Long range directional microphones-myth and reality
There are a lot of myths about directed long-range microphones. You can hear that they can reach distances of 100, 200, and more meters, others say that this is a myth and these numbers are for commercial purposes. Let us try mathematically to find proof and see the real situation. Introduction to long-range microphones When talking about directed microphones, we usually remember that sound sources are in the open air and have no reverberation effects. So the only factor is the distance of the sound source object from the microphone. Along with the distance, sound power drops significantly, and in longer ranges, it interferes with other sounds like wind and other noises in the atmosphere. When the distance is about 100m, sound pressure drops more than 40dB(compared to a distance equal to 1m). If the sound level is 60dB, then from 100m, you will hear 20dB. The sound level of 20dB is less than other environmental noise, and many standard microphones are not sensitive enough for such sound levels. So we can say that directed microphones must have: Complying with these requirements with one microphone is quite a difficult task. Other solutions were creating low directive microphones with high sensitivity…