A portable listening and recording system for underwater sound

Abstract

This report describes the Rowboat System, a compact, self contained portable listening and recording system designed and built at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for listening to and recording underwater sounds in the frequency range of 30 to 30,000 cps. it is designed for animal sounds primarily. The system is all-transistor and includes a hydrophone-matching preamplifier, a 65-db amplifier, a record amplifier and bias oscillator, a meter and speech amplifier, and a 1000-cps speed reference oscillator. These are built around a commercial spring-wound tape deck and are battery powered. All are comfortable in a one-half cubic foot box.