Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Are there microphones that would let you "listen" to bats? We have bats fly around our house at dusk, it would be interesting to know what they "say", especially when two of them come close (unclear whether that's intentional or not).


I've used Primo EM258 mics with an XLR adapter, they can pick up ultrasound, although the datasheet doesn't really mention this.

See - https://zachpoff.com/resources/cheap-microphones-for-ultraso...

Reading wikipedia "Bats emit calls from about 12 kHz to 160 kHz, but the upper frequencies in this range are rapidly absorbed in air.", so I guess the Primo wouldn't be suitable for the higher bat freqs.



Very nice project the above.

If you want to pay more you can also get Pettersen ultrasonic microphones. These have a USB microphone and will also work with my sbts-aru recorder. Which means you could in principle also geolocate where the bats are.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2027 batch! Applications are open till November 2.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: