To use the listener, I pointed the dish in the desired direction, put the tape machine into record mode and listened through one of those old monaural ear phones that came with portable radios and such at the time. The dish was roughly 12 inches in diameter, and it actually worked quite well. I recall listening to some friends at the end of the block and could make out their conversation quite clearly. With the kind of inexpensive amps available now, and some circuitry to adjust the frequency range it should be easy to build a much better one if a suitable dish could be found. That said, they can be purchased already assembled for $50.00 to $60.00, but then you miss out on the fun of scrounging parts and designing your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Wag, I made my own based on a website I found online which had great pics and written instructions. Sorry, can't find it now. They also provided some parts to buy like the mic and a pocket recorder. I made my own version based on their design but upgraded the recorder to a Sony M10. Works pretty good. The critical thing is mic placement in relation to the bottom of the dish. I used a large aluminum salad bowl (Yes, a salad bowl) which was deep. There is a formula that tells you how far from the bottom of the dish to place ur mic. Here is the link www.wildlife-sound.org . Lots of great info. Also check out Stan Courtney's Bigfoot site. He is well versed in recording in the field and has TONS of great info. Goodluck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Well, does anyone have any good BF recordings with their dish? How long did it take to start getting some?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 (edited) Well, does anyone have any good BF recordings with their dish? How long did it take to start getting some?? I have a similar homemade setup (with 18" Edmund Scientific dish), like the one pictured in post 1. The only thing I ever got recorded with it, is a series of knocks and a strange call.. while I just happened to be pointing it the right way, during a night OP. Can't say for sure that the strange activity was BF, and still in my "unknown" audio collection. Truth is, after using it for several years in the field.. I found the dish too cumbersome dragging it around at night, for the results it produced. Also, I found it limited me to the focal area I had the dish pointed . It is Very directional. Far better (and more frequent) results, came by just listening through headphones, with my digital recorder, with surround sound stereo mics (360 deg ) around me. Not only, was it more true to life (only amplified) , but one never knows where (or what direction) a knock, or vocal will come from. However, the most interesting results came.. from leaving a recorder in a selected location out of camp, and just walking away, and listening later after retrieving the recorder. The drop recorder method. Edited November 22, 2013 by imonacan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zenmonkey Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 I love this thing: http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-Geosafari-Sonic-Sleuth/dp/B0002VJYRC Is that worth the money??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zenmonkey Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 I made this.... uses a Sony n44 mic and a teac recorder at present. para01.JPG Alright this thread got me thinking and that led to some research. Im gonna make one. any other pics or advice about yours? I really like that design Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeafTalker Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 (edited) Is that worth the money??? I think so. I love it for just listening (not recording). But I've been hanging with a friend who does what Imonacan suggests: Drops a recorder in the woods overnight. You will not believe the results you get. Our friends seem to have very few inhibitions around recorders. But making your own parabolic would be fun, I bet. Good luck with it! Edited November 22, 2013 by LeafTalker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiefoot Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Zenmonkey, I have some more shots at home, I will post them after work. I found the dish at a thrift store, it was originally the lid to a small terrarium and is not a true parabola. Works well though. I ended up using a Sony lapel mic and attached it to a bungee stretched across the face of the dish, that reduced handeling noise. Find a small recorder with good mic gain and a pair of headphones. Lots of creepy fun listening to the night sounds. Dishes work best if you have a good idea where to point it.... a direction of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Agreed dishes are unidirectional if that's the word for it but if your out there at night and you here movement in the woods you can use it to pinpoint the noise. It is a little cumbersome but I just like to have it with me in case. I use a Sony M10 and use noise cancelling headphones with it. I also like to just leave a recorder going with 2 stereo mics on it with a splitter to get a wider range of sound. Bigfoots know how to keep their distance and if one is circling ur camp, they're usually out there 100 yards or so. They can see and hear you but they are out of our hearing and site range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zenmonkey Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Zenmonkey, I have some more shots at home, I will post them after work. I found the dish at a thrift store, it was originally the lid to a small terrarium and is not a true parabola. Works well though. I ended up using a Sony lapel mic and attached it to a bungee stretched across the face of the dish, that reduced handeling noise. Find a small recorder with good mic gain and a pair of headphones. Lots of creepy fun listening to the night sounds. Dishes work best if you have a good idea where to point it.... a direction of interest. awesome thank you will be looking foreword to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 I love this thing: http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-Geosafari-Sonic-Sleuth/dp/B0002VJYRC I've got one very similar (Bionic Ear brand). For the money and field portability.. they are definitely worth carrying. I use it solely as a listening device. to check out and (hopefully) confirm a distant sound source. I've experienced feedback troubles in the field, with the device hooked up to my recorders. Once.. it started feeding back loudly, while knocks were occurring around us. Final time, I used it with a recorder. Not sure if this 9V device, has the same issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 I've got one very similar (Bionic Ear brand). For the money and field portability.. they are definitely worth carrying. I use it solely as a listening device. to check out and (hopefully) confirm a distant sound source. I've experienced feedback troubles in the field, with the device hooked up to my recorders. Once.. it started feeding back loudly, while knocks were occurring around us. Final time, I used it with a recorder. Not sure if this 9V device, has the same issues. So when the knocks stopped, the feedback stopped? We really need to figure out the electronic angle on this. Can infrasound mess up batteries etc??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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