Skip to main content


Here's a recording of the extremely low-flying #Chinook that passed over our house yesterday evening at approximately 19:44 GMT+1. It flew so low that it actually clipped my #microphones. #London #Kilburn
in reply to Andre Louis

Okay, that's pretty cool also, do you live near the coast? because I heard seaguls.
in reply to Nick's world

@gocu54 No. London is nowhere near the coast. Seagulls have just lost their way for the last 10 years or so. Their GPS is all out of whack. Have been hearing them around here for a long time.
in reply to Andre Louis

sounds very good!!!! What recorder did you use? Have you thought about uploading it to freesound?
in reply to kastwey

@kastwey That is definitely not a good recording. The clipping would immediately make it terrible. Those are Behringer XM-8500 mics connected to a Raspberry Pi4. The mics are mounted on a stereo bar outside permanently, and it archives everything and stores that in flac every hour. If I need a particular recording, I go back and edit it out.
in reply to Andre Louis

I'd be interested to know more. What cables do you need for connecting the microphones to the raspberry? Are you using built-in sound card or an USB one to record the audio?
Do these microphones require extra power supply or is it enough to plug the audio cables?
in reply to Peter Vágner

@pvagner @kastwey Hi. So I'm using an old Focusrite 1st gen Scarlet 2I2.
This is USB-B on the backend (printer cable) to USB-A on the Pi end. Standard stuff.
The mics are connected to the card's two XLR front inputs.
The pi has a Samsung T5 500GB SSD connected to it via USB-A to USB_C cable and it's being handled by Liquidsoap.
in reply to Peter Vágner

@pvagner @kastwey My setup is also part of this project, which is very fascinating to me. You can hear live streams from all over the world here: locusonus.org/soundmap/
in reply to kastwey

@kastwey @pvagner I know. I haven't found a way of using it myself, only that my stream is part of it. I think there's a list of streams in a text format somewhere, but I don't recall where that might be.
in reply to Andre Louis

@pvagner Oh, are you blind too? OK ehehe. Yeah, if you could find the text list would be fantastic :) Thanks!!!
in reply to kastwey

@kastwey @pvagner Yes, that's why I mentioned Seeing AI this morning, and the video I made for MS on how I use it etc.
in reply to Andre Louis

@pvagner Okay, I'm just such an idiot that I thought, and don't ask me why, that the Seeing AI thing was just because you stumbled upon it by chance or something, haha.
in reply to kastwey

@kastwey @pvagner Check this out. It's very possible you've actually come across this exact video: youtu.be/DybczED-GKE
in reply to Andre Louis

@pvagner Hey, and a stupid privacy question: what happens if you want to go into the garden and talk to someone or whatever? Do you just turn off the streaming microphone and that's it?
in reply to kastwey

@kastwey @pvagner No, I just don't talk out there. It's a hassle to disable it honestly. I can talk anywhere in the house. Plus, it's good as a security system. Anyone doing anything they shouldn't, climbing the garden wall etc, we will know about it.
in reply to Andre Louis

@Andre Louis @Juanjo Actually I'm trying this now. There is a link with the text List that reveals a list. Items in the list are not focusable, but clicking on these reveals links and a description of individual streams. I can see 30 streams or so ordered alphabetically this way.
in reply to Peter Vágner

@pvagner @kastwey I think those are all of the active streams. Most of them are hosted on the Creacast Icecast server so it is possible to browse their list of mountpoints from within their web interface. Pity the list link won't show up on the iOS Safari as there seems to be no way for me to browse those on my phone.
in reply to Peter Vágner

@pvagner @kastwey Another project in that alley that a friend has shared with me is the Radio Aporee - aporee.org/ - they focus more on static content uploaded by the community which is mapped and packed into playlists encompassing last 24 hours, week or month worth of recordings.

Peter Vágner reshared this.

in reply to kastwey

@kastwey If you like audio recordings in-general though, I have a playlist with a collection of things I've captured over the years.

Onj's Audio and Field Recordings: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaj…

in reply to Andre Louis

yes, but the clipping is due to the proximity... But the sound of the helicopter passing in stereo is great!
in reply to kastwey

@kastwey I do have other recordings of helicopters (not that type) flying around, no clipping and for quite a bit longer. You capture quite a lot of fun things when you have a permanent installation like that.
in reply to kastwey

@kastwey I see you work at Microsoft. I was lucky enough to make a video about their Seeing AI product a few years ago. Do you know about this app? Don't want to assume you would, as they make many things.
in reply to Andre Louis

Now that is the sound of the Vietnam war right there. Ask any Australian veteran and the first thing they will talk about is the sound of those choppers.
Unknown parent

mastodon - Link to source
Andre Louis
@bryansmart I'm not sure if this was flying to Ukraine or something. Apparently there are a lot of those flying around lately.