Chapter4: Technology III: Field recording equipment

From Community Radio - User Guide [http://web4all.in web4all]

TECHNOLOGY - III FIELD RECORDING EQUIPMENT

Now that we've had a good look at the kind of equipment we need to equip our studios with, it's time to examine what kind of field recording equipment a community radio station needs.

Why do we need field recording equipment?

The simple answer to that is: Because we cannot gather all the audio we need for a programme within the confines of a community radio station or the studio. Sure, the studio may be connected to the outside world with telephones and other communication equipment; but the fact remains that some audio can only be recorded 'on location' or 'in the field', as it's called.

For instance, there may be people who cannot come to the studio to be recorded, or to participate in a discussion, but who may be important to the content of a programme. (A busy government officer, say, or a villager in a remote area, who has no means to travel to the studio.)

There may also be audio which can only be recorded at the place where the sound is actually produced: Natural sounds like birdsong, or the sound of a waterfall, say; or the sounds made by a wedding procession.

What are the main considerations in selecting field recording equipment?

Since field recording equipment - unlike our carefully protected and shielded studio equipment - is exposed to dust, humidity, and extremes of temperature, it is important to consider the following factors while selecting field recording equipment:

1. Ruggedness: Any equipment we move around with should be able to take some basic knocks and bumps without malfunctioning: Climbing in and out of vehicles, travelling in crowded buses, and hiking some distances on foot are par for the course for CRS volunteers, and the equipment should be able to take that. (Note that this does not include rough handling or dropping the equipment - that's just plain carelessness, and there's no excuse for that.) You'll find that modern solid state recorders, in particular, fulfill this condition well, as they have very few moving parts.

2. Resistance to humidity and dust: Many pieces of electronic equipment are so sensitive that they cannot withstand shifts in temperature - interior to exterior, for example, or from sunshine to shade. Others get easily fouled by the fine dust that pervades Indian cities and rural areas, and need multiple cleanings of their heads and other moving parts to stay in working order. Such pieces of equipment cannot be part of our field recording kit. While some maintenance is unavoidable, the ideal field equipment will not mind a bit of dust, and have a large operating temperature range.

For more on maintenance and protection of equipment, see Chapter 7: Planning 
for Maintenance & Management on Page 91

3. Adaptability and portability: While we are in the field, we do not have the luxury of carrying large varieties of equipment to suit different situations.The recording equipment we carry has to give adequate or good results in all the situations and recording conditions we are likely to encounter. (This means the microphone has to be good for delicate as well as harsh sounds, voices as well as music, able to work in noisy conditions and in quiet.)

Similarly, this will be equipment we will be carrying on our persons most of the time, so it has to be reasonably light, or we will be weighed down and tired out by just the effort of carrying it around.

4.Availability of spares and ancillaries: While most modern electronic equipment is too complex for us to expect that there will be people capable of repairing faults wherever we go, always plan on acquiring field recording equipment for which supplies are available easily in the areas you work in. For example, choose equipment that uses standard AA, AAA or D cells over fancy proprietary batteries that may not be easily available: The standard batteries are usually available somewhere close by no matter where you are. Similarly, if the availability of recording media is an issue for you, it makes better sense to choose an audio cassette based recording device than a MiniDisc or DAT recorder. (Of course, this is not always a problem - MDs and DATs, for example, are highly reusable media, and can be erased and reused several times, thereby increasing the gap before fresh supplies are needed.)

For more on maintenance and protection of equipment, see Chapter 7: Planning 
for Maintenance & Management on Page 91

What should a field recording kit consist of?

The components of a field recording kit are really very individual to the setting of the CRS and the preferences of the field reporters; but there are some broad components which we should include:

1.Microphones(s) & accessories: Ideally, the field recording kit should have a couple of microphones, one with a wider pickup, that can be used to record a group of people or a sound effect; and one that is highly directional and has a narrow area of pickup, for noisy situations or to isolate particular sounds. But this is usually a luxury, so it is more likely that you will have one multipurpose rugged microphone that will give you acceptable results in most conditions.

The mic should have a good grip, to allow it to be comfortably handheld; and should be accompanied by a foam or fiber windshield that prevents wind from hitting it and causing a rumbling noise. Most field mics use standard AA or AAA batteries. A balanced output is to be greatly preferred, as that assists us to get clean recordings even in areas with high electromagnetic disturbances.

Microphone cables matching the connectors, naturally, will also be part of the kit - unless the microphone connects to the recorder wirelessly. Cables should be of good quality and purchased readymade or made by someone who knows how to do it, to avoid problems in the field.

It's usually a good idea to carry one or more spare microphone cables as part of the kit, so that some spares are available if the main cable is damaged for some reason. The spare cables could also be of different lengths, to allow us to use the mic at varying distances from the recorder 2 metre, 5 meter and 10 metre lengths should be fine. (But it is wise to remember that not all mics give a good quality signal over cables longer than 5 metres.)

For more on microphones, see Section B: Microphones on Page 198

2. Recorder unit: The field recorder should - besides being rugged and hard wearing - be easy to use and set up. A unit with very complex prerecording processes will invariably cause you to miss important recordings which you otherwise should have managed to catch. It should have balanced inputs, for the reason stated above; but also allow you to connect a variety of different types of mics to it: Standard inputs could include professional (XLR and large ¼" phono) and semi-professional (RCA, mini 1/8" phono) inputs, if possible.

For more on connectors, see Section B: Connectors (Audio & Telecom) on Page 166

A headphone socket, to allow us to monitor what we are recording, is vital, as is the ease of changing used media for fresh media: There is nothing more irritating than having to struggle to insert a fresh cassette or MD in the middle of an interview. Ideally, you should not have to change the recording medium at all during a field recording trip.

The recorder should also run off batteries; and have a low power draw, allowing us to use fewer batteries in the field. To have easily replaceable standard batteries is a distinct plus.

A large and clear display screen, that lets you observe all the important parameters - battery life, the amount of recording media left, the audio level and the track number (if applicable) is a great plus.

A digital recorder, which allows us to sort and classify recordings as we go, as well as save time during the transfer process to our editing systems, is also a wise investment, especially if we have a DAW based editing process: It's usually possible to transfer the recording into the computer very quickly from a digital recorder. This is not possible if we use an analog recorder with a DAW, where the transfer process will be as long as the time it takes to physically play back each recording (i.e. 5 hours of recording = 5 hours of transfer time.)

For more on field recorders, see Section B: Field Recorders on Page 184 

For more on digital recorders, see Section B: Flash Recorders on Page 187

3. Recording media: In case the recorder needs replaceable media for recording, there should be adequate supplies of blank media to cover all the recording planned for the day. (Estimating how much media is required is an acquired skill.) A good rule of thumb is to estimate the total recording time anticipated, estimate the blank media accordingly, and then add enough to cover a recording 1/3 rd longer than anticipated.

The cost of the media is a consideration, of course, with cheaper media often being kinder to you operating budget. But do factor in the reusability ofthe media as well - an MD which costs a lot more, but can be reused fifty times may actually prove more economical in the long run than a very low cost medium like the audio cassette, which is cheaper, but can only be used only a few times before the recording quality starts to drop.

Don't be stingy while carrying spare media - better to have a few unused cassettes and MDs at the end of the day than to travel miles to find that you've run out of media and have to miss out on the best interview of the day.

Modern flash based solid state recorders have much to commend them in this respect - memory is rapidly becoming cheaper, and vast amounts of recording can be made on one relatively inexpensive and reusable memory card.

For more on flash recorders, see Section B: Flash Recorders on Page 187

4. Power supply: Most good field recorders come with an a/c mains power adapter, but also run off batteries. The dual supply system allows you a longer recording time in the field, as we can plug in wherever we have access to mains power supplies. It's a good idea to carry at least one totally fresh set of spare batteries for the recorder and for the mic (if it is powered).

It is ideal to carry appropriately sized Nickel Cadmium (NiCD), NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) or LiIon (lithium Ion) rechargeable batteries that are compatible with our equipment, along with charger units for each variety, so that we can recharge batteries along the way where possible. Many pieces of equipment come with internal rechargeable batteries in the first place, that are charged by the accompanying a/c adaptors.

As a rule, rechargeable batteries have a longer life than standard dry cells. If rechargeables are not a part of your kit, try using lithium or alkaline cells (Energizer, GP or Duracell) - these are long life dry cells, but can be quite expensive on a recurring basis.

All rechargeable batteries have a finite life, measured by the number of time they can undergo charges and recharges. (Each charge and discharge is called a 'charging cycle', and a given battery may be rated as good for a 1000 recharge cycles, or 20000 recharge cycles.) NiCd and NiMH rechargeable batteries are especially prone to losing their capacity to hold a charge after some time, a phenomenon called the 'memory effect'.

5. Headphones: A good pair of headphones to monitor the recording is an important part of the kit. Some recorder units come with a pair of high quality in-ear earphones, but a pair of over-ear headphones with comfortable padded earcups, and a long enough lead are to be preferred over this. Noise canceling headphones, which allow you to cut out environment noise, are also of great help, if you can afford them.

A good pair of headphones, remember, can help you spot audio problems while you are still in a position to do something about them - so get the best pair you can afford.

For more on headphones see Section B: Loudspeakers & Studio Monitors on Page 190

6. Carrying cases and covers: Field recording equipment should always be carried in their carrying cases: There are a variety of cases, hard and soft, available for each piece of equipment, with many cases designed to allow operation of the equipment with the case still on. (This is especially true of the soft rexine or plastic carry cases that go with many field recorders.) The cases protect from jars and scratches, as well as dust; and most have straps and belts that allow you to sling the equipment around your waist or over your shoulder for easy carrying.

If standard cases are unavailable or too expensive, it's easy to stitch cloth cases with straps for the various pieces of equipment. A stout kit bag or hard case for the entire kit is also a good idea, both in terms of transporting the equipment safely, and in terms of keeping the kit organized.

7.Optional 1: Cleaning kit: A cleaning kit containing cotton swabs, surgical alcohol or cleaning fluid and an antistatic duster is a vital addition to your field recording kit if you are using a cassette recorder in the field, as they require frequent cleaning of the heads and pinch rollers. This is much less important with latter day digital recorders, where there are no magnetic heads that are exposed or even user accessible. A clean duster cloth is a good idea anyway.

8. Optional 2: Boom rod/fishpole: Many microphones can be fitted onto a long extensible rod called a boom rod, so that they can be held closer to a subject or sound source from a position several feet away. (This can be an important consideration while recording natural sounds in inaccessible places, for example.) There are also flexible versions of this called fishpoles. Depending on the kind of situations you record in, you might like to make one a standard part of your kit, or have one available for use as needed: They are especially useful in news situations, where a crowd of reporters may be jostling to use their recorders simultaneously!

9. Optional 3: Accessories pouch: Some field reporters like to be prepared for any eventuality and carry a simple repair kit - soldering iron, solder wire, flux, miniature screw drivers, cutter and pliers - as well as marking chalk, rubber bands, cable ties and spare connectors. This is a good idea, especially if you make the effort to learn how to do these basic repairs on the fly - it has saved more than one field recording trips from disaster!

For more on repairs and maintenance see Chapter 7: Planning for Maintenance 
& Management on Page 91