Bat recorder setup by sound

Tascam X8 Oversample Bat Recorder

Start or stop recording

The chime that stops a recording is itself recorded. Later, on a computer, the decode_wav program reads its date, time, UTC offset and location from the WAV file.

• Needs X8 firmware B239 or later, with Phone remote on under SETTINGS, Tools.
• The X8 must show BAT DETECTOR, with HOLD off.
• If REC PAUSE is on and the recorder is stopped, the X8 hears nothing. Press REC once first. After a stop by phone, the X8 goes back to standby by itself.
• Play from the phone's own speaker, close to the X8's microphones.

Chime test

The chime does not set the X8's clock yet.

Firmware B235 or later: open BAT DETECTOR's settings with the menu button and tap Chime test. On B239 or later, tap Tools first. The X8 should then show a time within about 1 s of the phone's clock above.

• Hold the phone's speaker still, 10 to 20 cm from the X8's microphones, with the volume up.
• Use the phone's own speaker. Bluetooth adds delay and can remove the chime's 18 kHz tone.
• If you hear no tune, check silent mode. iPhones use a side switch or Action button.
• To test a recording on any firmware, record the chime on the X8 at 192 kHz. On a computer, run the decode_wav program on the WAV file.

Decimal degrees. Optional: fill in both or neither.

Optional. Exactly 16 hexadecimal digits.

If ticked, a 10 s tone plays before the chimes. Move the AudioMoth's switch to CUSTOM during the tone.

• Hold the phone still, close to the AudioMoth's microphone, with the volume up. Let several chimes play. Field guides say the AudioMoth may not read the first chime.
• Red LED on, green LED flashing occasionally: listening. Green flashing faster: receiving a chime. Green on for about 2 s: chime read.
• Clock set: the AudioMoth listens for chimes for 30 s after the tone. Clock not set: it listens at CUSTOM with no time limit.
• Configuration: the AudioMoth needs recording periods set through the AudioMoth Configuration App before it can listen.

This page has never been tested on a real PippyG.

Needed first: the PippyG is powered on, the start-up flashes have finished, and the red LED reacts to sound.

Trigger Level: Low (72) gives fewer recordings than High (24).

Device ID: 0 to 255. 0 keeps the PippyG's current ID.

Optional, in decimal degrees. If both fields are blank, each recording's metadata has latitude 0, longitude 0.

Reduces false triggers from constant noise. Firmware 8 uses this setting. Firmware 10 ignores it.

• Success: the red LED flashes 8 to 10 times, then stays off. Firmware 10 also writes chirp.txt to the SD card.
• Failure: no flashes, and the red LED keeps reacting to sound. Change the phone's volume and the distance, then play the chirp again.
• Manual: about 4 cm from the microphone hole, 75% volume or more. Pipistrelle app notes: 10 to 15 cm, 25% to 33% volume; quieter is often better.
• Power: once programmed, the PippyG stops listening until it is powered off and on. Its settings are lost when the power is off.