a1steak

Hey all, new to MiniDiscs but need to learn fast. I will be recording bird songs this summer. I just purchased a Sharp IM-DR420 for recording. Now I need to find myself a good microphone. Something that can pick up bird songs at a fair distance, say 200ft maximum in a quiet forest. Of course, the forest won't be perfectly quiet either, there will be lots of other stuff singing, so it needs to have a fairly directional pick-up. Two mics I have found that sound good: Audio-Technica AT835b - $239.99 Street Price Azden SGM-2X - $249.99 Street Price This is about the right price range. If anyone knows anything else or can help me at all it would be appreciated. Thanks

thanks for the help y'all. tekstyle i know how much a Hi-MD unit costs, the issue is i can't get one in time. i was asking about traditional MD units. i will look into those sharp units, they sound promising. as for uploading, that was the reason why i wanted Hi-MD, but it is not critical. mostly what i want to do is record bird songs, have them available to study when i'm not in the field (without the Hi-MD I will have to take careful notes on what track is what), and reproduce them when necessary (using a battery-powered speaker) to attract the species i'm trying to find. so uploading would be cool to keep a record of what i'm doing, but not absolutely necessary. thanks again for the help, and sorry about double posting, i didn't notice this board at first.

I know I need a minidisc recorder. The Hi-MD coming out sounded like it had everything I needed, but it's not going to be out in time. I leave in three weeks to work in S. America, going to be recording bird songs. I want to get some sort of device and start learning how to use it, but I don't have a good idea which one might be right for me. Here's what I need out of the thing, if anyone can help me it would be much appreciated. I have a grant to buy it so rough prices and a good place to purchase from would help a lot too. *Needs to be rugged -- The area is very humid, will have to keep it in a dry bag with drying agents *Needs to be able to be operated fairly fast -- Got to record the buggers before they stop singing I don't know if it is possible to delete tracks in the middle of discs on MD units, I think it might be. Do all/some/any units have this option? I have $400 in my grant for this thing, so assuming $100 on battery packs and discs, etc., I could spend $300 or so on a unit, I imagine that is plenty. Any help would be great. Thanks

kurisu, thanks for the reply, i hope you're right. i will pre-order as soon as i get a few seconds to sit down at my computer. as for where to buy it from, any recommendations for reliability? i want the thing as soon as possible to start playing with it before i leave. what about external battery pack (the one that supposedly comes standard on the MZ-NH900) and discs? thanks

Hey people, I'm new to the forum and to minidiscs. I am going to be surveying birds this summer in Ecuador. I am going to need to be able to record bird songs in order to better learn them. Minidisc players seem like the perfect invention for the task; it will be great to easily track through recordings, and I can broadcast back and loop the calls and all sorts of good stuff I'm sure you all know about better than me because I've never had a minidisc. So, the point of this email is, I got a grant to go to Ecuador. In that grant I wrote in money for a minidisc player. I was going to just go out and get any old one that seemed like it would work for me, but after a little research I found out about Hi-MD...cooool. I think the MZ-NH1 is perfect for me, the date-time stamp and all the easy USB upload features and stuff on it sound perfect. Problem is....the thing is not going to be out here in the States until at least the end of May. I leave at the end of May, maybe May 25. What do I do, should I just go ahead and get a non-Hi-MD player? If so, what would be a good one for my uses, and where do I go to get one? Do you think there is any chance I could score a MZ-NH1 unit before I leave? Thanks for any help you can give....