Luke, Nice to hear from you. Yes I did find a speaker for doing playback with my mp3 player. I had several responses from the Ecolog-list and ultimately decided on purchasing two different amplifiers and tried them both.
1. Pignose legendary amplifier, costs $80 USD (portable takes 6 AA batteries) http://www.pignoseamps.com/?disp=detail&id=253 2. Radio Shack Mini Amplifier, costs $12 USC (ultra portable takes 9v battery) http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062620 The Pignose is excellent and the sound quality is fantastic (far superior to the Radio Shack mini amp). The downsize compared to the Radio Shack mini amp is that it is much more bulky and heavy. The Radio Shack despite the lower sound quality is extremely small and light (fits in your pocket). It is also extremely loud, although it distorts if turned up all the way. For bird song I found this player more than adequate doing playback and used it with great success last summer leaving the Pignose in the car. I suppose if you were working at a fixed location or working from a car and weight was not a concern I would use the Pignose. As I am hiking in the mountains of northern Sweden, lightweight and fits in my pocket trumps sound quality. I trapped over 500 willow warblers last summer. In addition, I dropped one in the field and despite the rain when I found it a week later it still worked. On a recent trip to the US I bought 10 more of the Radio Shack mini amplifiers (they are cheaper in the store than on their website). Finally, although I never tested how long the Pignose would work on one set of batteries, I did find that the Radio Shack mini amp had great battery life. It worked typically for at least a week of almost continuous use on a single battery. Note that I was target netting and turned it off between use. I hope this helps. Feel free to email if you have further questions. Many Cheers, Keith ************************************** Keith Larson, PhD Student Animal Ecology, Lund University Sölvegatan 37 223 62 LUND Sweden Phone: +46 (0)46 2229014 Fax: +46 (0)46 2224716 ************************************** --- On *Thu, 1/28/10, Luke K. Butler <[email protected]>* wrote: From: Luke K. Butler <[email protected]> Subject: ecolog speaker survey results? To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, January 28, 2010, 7:24 PM Hi Keith, I have an identical need to the one you brought to ECOLOG last year. Can you tell me about any good suggestions you received from the forum? Thanks very much! Luke *************************** Luke K. Butler Assistant Professor Department of Biology The College of New Jersey 2000 Pennington Road Ewing, NJ 08628 609.771.2531 *************************** Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:00:38 -0700 Reply-To: "Keith W. Larson" <[email protected]<http://us.mc514.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]> > Sender: "Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news" <[email protected]<http://us.mc514.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]> > From: "Keith W. Larson" <[email protected]<http://us.mc514.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]> > Subject: audio playback speakers for target netting Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Dear All, I need a recommendation or contact for someone who can help me find some field equipment for doing audio playback. My old Logitech speaker is no longer working nor is the model available anymore. I have had no luck doing an internet search. I need a recommendation for model(s) of speakers that are excellent for audio playback using an Mp3 player outdoors. We are target netting willow warblers in the high open mountain birch forests of northern Sweden. Often we hike great distances, so they need to be packable and lightweight. We need something portable, loud (often trapping in open windy areas), good sound quality, durable, and semi water proof (not necessary but preferable). These speakers should also be readily available over the internet or telephone to purchase as I need them in two weeks! Thank you for your advice! Many Cheers, Keith
