Parabolic Reflectors

Parabolic reflectors are essential pieces of kit for the wildlife sound recordist - enabling noise-free amplification and isolation of distant sounds such as a bird singing in a tree. The idea is that the dish collects the sounds along a 'beam' and focuses the sound waves on the focal point of the dish, which is where the microphone capsule is placed.

Any microphone can be used with a reflector but in practice we have found a simple and effective set-up is to use a personal (lavalier or tie-clip type) omni-directional microphone, which can easily be clipped on a wire at the focal point of the dish, with the wire running to the edge of the dish and then to your recorder. Note that if a directional microphone is used it should be pointed into the dish.

Parabolic dishes for sound recording have to be built to exact mathematical proportions and can be very expensive, especially when bought with a full microphone rig etc. We are able to offer these extremely low-priced dishes thanks to the designer and manufacturer of them - Ron Ward - who is now selling off his stock through us. You will receive the basic thermoplastic dish so you can create whatever support is suitable for your microphone.

A very simple and cheap way to attach a wire to clip a personal mic to is shown on the right. In this case it is simply part of a metal coat hanger which is pushed through two holes (that can easily be drilled through the dish) and bent and duct-taped on the back. It can be used as simply as this, and hand-held to direct at the sound-source (eg bird in a tree), although it is also possible to add other attachments such as handles, tripod nuts, more sophisticated microphone mounts etc.

These dishes have a diameter of 23 inches, are 7 inches deep and have a focal point of 4 inches (up from the centre of the dish bottom). There are four recessed points in the bottom of the dish which will help you drill accurate holes if necessary. They are vacuum-formed with ABS thermoplastic. (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene).

An article by Ron Ward discussing the use of reflectors in both mono and stereo applications can be found on the excellent Wildlife Sound Recording Society website here. The page (and others on the website) describe the use of parablic reflectors in more detail including photos showing various different mounts and ways of attaching microphones to the reflectors.

As this is a large item we can only supply these to UK addresses at the moment. Also note these dishes are available at reduced prices on Wildeye courses! The reflectors are sent in strong cardboard boxes by standard parcel post - 3-5 days delivery.

For prices, ordering and further information click here