Autonomous Field Recorder - PART IV (Setup 2/2) (2 Viewers)

[Vollmeise]

Since only a maximum of 20 images can be posted at a time, I had to split the description of the setup into two parts. Sorry for that!

13. Select the "Hi-Q MP3 Recorder" app:



14. Tick the "Force New" checkbox and confirm with OK:



15. The time trigger (5:30 Mon-Sun) and the action (Launch Hi-Q MP3 Recorder) should now be displayed like that:



16. Now tap the back arrow at the top:



18. Tap on "SAVE" to save the macro:



The macro is now ready for use and can be switched on or off with the slide switches.

Important: The start of the recording app (here: 5:30 a.m.) is implemented reliably, but not to the minute. It may be that the recorder app will start a few minutes later than was set in the trigger. So please be patient when testing

In order to automate another recording, e.g. every evening at 7:00 p.m., a second macro must be created with the corresponding start time.

If you want to edit, delete, copy, deactivte (and some further points) your macro (or trigger / actions), tap on it shortly and follow the pop-up menu.

The recording duration and all audio-specific settings are set directly in the "Hi-Q" recorder app. Here are the steps to take:

1. Install and start the "Hi-Q MP3 Recorder" recorder app:



2. Tap on the gear symbol at the top right:



3. Tap on "Recording" to select the recording format (MP3 or the losslessly compressed FLAC format), the mic gain (+ 5dB has proven, please test it yourself), the mic selection (must be set to "Device default" when using an external microphone"), the location of stored recordings on the smartphone (it is best to create a folder beforehand) and the default file name (the date and the exact time in the file name can be helpful for later evaluation).



4. Go back with the arrow at the top left, then tap on "Interface":



5. Set a tick in the "Auto-start" checkbox, then return to the start screen with the arrow at the top left.



6. Tap the clock symbol in the top right to set the duration of the recording:



7. Set the duration of the recording, tick "Set as default recording length", confirm with "OK".

Congratulation! The autonomous recorder is now set up and ready for use!

Anyone who has made it this far can surely guess now how many possibilities were not even touched on here. Please experiment by yourself or visit one of the well-known Macrodroid forums, it's worth it. If necessary, send me a PM. It's even possible to share preconfigured Macrodroid macros by exporting / importing them.

So that the thread, which is already a bit long, remains clear somehow, the Autonomous Field Recorder PART V will continue with some sound samples and practical experience separately.

If there is anything You're intereested in, just let me know!

Thx for sharing!

 

[besaide]

Thanks for all this information!!!!

I have been testing my smartphone as well I use different apps, this is what I use:

For my tests I am using my everyday smarthphone (Motorola Moto G8 power - Android 10) and an external mic: PUI AOM 5024L HD-R

The app I use for recording is: REC FORGE II PRO (4€)

The pro version allows you to set the recording time and frequency. I have use it and works very well, even if the smarthphone is in airplane mode.







With this app I can set the gain manually. I like +5 the best.

With this is enough for several days recording, I did 5 hours in wav format 44khz and the file was 1.7 Gb. I am going to use flac next time.

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I use also another app: DriveSync Pro (4.99€)

This application creates two folders, one on google drive and one on my smarthphone. Both are synchronised. I select the smarthphone folder for the rec forge application and once the recording is done it automatically uploads to google drive. Works fine

If you use this with a devide that is not your main phone, you need another sim card (in my case, multisim cost 2.4€ per month)

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Another app that I have installed but not tested yet is Airdroid. (This one allows you to control your smarthphone from another device) My plan is to control the remote recording device and run birdnet and see what is going on in real time (spectrogram)

 

[Vollmeise]

Besaide, cool that you could manage a different solution. So there is no further need for an automation app in Rec Forge II Pro - that's really cool indeed! Does Rec Forge start the recording precisely in time? Maybe I'm going to switch to that app, as Macrodroid does start the recorder app, bot around 1 to 3 minutes late.

On the other hand, an automation can do much more than just starting the recorder.

In my current setup (which I have only partially described here), parallel to the start of the recording, I also have a log generated in which the device name, a project name, GPS coordinates, recording duration, free storage space, battery level and other data are saved in a text file.

This log file is transferred to the Dropbox automatically with the "DropSync" app. "DropSync" seems to do the same like DriveSync Pro, which you are using. With this I could also transfer audio files, but that would be about 1GB of data per day and device (I currently use 8 devices, that makes 8 GB / day), that would exceed my data volume by far: D

For the detection of certain species I wrote another macro, it makes the phone playing a bird song first and then start the recorder.

Airdroid sounds cool, maybe it's more efficient than my Macrodroid remote control is.

Cheers, Vollmeise)

 

[Vollmeise]

Besaide,

is it possible to schedule a recording twice a day with Rec Forge II Pro? E.g. daily at 6:00 a.m. and 7 p.m. ?

Thx in advance

 

[besaide]

Hi Vollmeise,

Rec forge starts the recording precisely in time and yes, you can schedule a recording twice a day, even more. I have done a quick test with 20:15 and 20:30 with 2 minutes each and works very well.




And you can select a different repetition time:




I like what Macrodroid is able to do, although I don't need it, it's something I'm going to investigate

The next step would be to use something like kaleidoscope and it's cluster analysis in real time, but they don't even have an app :-(

https://www.wildlifeacoustics.com/products/kaleidoscope/cluster-analysis

So the only way to know what is going on is Airdroid (or something similar) + birdnet or download the recording and analyse it.

I'm curious to know about the quality of your recorder, I have to do more test with mine. Looking forward to part V

Cheers,

Aitor