Rex Boys wrote:

> While I am in this mode, I'll deal with the other group of people
> who got excited about using computer software to analyse the
> sound. The phrase that comes to mind here is about the tail
> wagging the dog. It's all very well but it means recording the
> sound and taking it back to the computer, doesn't it? By the
> time you know whether the colony is going to swarm, they've gone.
> Does the computer software include band pass and high pass
> filters?

Using a PC to perform the analysis doesn't necessarily require one to go back to their home base.  A low powered laptop with a sound card (486 or possibly a 386) could perform this task quite well (assuming you're using DOS based software)  On any given day, EBAY lists dozens of used, but still perfectly working laptops, often under $100 USD.  A laptop in the beeyard could provide the additional advantage of being able to keep records with a database or spreadsheet program.

However, in my ideal world, I wouldn't need to take my laptop into the beeyard with me at all.  I would leave the laptop in the truck (powered by the truck's 12V system) and then use some sort of wireless microphone/headset combination to transmit sounds from the hive back to the PC.  The results would then be sent back to me in some form of audio through the headphones.

The big advantage in both of these situations is that the logic and functionality wouldn't be restricted by a specific piece of hardware.  Rather, it would be a function of whatever a software engineer creates.  From there, the marginal cost of reproducing and distributing software would  be close to nil.

But then again, I got into beekeeping because I wanted to do something that didn't involve computers.  Go figure...

S. R. Jones
NW Oregon, USA

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