Condenser Hydrophone
We were stuck in Scalloway Harbour for longer than expected due to bad weather so I thought I would try to build a higher quality hydrophone using a condenser microphone. Once all the connections had been soldered I housed the mic in a film canister full of olive oil and dipped it in plastic paint. The canister and plastic paint waterproof and protect the microphone while the olive oil helps the sound to travel through the canister to the microphone.
This rather spooky sounding audio file was recorded at the organic salmon fish farm in Unst. The high pitched bleeps are emitted every so often to keep the seals away – these can be heard up to a mile away – by my underwater ears at least!
This recipe is a modified version of Kevin Hardy’s design which can be found at: http://www.dosits.org/files/dosits/hydrophone_instruc_w_image.pdf
Please visit www.tamtreanor.com for information about my other projects
No Comments