Railfan Technology > Sound recording

There are locations on the Nevada Northern Railway where the train whistle will echo 5 or 6 times, maybe more! I have always thought that a recording of these whistles would be a wonderful thing to listen to. Can anyone suggest a small, portable sound recorder that is not too expensive, but has some decent quality? If such a thing exists, I'd be tempted to use it on a visit to Ely for a 'whistling event', if one is planned. I know of several internet sites for steam whistles, but most I've heard cannot compete with the acoustics on the High Line, near Ely.

Ed

There are many tapeless portable recorders around that record either WAV or MP3 files on SD or SDHC cards up to 32GB. Many have built in microphones but can also accommodate external microphones.

http://www.sweetwater.com/c1006--Portable_Recorders

http://www.fullcompass.com/category/Portable-Recorders.html

The Zoom H2n and Tascam DR 40 seem to be popular with musicians. I've seen many of them recording their performances with them.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/H2N

http://www.fullcompass.com/product/414653.html

daniel

2-28-2015

Consider a Zoom H4n for your purposes. Cheap? Definitely not. However, think about the expenses you've incurred to get to this point, and the time involved, plus *when* will you be back again?

Wind is your enemy. It has ruined so many otherwise great videos. The Zoom 4n comes with a wind screen--use it. Even better--use an external microphone with a "dead cat" windscreen. Learn the mike's recording characteristics. *Practice with the setup beforehand.*

Be aware of your surroundings. POLITELY ask fellow rainfans with P&S to mute their cameras. It is a simple operation. DSLR shooters don't have that option, but the shutter clicks can be removed in post.

Turn your cell phone off. Even the buzz of a muted phone can be recorded.

If possible, use a preamplifier. Go to www.JuicedLink.com to learn about why. I've been very happy using my JuicedLink RA333 to process my mike's output before sending it to my Canon 7d. No more Dual Sound hassle!

Check out this thread: Steam & Excursion > Close-up steam audio recording, audio & video.

Last item: Please note the gps locations of these echo sites. Are they available via highway and/or backpacking?