#929

Plenty of info on VLF on wikipedia and lots of radio enthusiast sites.

(RF) in the range of 3 to 30 kilohertz (kHz), corresponding to wavelengths from 100 to 10 kilometers

Receivers need quite long aerials and to be away from power grids to pick up the meteorological stuff . (asteroids and Lightening storms).

its all quite a fascinating subculture in radio land.

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#930

I haven’t used the Ether but it looks like it records electromagnetic fields. We didn’t cover it in the video, but Carmelo also made a Reel of that type of sound, which he derived from the devices used to capture the other sounds:

Geophysical Vibrations: EMF Reel

Here’s the small print on that one:

The chaotic vibratory ecologies of electromagnetic fields emitted from all the technological instruments and interfaces involved in this project. These ambient broadband measurements were taken with various EMF sensors, where the discharges of imperceptible energies are rendered sensible as symphonic microsounds which impart the extent to which our surrounding spaces are not simply passive backgrounds. The art of magnetic field recording is intriguing precisely because it makes us privy to vibrations of an inhuman axis, making it a form of non-anthropocentric art.

I don’t think Carmelo is on lines, but you can find contact info (and info on the other cool stuff he’s doing, like a “moonbounce”), at his website (https://www.carmelopampillonio.info/).

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#931

At work we often take a combination of accelerometer and acoustic measurements. This means that we effectively will have a record that goes well below the audible range (close to DC) and, theoretically above it (>20 kHz) if sampled fast enough.

This led me to thinking about what the widest range of simultaneously recorded information could be. From sub-seismic to higher ranges, such as captured in this video.

Obviously the sample rate issues would be prohibitive, but the thought of capturing and storing the entirety of information available to us about one instant in time (even if very brief) is very evocative to me.

Music captures a moment in time within a very narrow band of frequencies, but how great would it be to archive, in full fidelity, “Everything”.

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#932

Thank you for sharing this.
I built a BBB4 VLF receiver just a few weeks ago, now I need to find some time to go out and test it :slight_smile:

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#933

Of course there’s no such thing as everything, but we can grasp little parts of certain infinities.

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#934

Did you build it from the schematic on that site? I’ve been considering buying his WR-3 unit for some time but haven’t pulled the trigger.

#935

Greetings All!

Several new additions to the Fleurieu Sound Map from a trip down south last weekend:

http://www.tristanlouthrobins.com/fleurieu_soundmap/updates.html

Also a video blog covering the trip too:

#936

Exciting new Elektroucho Pro from LOM

55

I ordered 2 for stereo!

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#937

This is repost from the Morphagene thread but it has some relevance here. I posted 4 Morphagene reels on freesound, 2 of which contain field recording and contact mics which maybe of interest to some here.

These recordings i made with a Sony PCM M10 around my house in Thailand. I live next to a farm so there are always interesting things for sound recordings :slight_smile: They concentrate on the percussive hits, scribbles, scrapes, cuts, door slams, creaks, water drops and clicks.

These sound recordings I made with contact mics recorded to a Ciat Lonbarde Cocoquantus 8bit looper and concentrate on the more lofi side of percussive bangs, clocks, metallic hits, scrapes, hiss, clicks.

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#938
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#939

I’ve only occasionally tried out electromagnetic pickups so I’m curious as to how one would figure out the ideal spacing for a “realistic” stereo field? How have your initial tests worked out?

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#940

They’ve not arrived yet! I don’t think it will be stereo in any realistic sense, but more just receiving at two locations and routing to each ear!

Will post some examples…

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#941

Yes, not sure what realistic means–especially in the context of electronic music, but EMF is localized and differentially picked up by a pair of sensors. The end result is maybe the same–a sonic space is created, and a listener can hear movement through that space.

#942

I suppose I’m wondering as to whether it’s destined to always be dual mono rather than stereo, or if you put them close enough together (or far enough away - I have no idea how this would work) whether you’d get a “stereo” image of electromagnetic fields, ie. the same coinciding sounds but at different levels for both channels?

#943

Stereo by your definition, then. You can hear the same source at different levels depending on the relation of the inductor/antenna pair to the source. There’s also some EMF sounds that may only be picked up by the closer or better positioned inductor/antenna, so you may hear layered sounds that transition differently depending on the orientation/movement of the sensor and source.

#944

Here are some Elektroucho Pro recordings round the house:

It doesn’t really feel like a stereo field, more just listening to variations in the fields that have some similarity to stereo fluctuations in air. I think EMF is speed of light?

Having said that, I’m pleased I ordered 2 - as it definitely adds to the experiment…

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#945

The recording quality is not very good, but I had to grab something! It’s just the Zoom H2 that’s still not been replaced.

I was walking home with my family today and we passed by the new University of Copenhagen Faculty of Humanities. In front of it is a number of these smallish mounds that have bicycle parking inside and steps to sit on on top.

And reverb! Probably one of the most fascinating spaces I’ve ever been in. I’ve tried cavernous reverbs, but this had very distinct repeats. Like walking around inside a Space Echo, almost?

A quick search doesn’t reveal anything on whether it was deliberate or not. But it seemed very well tuned. Here is some information about the entire space from the architects:

http://www.cobe.dk/project/karen-blixens-plads-0#0

I’m glad they didn’t have this when I was a student, I would’ve never made it to class…

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#946

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2363C28F-7B71-4408-8BB6-B43DD88F7742.jpg3189×2132 1.95 MB

So I’ve finally gotten my setup nailed down to something I’m kind of happy with. I wasn’t getting enough stereo field with the foot-long stereo bar I had previously, so I opted for a pair of light stands. Granted, it is a hell of a lot harder to transport, (and I constantly worry people will think I’m carrying a rifle around when they’re folded up), but I think ultimately it’s going to get me a sound I’m more pleased with and that’s what matters.

Pictured above is my first real outing with this setup. I went out and recorded six minutes of ambience under a very busy highway overpass. This seemed like a good opportunity to test the stereo field. I’m going to link the result below.

P.S. This evening I was hyped to record some pigeons in the old attic/maids’ quarters of the oldest operational apartment building in my city, but I seemed to keep picking up radio frequencies. It’s hard to concentrate on birds throwing themselves into windows when there’s a mildly demonic whisper panned far left singing “Last Resort” by Papa Roach. Any tips on how to prevent this? Thanks.

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#947

I’ve heard shorter cables minimise that kind of interference but I don’t know the science.

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#948

I thought this might interest the field recording page… Its all recorded in a pedistrian area of Norwich (UK) which is mostly traffic (car) free… Its about 90% field recordings and a few minimal other sounds…

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