Sound recording in the night (1 Viewer)

Hi,
I'm interested in putting together an equipement to record bird sounds during the night. The idea is to catch sounds on tape/disk, e.g. owls or other birds & animals resident in the area as well as migrating birds during spring and autumn.

The area is a remote cottage so during calm nights it shouldn't be any problem with background noise.

The idea is to start the recording when it gets dark and let it be on until morning. There also need to be a possibilitty to fast check the recording for recorded sounds, e.g. by playing it fast forward while listening or check it in a computer program. You really don't want to spend 8 hours listening it through.

The microphone should take up sounds from all directions. It's a bonus if I can use the equipement out in the nature without network electricity as well, e.g. when camping.

Any ideas?
MvH Hasse

I do basically the same type of recording that you describe, long hours during the night, and after trying a number of different make/model recorders, I have settled on the Marantz PMD-661 for its operating features including a built in start/stop timer, 2 second prerecord, and "Pause on Quiet". It also has a function that will automatically start a new file at some size/time record period you set. I use my PMD661 set to create a new file after the accumilated record period has reached 10 minutes. This allows me to monitor/audit files by swapping SD cards and using "Audacity" as a sound processor/editor on the computer while the recorder is continuing to record to a second SD card. Audacity has the capability of speeding up the playback.

There really aren't many new postings in this forum are there? I don't think you need very expensive gear for what you're doing, especially if you don't mind turning it on and off manually. I think the Olympyus LS-7 might have automatic timed recording.

One of the Olympus LS series or a Sony PCM-M10 should record with sufficient quality.

I agree with the previous poster that Audacity (which is free) would be suitable for listening to the recordings. In addition to being able to speed up the playback, you can display a sonogram which helps you visually identify a sound that might be worth listening to. If you duplicate the track, you can simultaneously view the waveform and the sonogram, which I find makes it even easier to find parts worth listening to.

The files you end up with after a whole night will be quite large, so you need a reasonably fast computer to load the files in a reasonable amount of time, although Audacity seems to run ok on a slow computer once they're loaded.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

The Marantz PMD661 recorder wins hands down for lengthy recording sessions that last all night. I have both a PMD661 and an Olympus LS-11 and take my word for it, the PMD661 has a far superior operating system and functions for night time recording as you describe. I like my LS-11 recorder for hand held field work but it can not hold a candle to the PMD661 for the PMD661 method of automatic creation of files and managing of files based on parameters you, the operator, sets when being left recording an extended period of time such as overnight.

Between the "Start on sound" function and the pre-record function coupled with file size management, the PMD661 has no equal that I know of...

I've tried a number of recorders from different manufacturers and models before finally settling on the Marantz PMD661, and my advice is to save yourself a lot of grief and money, get the Marantz PMD661 from the start for night long recording times...

I agree that the Marantz PMD661 is a good choice for this. Besides the features already mentioned, they are solid, reliable and have good preamps and XLR mic inputs with +48v if you want to plug condensor mics into them. I use one of these for field recordings lots and am very pleased with it's overall quality. However, if you do plug condensor mics in and are away from an electricity source, the use of phantom power will drain batteries more quickly. Internal mics in small recorders do an adequate job, but a high quality condensor mic (or pair of mics) will give better results than built-in mics in any recorder that is out there..

Hi,
I use my Zoom H4n for whole-night recordings (I use a SDHC 32 Mb-card) , it splits the recordings into 2-hour length which is quite ok to handle in Audacity. (Also easy to make a 30 minute copy or shorter that is quicker on a slow computer) I use either powersupply 220V (Norway) or a 5V USB-batterypack (bought from DX.com) and it works perfectly with my Telinga stereo PIP attached.
Telinga has a new mic for surround-recording, but veeery expensive.
Stein