faqtest

A Brief Introduction to Aquarian Hydrophones

This guide is intended as a broad overview of the stock Aquarian options available, especially for those new to hydrophone use.  Please contact us for more technical advice, custom builds, or information regarding our Aquarian Scientific line. If curious about hydrophone/device compatibility, please provide the make and model of your devices.

________________________________________

Hydrophone manuals for additional information and specifications

• H1a manual
• H2dM manual
• H2dX manual
• A5 manual - in development, please visit the A5 webpage
• AS-1 manual, AS-1 charts, PA6 data sheet
• H3n manual
• H3dM manual
• H3dX manual

________________________________________

Compatiblity of our most commonly sold hydrophones with the various accompanying electronics

________________________________________

What is the simplest way for me (and others) to listen to underwater soundscapes?

The simplest system we sell for recreational listening is the combination of the H1a hydrophone and the Honeytone amplified speaker. This is not only the cheapest system that we sell, but also the easiest to operate. The speaker is just a cheap mass-produced guitar speaker from China, but it works really well as long as you keep it dry. You might be surprised how many large professional tour operators buy these for all of their boats. They just work. You can use it as a fully-portable system, or patch the headphone jack from the speaker into an AUX input on your marine stereo system for playback through a larger audio system. If you end up wanting to record these sounds, you can add the PA1 buffer amp to the hydrophone to make it compatible with any standard audio recorder. The PA1 has the same electronics that are built into the H2d hydrophone. Customers have also used this setup as a basic tool to detect pool leaks.

Here's a video of the H1a/Honeytone in action.

What are some options if I want to record underwater?

Our simplest recording system is the H2d hydrophone with 3.5mm TRS output (H2dM) or A5 hydrophone connected to the Zoom H1e recorder.  You can plug headphones into the Zoom, or you can use a patch cable to connect the Zoom to a powered speaker/marine stereo system to share sounds as you record.  Do make sure that your speaker has an AUX input! There are bluetooth dongles available that could potentially work with a bluetooth speaker, but to date the options tested have an awkward lag. We have no specific recommendations as of yet.

Please note: the H2d and A5 cannot be plugged directly into a Honeytone speaker or powered speakers - the speakers do not provide the required plug-in-power/phantom power or enough gain.  The hydrophone must first go through some sort of mic preamp, such as a recorder or sound interface.  The A5 can be used with this little voice amplifier (but it won't work with the H2d, as it does supply quite enough plug-in power for its electronics).

A similar, but higher quality recording system with more channels and features is the Zoom H4e or Zoom H5 paired with the H2d with an XLR input (H2dX) or the A5 with a PIP-XLR adapter.  You can also use the Zoom H1XLR Handy Recorder for a simpler XLR option.

What if I want to record using my smart phone, tablet, or computer? 

All smart phones and tablets that we are aware of use the same connection for both the microphone and headphones. Most newer laptop computers also use this combination jack. The H2d will not work directly with these combination jacks unless there is an automatic switching mechanism built in. An adapter, such as the StarTech MUYHSMFF, must be used to break out the microphone and headphone contacts. Check out the Saramonic SR-C2003 if your phone has USBc. If you have an iPhone with a Lightning connector, perhaps the SR-C2018 could work for you. Due to limitations in the quality of the preamps that are built into these devices, we recommend using the H2dX hydrophone and the Zoom AMS-22 for connecting to these devices (connect by USB adapter for iPhone or iPad or use as simple preamp with appropriate adapters for Android).  Please consider - it may be better to use a Zoom recorder instead to keep your expensive phones and electronics away from the water!

How do I decide between the A5 and the H2d?

Here is a chart giving some things to consider:

What A5 add-ons are currently available?

• A5 Weight: used to hold the hydrophone down in the water column, as the A5 is close to neutrally buoyant - highly recommended for field recording
• PIP-XLR adapter: the A5 comes with a 3.5mm TRS output - this adapter converts plug-in-powered hydrophones to balanced XLR output (Phantom power is required)
• M10 Panel Mount Kit: allows bulkhead mounting of the A5 if that is necessary for your application

What about the AS-1 Hydrophone?

The AS-1 hydrophone is part of our Aquarian Scientific line. It is designed to provide maximum sensitivity in a small size while also providing a linear response in the bandwidth of the highest-quality commercial digital sound recording interfaces, allowing for high-quality, low-cost underwater sound analysis.  It can be used with a scope or DAQ device, or paired with the PA6 preamp to be compatible with digital recorders or sound interfaces.  We generally do not recommend it for listening/recording soundscapes, due to the price point, a slightly lower sensitivity than the H2d and A5 hydrophones, and a sensor that is easier to damage and more expensive to repair. 

What about the H3 Hydrophone?

The H3 hydrophone was designed as a leak finding tool.  It’s sensitive and small in size, allowing it to be inserted into plumbing systems.  For more information, visit the H3 webpage.

How much does shipping cost to my area? How long will it take to reach me?

The easiest way to check shipping costs and times is to build your order and begin the checkout process.  You will be shown shipping options, delivery estimates and shipping costs.  We cannot guarantee delivery times, especially for international deliveries, as there can be courier and customs delays that we have no control over. Customers are responsible for any customs and import fees, which are often charged upon delivery.

Lead times can vary depending on the hydrophone(s) ordered and how busy our shop is.  If an item is in stock we can ship it within a day, but if it needs to be built the lead time will obviously be longer. Please contact us for up to date stock information.

How long should my cable be?

For use in the field, we usually recommend a minimum of 9m of cable. If you are working in deep water, a longer cable will minimize noise from the boat, as well as surface (wave) noise, and acceleration noise caused by cable strum if the hydrophone is moving in the water.  In shallow water, if working from shore, the longer cable will allow you to place the hydrophone further out into the pond or steam, which allows you to record from a safer location and often places the hydrophone closer to your source.  However, the longer the cable is, the more difficult it is to manage.

Users of our three-meter cable setup are typically musicians or people working in a lab or aquarium, as well as those in industry and kayakers.  Be sure to consider versatility in future applications, even if the primary use of the hydrophone is one of these.

What temperatures can I use my hydrophone at?

These were designed for use in natural aquatic environments, which are typically mild in temperature. We recommend using them only between temperatures of -20 to 70C to maintain your warranty and maximum longevity.  They have been proven in practice to operate at temperatures far below freezing up to the boiling point of water.  See the testimonial attached to Simon Forrester's recordings at our recordings page.  Our GM also personally made a crude video of boiling a hydrophone for twenty minutes after getting several questions about using them in hot springs.  See that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1PyrAKN-5Y.  When you use them at extreme temperatures, just remember that the soft materials are much more brittle when they are cold and much softer when hot and easier to break or tear.

We actually encourage our customers to use the hydrophones as needed.  One of the advantages of the H1 / H2 design is that they are mechanically rugged and easy to repair if broken.  We do not cover damage caused by misuse under warranty.  If we see thermoforming or stress cracking in the cable or rubber encapsulant at the time of repair, you will be asked to pay for repair.

With this noted, if you are attempting to freeze the hydrophone into a solid block of ice, we recommend that you wrap the inactive surfaces in closed-cell foam.  Water expands when it freezes; if this expansion happens in a closed container (this would include making a bore hole in a big block of ice and letting it refreeze), it can make huge compressive forces on the hydrophone.  The foam can help absorb this.  As an example, look at this photo: http://www.aquarianaudio.com/images/aquarian/freeze_prep.JPG.  Also be careful with the cable when trying to reclaim the hydrophone from the ice.  There is not much you can do to protect the hydrophone from very hot environments.  Try to keep exposure as short as possible and avoid putting any stress on the cable until it is fully cooled.

What are the specifications for my hydrophone?

All of the specifications of our hydrophones are available from the product web pages. With the Aquarian Audio line, you may need to download the user manual to see additional specifications. Please be careful to read the notes on the specifications. Many people make the mistake of reading the "useful response" spec and confusing that with the linear response. There is no simple answer to this question. It will depend on the hydrophone and your needs for linearity and repeatability.  We do not publish detailed specifications for the H1/H2 line as its gain and noise are strongly affected by bias current and compliance voltage supplied to it by the preamp (so it would need to be measured with your specific connection).

What is the range of my hydrophone?

Think of this like you would sound in air. Your ability to detect a sound is usually more related to your ability to resolve that sound over the ambient noise in the environment. You also need to add system noise--which is likely to come more from the preamp with which you use the hydrophone than the hydrophone itself. There are too many unknown variables for us to be able to predict this for our customers. Typically, with a decent recording system, if you can see the source, you can hear it.

My hydrophone is broken, what do I do?

Contact us; we may be able to repair it! Or, at the very least, help to diagnose the problem.  Most hydrophone fixes cost between $20-$100.  When repairs can not be made or shipping costs make repairs impractical, we offer replacement discounts.  Please see our Warranty Page for full out-of-warranty repair details.