LOW COST
TOOL FOR REMOTE MONITORING
WHAT
IS IT?
DolphinEar '500' (DE500)
is a combination of hydrophone, pre-amplifier and mobile
telephone interface. It plugs into the accessory
connector of any handheld mobile telephone and allows
the user to dial up and listen to the hydrophone from
any telephone in the world. This audio stream can
be connected directly into a computer for storage on
hard disk, or it can be recorded in a conventional manner
on DAT, mini-disc, or standard tape equipment. Any standard
low cost digital phone (such as GSM, PCS, CDMA, etc.),
or older style analogue phones, may be used. It does
not require a special data connection. The user simply
dials the telephone number of the hydrophone to initiate
a monitoring session.
WHY DO
YOU NEED IT?
'DE500' lets you monitor
underwater sounds from a wide geographic locations from
your desk or lab. You can conduct bio-acoustic
surveys of an entire coastline, if necessary, in less
time than it takes to drive to a research boat and prepare
it for launch.
WANT
TO HEAR IT? * * * L I V E
D E M O * * *
We have a 'live demo'
available. Contact
us for the telephone number (we are limiting access to this demo so it
is not overwhelmed with calls!) This DE500 is tethered
next to our research vessel, which, at the moment, is
in port on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
That means sounds are limited mostly to snapping
shrimp, boat noises and miscellaneous underwater sounds
typical of ports and marinas. It's not the ideal
location for demonstrating the excellent quality of
the DE500 sound, but, it will give you an idea of how
the system works. Listen, in particular, to the snapping
shrimp clicks. These have a wide frequency spectrum
and their clarity shows the quality you can expect.
USE WITH
RADIOS:
While we are emphasizing
the use of mobile cellular telephones, the DE500 can
also be connected to a VHF/UHF radio system. While the
range will be limited to line-of-sight, typically less
than 10 nautical miles, the frequency response of the
system will be improved. The DE500 connects to
the microphone input (or can be wired into the radio)
and outputs a continuous audio stream with a bandwidth
that extends from a few Hz to beyond 22000 Hz.
USE WITH
MOBILE TELEPHONES:
Mobile telephone impose
bandwidth limitations that at first glance seem like
major limitations. This is NOT the case in reality.
Virtually all of the important long distance sound monitoring
done with hydrophones occurs at frequencies below 3000
Hz. The DE500 with it's audio preprocessing system
provide an end-to-end frequency range of 20-3500 Hz
when using digital mobile telephones, like GSM handhelds.
This bandwidth makes it ideal for monitoring cetacean
vocalizations, dolphin whistles, long distance whale
calls, fish sounds, boat and ship noise, underwater
acoustic modems, SURTASS LFAS signals, diver pingers,
and a myriad of other sounds.
To hear what you can
expect from the DE500 system, have a look at our SOUND
SAMPLES section. We present typical sounds from
whales, dolphins (including echo location clicks), fish,
boats, and other sounds that have been reduced in bandwidth
(20-3500 Hz) to simulate what you will hear when using
the DE500. You will be impressed by the excellent
quality that is virtually indistinguishable from wide
bandwidth hydrophone systems.
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