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macnmotion
New member
That's my microscope. I'm setting up audio so I can live stream views from my microscope into Thai elementary schools where they don't have decent science equipment.
Old Music Guy
Active member
You rock!
rob aylestone
Moderator
Thats a really great idea? Never heard of this in the UK. S this common where you are? How does it actually work with the kids. Elementary school, so that is UK Primary age 5-11 I think. Microscopes and young kids i dont think happens here?
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macnmotion
New member
I spent years in the USA doing sidewalk astronomy, but in the middle of Bangkok you can't really see the night sky. I started in microscopy 2 years ago and this gives me a similar opportunity to help educate and intrigue kids. I've got a friend who is a science teacher at an international school here so I can run tests through him in English, but eventually if I really want to reach kids who need this I'll need to do it in Thai, which I'm not good enough at. I'm connecting with a Bangkok university to find grad students who would like to be involved in the project. My microscope isn't portable so it's not practical to take it into a school, this the streaming. I'd be streaming pond or marine water samples to show microorganisms and microanimals, fitting in with the kinds of things these kids are learning about nature and biology. Basically it's a field trip in the form of a stream. When I grew up we didn't use microscopes ourselves until about age 12, but this isn't about them using a microscope, it's about being introduced to the natural world. For kids in Junior High here, I can get more into the cell structure, cellular mechanisms, etc.
There are a few people doing live views of microscopes online, such as Microbe Hunter on YouTube, and it's pretty popular. This would be the first initiative like this that I know of in this region.
You're welcome to take a look at the types of things I view on my YouTube channel: @thaimicrocosmos.
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macnmotion
New member
I thought I'd share my newbie mistakes. I have a working setup and I think it sounds good but now I know what would have been better.
- The Rode PodMic is good for my purposes, but it could benefit from a cloudlifter. However I bought the Behringer 302USB interface, and while it has phantom power it only outputs about 15V, so it can't drive a cloudlifter. I'm turning the gain and output volume up very high on the interface, so I'm running a noise gate in GarageBand to remove noise. That works but it's not ideal. I should have spent more on an interface.
- I bought a Thai-made boom arm that clamps to the desk. While it is rated for more weight than my mic, it's not ideal, and difficult to position exactly as I would want. Also the arms are shorter than I would want. I've ordered a Rode desktop stand to use instead, and when I visit the USA I'll bring back a much higher end boom.
rob aylestone
Moderator
That is really annoying. I'm assuming it makes the cloudlifter noisy? Exactly the reverse of what you want. Have you tried the wireless system with the lav mic? Those mics are not actually that bad, assuming you don't want the popular 'in your face' sound?
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macnmotion
New member
We used the lav mic years ago for a job where we filmed interviews for a client. The lav worked great connected to a Canon DSLR. Honestly I don't think I'll have any further use for it, maybe I'll sell them and use the money for a better interface.