Parabolic Phone Mic (1 Viewer)

[Mono]

A parabolic mic to plug in to your phone. Use your phone as the recorder and have direct access to Merlin et al.

Not out yet but Kickstarter coming soon.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649169097161076736

 

[wllmspd]

Interesting. The phone ID apps are very helpful.

Peter

 

[vergan]

Really interesting. Thanks.

 

[Ruff-Leg]

Birdmic has gone live on Kickstarter!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/birdmic/birdmic-listen-to-birds-like-never-before

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

So niceeeeeeeee

 

[WRL]

A parabolic mic to plug in to your phone. Use your phone as the recorder and have direct access to Merlin et al.

Not out yet but Kickstarter coming soon.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649169097161076736

I think, this dish (microphone) would not be very helpful for the intended purpose. It is too small to be really effective (established parabolic dishes have, for good reasons, about double the diameter, Telinga, Dodotronics etc.). I judge the diameter of about 0.3 meters (maximum). Sound with a frequency of 1 kHz has a wavelength of about 0.34 meters. To work in a sensible way (directional sensivity and amplification) it needs a dish diameter of multiple wavelengths. This device would start to be effective for frequencies of several thousand Hertz only. - You can't beat physics (see Parabolic microphone - Wikipedia).

 

[Ruff-Leg]

Thanks, WRL, and I understand. The main attraction of the product for me is the smaller form-factor. If I can have semi-useful parabolic without the cost and size of a Telinga, then I'm intrigued.

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

Thanks, WRL, and I understand. The main attraction of the product for me is the smaller form-factor. If I can have semi-useful parabolic without the cost and size of a Telinga, then I'm intrigued.

And at least it could help identify the birds via sound and also one way to entice the public to get into birding with their smartphone hehehe 🤤

 

[WRL]

And at least it could help identify the birds via sound and also one way to entice the public to get into birding with their smartphone hehehe 🤤

True. However, it would be even easier (and cheaper) to use the smartphone "blank" (i.e. no external mic). That worked ok for me quite often.
And if one absolutely needs a mic holder a ping-pong paddle will do almost the same effect as this small dish.

 

[Jon.Bryant]

To work in a sensible way (directional sensivity and amplification) it needs a dish diameter of multiple wavelengths.

Yes agreed.

If I can have semi-useful parabolic without the cost and size of a Telinga, then I'm intrigued.

It would be great if you could have a handy and portable parabola, but I understand that the gain of a parabola is governed by the square of the (dia/wave length), so the physics means the bigger the dish the more gain. If the dish diameter is less than the wave length then there is no gain at that frequency. The circa 450mm diameter dishes by Telinga and Dodotronics are unfortunately probably the best compromise between portability and gain.

Assuming materials, precision of the parabola etc. are the same between different sized dishes, then when recording say a Redwing at 4KHz, a 450mm dish will provide 3.24 x more gain a 250mm dish (my guess for the size of the BirdMic parabola).

A 250mm dish will not provide any gain for frequencies below about 1.4KHz, whereas for a 450mm dish there is no gain for frequencies below about 760Hz. That said, if the BirdMic uses a omni mic, you will still get a recording received directly (but with no gain) - you would only need to worry if the capsule in the BirdMic is a cardiodal mic facing inwards - this would create a very directional mic, but you would have a very attenuated signal (if any) for any sounds with a wave length less than the dish diameter.

A last thing to say is that parabolas in general create a coloured signal - the gain is not flat, but increases sharply with frequency. The argument is that the parabola recreates nearness - high pitched sounds are attenuated more quickly, so adding more gain to higher frequencies is argued to recreate the sound you would hear if you were stood much closer. If you are recording a bird which vocalises over a narrow frequency band then there is no real issue, but if you record a bird that sings over a wide frequency band, then it may not sound quite right (unless you are familiar to hearing the bird vocalise from close proximity) - the higher pitched sounds will be emphasised, and proportionally louder that the balance of notes you would hear from a more distant bird. I am no expert on this, but I would assume that this recreation of nearness will be more accurate for a larger dish, which applies variable gain over a larger frequency range (down to a lower frequency).

A possible alternative mic to consider, if you want a portable small parabola, is the Dodotronic Hi-Sound Compact. It is designed to fit a camera, but can also be used with a pistol grip. Obviously you would need a recorder for this with a PiP mini-jack. This seems to be basically a 350mm dish with the top and bottom 'cut off'. My guess is that this would apply gain to frequencies above 980Hz, and that the area and hence gain would be better than the BirdMic option. Not sure if the Compact splits in two like its big brother, which would be handy for travel.

 

[Ruff-Leg]

Thanks, J.B. That's very helpful! And, makes me less enthusiastic about this product. Maybe I'll wait until some reviews are in. Appreciate your and WRL's explanations.

 

[anormalbirder1]

I think, this dish (microphone) would not be very helpful for the intended purpose. It is too small to be really effective (established parabolic dishes have, for good reasons, about double the diameter, Telinga, Dodotronics etc.). I judge the diameter of about 0.3 meters (maximum). Sound with a frequency of 1 kHz has a wavelength of about 0.34 meters. To work in a sensible way (directional sensivity and amplification) it needs a dish diameter of multiple wavelengths. This device would start to be effective for frequencies of several thousand Hertz only. - You can't beat physics (see Parabolic microphone - Wikipedia).

Hello!! I'm Jordi, developer of BirdMic and I absolutely agree with your analysis. BirdMic works better with high frequencies, that's why we call it BirdMic and not EverythingMic... haha. (sorry...😅 )

So, you're right, but most bird calls are high frequency, so it works well in most situations.
There are microphones of this size already on the market (Sound Shark (Plover products) or Pro Mini (Wildtronics))

It is a device for those who are curious about birdsong and do not have a recorder or want to spend a lot of money on equipment. You just need an smartphone! It can also be used as a camera microphone. We have designed it as a bridge product from nothing to something professional. We have tried it with many people and they have freaked out.

Thank you for your comments,

Kind regards

 

[anormalbirder1]

Yes agreed.


It would be great if you could have a handy and portable parabola, but I understand that the gain of a parabola is governed by the square of the (dia/wave length), so the physics means the bigger the dish the more gain. If the dish diameter is less than the wave length then there is no gain at that frequency. The circa 450mm diameter dishes by Telinga and Dodotronics are unfortunately probably the best compromise between portability and gain.

Assuming materials, precision of the parabola etc. are the same between different sized dishes, then when recording say a Redwing at 4KHz, a 450mm dish will provide 3.24 x more gain a 250mm dish (my guess for the size of the BirdMic parabola).

A 250mm dish will not provide any gain for frequencies below about 1.4KHz, whereas for a 450mm dish there is no gain for frequencies below about 760Hz. That said, if the BirdMic uses a omni mic, you will still get a recording received directly (but with no gain) - you would only need to worry if the capsule in the BirdMic is a cardiodal mic facing inwards - this would create a very directional mic, but you would have a very attenuated signal (if any) for any sounds with a wave length less than the dish diameter.

A last thing to say is that parabolas in general create a coloured signal - the gain is not flat, but increases sharply with frequency. The argument is that the parabola recreates nearness - high pitched sounds are attenuated more quickly, so adding more gain to higher frequencies is argued to recreate the sound you would hear if you were stood much closer. If you are recording a bird which vocalises over a narrow frequency band then there is no real issue, but if you record a bird that sings over a wide frequency band, then it may not sound quite right (unless you are familiar to hearing the bird vocalise from close proximity) - the higher pitched sounds will be emphasised, and proportionally louder that the balance of notes you would hear from a more distant bird. I am no expert on this, but I would assume that this recreation of nearness will be more accurate for a larger dish, which applies variable gain over a larger frequency range (down to a lower frequency).

A possible alternative mic to consider, if you want a portable small parabola, is the Dodotronic Hi-Sound Compact. It is designed to fit a camera, but can also be used with a pistol grip. Obviously you would need a recorder for this with a PiP mini-jack. This seems to be basically a 350mm dish with the top and bottom 'cut off'. My guess is that this would apply gain to frequencies above 980Hz, and that the area and hence gain would be better than the BirdMic option. Not sure if the Compact splits in two like its big brother, which would be handy for travel.

Hello!! I'm Jordi, developer of BirdMic and I absolutely agree with your analysis. BirdMic works better with high frequencies, that's why we call it BirdMic and not EverythingMic... haha. (sorry...😅 )

So, you're right, but most bird calls are high frequency, so it works well in most situations.
There are microphones of this size already on the market (Sound Shark (Plover products) or Pro Mini (Wildtronics))

It is a device for those who are curious about birdsong and do not have a recorder or want to spend a lot of money on equipment. You just need an smartphone! It can also be used as a camera microphone. We have designed it as a bridge product from nothing to something professional. We have tested it with many people and they have freaked out.

Thank you for your comments,

Kind regards

 

[anormalbirder1]

True. However, it would be even easier (and cheaper) to use the smartphone "blank" (i.e. no external mic). That worked ok for me quite often.
And if one absolutely needs a mic holder a ping-pong paddle will do almost the same effect as this small dish.

Hi WRL,

BirdMic is not a prfessional device but this small dish works, I sware! 😂

Look at this demo please. Notice the difference between the first part of the video (a Wryneck singing very low) and when birdmic is switched on.

Thank you!

 

[WRL]

Hi WRL,

BirdMic is not a prfessional device but this small dish works, I sware! 😂

Look at this demo please. Notice the difference between the first part of the video (a Wryneck singing very low) and when birdmic is switched on.

Thank you!

Hello Jordi,
I will not repeat what has been said before by Jon.Bryant and me.
However, with due respect, I will not buy a recording I don't know how it is actually technically recorded and probably processed/filtered (even unintentionally by the hardware used) as a proof that the referenced physics are incorrect.
I am not saying that your apparatus will not produce results perceived by many users as acceptable or even good. However, you (and the other quoted "small parabola" competitors) should be honest about the acoustical limitations regarding the small dish and not fuel too high expectations.

 

[anormalbirder1]

Hello Jordi,
I will not repeat what has been said before by Jon.Bryant and me.
However, with due respect, I will not buy a recording I don't know how it is actually technically recorded and probably processed/filtered (even unintentionally by the hardware used) as a proof that the referenced physics are incorrect.
I am not saying that your apparatus will not produce results perceived by many users as acceptable or even good. However, you (and the other quoted "small parabola" competitors) should be honest about the acoustical limitations regarding the small dish and not fuel too high expectations.

Absolutely agree. BirdMic has evident limitations due its size (and has evident advantages due its size, too (not related with audio)). But it could be enough for most beginners birders, our target. I repeat, birdmic is not a professional device, but it works well for high frequencies (most birds) and it can be a good introduction to the world of bird songs. It's simple, compact, multifunctional and cheap... If BirdMic was professional it would be much more expensive, and large.

I think I'm being honest,

Kind regards

 

[Jon.Bryant]

but it works well for high frequencies (most birds) and it can be a good introduction to the world of bird songs.

Thanks for your comments. I would agree that the parabola will boost the high frequency calls of most birds. However, I have personally previously fallen into the trap of buying equipment that I didn’t understand - understanding acoustic performance is not that intuitive, and it is easy to imagine things will be as good as in the spy movies!

With that in mind, it would be great if you could provide a bit more detail on the mic - for example what is the dish diameter, what is the mic capsule (omni or cardiodal, sensitivity, SNR, Max SPL etc). I can see a picture of the device on the kickstarter page, but may have missed the technical details. Does the mic work with IPhone and Android phone - presumably this would mean different versions for the two phones.

 

[Elkhornsun]

A parabolic mic to plug in to your phone. Use your phone as the recorder and have direct access to Merlin et al.

Not out yet but Kickstarter coming soon.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649169097161076736

I use a short cable that is 1/8" female for mini plug to a iPhone thunderbolt connector so I can use any self-powered microphone. I already have two Telinga dishes so no need to add a third dish. Quite a few parabola and mic setups for sale on Amazon for under $50.

I have found that I need to crank to volume all the way up on my iphone to be able to get an adequate signal for Merlin to pick it up.

 

[anormalbirder1]

Thanks for your comments. I would agree that the parabola will boost the high frequency calls of most birds. However, I have personally previously fallen into the trap of buying equipment that I didn’t understand - understanding acoustic performance is not that intuitive, and it is easy to imagine things will be as good as in the spy movies!

With that in mind, it would be great if you could provide a bit more detail on the mic - for example what is the dish diameter, what is the mic capsule (omni or cardiodal, sensitivity, SNR, Max SPL etc). I can see a picture of the device on the kickstarter page, but may have missed the technical details. Does the mic work with IPhone and Android phone - presumably this would mean different versions for the two phones.

Thank you for your comment. Yes, is a bit difficult explain accustics performance. That is one of the problems that we are finding, people do not quite trust. Perhaps that is why we have 60% backers from Catalonia (people who have tried it or have been recommended by experts in the area). I would love to be able to distribute prototypes all over the world, but we only have 2 (one is at the University of Barcelona, doing population studies (it works for them), and the other is for us).

So, you have a whole section on the web where all the specifications are. I see that we have not written that the microphone is OMNIdirectional, but you have all the other data.

Directionality also depends on how deep the microphone is. The parabola can have a small diameter and be very deep or flat. If it is very deep it isolates well but can create a "tube" sound, and if it is very flat it isolates very little. We did many tests and finally we chose this configuration. We believe that it is the best, taking into account the size that we want the dish to have.

Here specificacions of all equipment.

Thank you for your comments,

View attachment varis KC-24.jpg

 

[anormalbirder1]

Does the mic work with IPhone and Android phone - presumably this would mean different versions for the two phones.

Oh, I forgot, the device is the same for any phone, you just have to choose the correct cable. This is also explained on the web.