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Recording in the Cold

by Various: an extract of email conversations.

From: Robin White

Does anyone have any experience with, or any information about, recording at extremely low temperatures (say, 10 degrees F)? Or can anyone suggest where I might be able to get that information?

My instincts tell me that it might be hard to use DAT that cold. What about minidisk? What about cassette?

Any thoughts?

Robin White

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From: Tony Dec

Not sure of temp limits; but a DAT machine should sit for about 2 hours with the compartment door open after being brought from the cold into a warm room, due to the possibility of condensation forming on the DAT drum head.

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From: Julian Crandall Hollick

I have recorded in a refrigeration plant once before and encountered no specific problems. However, you would be wise to allow 15 minutes before and after to let the DAT machine adjust to the level of humidity. I see someone else suggests two hours. Makes sense though I don't think you would need that length of time. Try it and good luck!

Julian CH

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From: John Rudolph

I spent a day last winter recording ice fishermen on Lake Winnipesauke (sp?) in New Hampshire. It was about 20 degrees with a windchill factor well below zero. My Tascam DAP-1 operated just fine. I'm not sure you need any special equipment. Just keep your recorder in a well padded bag so when you slip and fall on the ice it doesn't shatter into a million pieces. Also, bring a flask of brandy so you can stop your teeth from chattering long enough to ask an intelligent question or record ambiance.

John Rudolph

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From: Steve Rathe

There is a complete book of advice for people going to McMurdo station in Antarctica that the NSF or somebody publishes, they might have some suggestions.

You might also try to get a hold of some of our station friends in alaska, or the chief engineer of APRN.

Good luck.

Steve Rathe

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From: Doug Quin

In general, I would encourage you to check out the Nature Sounds Society:

http://www.naturesounds.com

Their Newsletter often features gear reviews as well as tips for field recording.

I have used DAT in cold weather with very few problems. The key is keeping the unit warm (next to your body, or insulated with chemical heat packs. Much of this relates to battery consumption. Always make sure your batteries are warm--many is the time that I stuff these into my underwear and keep them close to body warmth. Lithium batteries have a longer life.

The other thing that I have learned is to keep an ample supply of Zip Lock Bags (yes, this is a name brand endorsement!). I put pouches of silica gel in this to keep DATs, mics and other sensitive stuff dry. If you shuffle between warm and cold environments, be careful of condensation building up.

I do not use minidisc, because the compression is such that it compromises the quality of natural sound (not much in the high end or low end). For voice, they are fine. Cassettes are okay to. I used to bring a back-up Walkman, now I use a Sony D-8. The DAT just will make your life easier for editing later.

Doug Quin

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From: Flawn Williams

The portable DAT recorders function pretty well down into the depths of cold. The biggest impediments to recording are:

BATTERY LIFE: any battery source you're using will be far less efficient at delivering power at frigid temps than in normal temps. So internal batteries are fairly useless, outboard battery packs de rigeur. When you CAN run on internal rechargeable batteries, the heat they give off will help. Take four or more times as many batteries as you would for warm weather recording.

PROTECT THE DECK: It helps to keep the deck at least a bit warmer than the surrounding atmosphere, either by use of chemical heat packs or by wearing the recorder near the body under wraps to share warmth (but not moisture) with it. Tapes should ideally be kept at about the same temperature as the deck they are to be put in, and inside a moisture barrier when not in the machine.

WATCH FOR HUMIDITY: The biggest danger in cold weather comes when you take the recorder from cold outside to warm-more humid inside. Since the deck is colder than the moist inside air it will invite condensation of moisture from the air, and this can bring about a transport shutdown and a DEW warning as the tape sticks to the rotating metal headdrum. Even a few breaths full of moisture from you as you peer into the deck trying to change tapes, can be enough to shut down the machine in extreme cold. You need to let the machine come up to room temperature while still sealed in a moisture barrier, before you take it out in a heated interior space.

I don't have direct experience with MiniDisc in cold situations. I do know that its power requirements are greater than some DAT machines, which could be a hassle for trying many days of recording while sherpaing batteries. It's also more susceptible to motion-induced problems than DAT is; if you're planning to record while walking, running, or riding in a bumpy car, this can be a limiting factor no matter what the temp.

Cassettes operate with higher amounts of friction than DATs, and are more likely to have binding problems. Analog tapes in general (including reel to reel) have worse time in cold weather than the video-style tape that is also used for digital. We had a Nagra portable reel recorder become useless outdoors at an Olympic event, when it got so cold that the oxide and binder began to shed off the tape backing, turning to goo!

Flawn Williams

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Liquid crystal computer screens will not function at low temperatures. Disk drives and high density data tapes such as DAT may or may not work, depending upon temperature cycling, humidity (condensation can be a problem) and so on. I've never tried plain old audio casettes in extreme cold, but I imagine at -10F and below the tape would become somewhat brittle and fidelity may suffer as the tape stretches unevenly.

As my experience is rather limited, I suggest you contact some professionals in documentary film and radio who have been to Antarctica. You can begin by contacting the Office of Polar Programs at the National Science Foundation:

http://www.nsf.gov/home/polar/start.htm

As a long shot, you can also contact Antarctic Support Associates (ASA) the civilian logistics contractor for the NSF Polar Programs ((303) 790-8606). They may have some information, or may be able to refer you to one of the many groups which have done documentary work in Antarctica.

Regards,

Bruce Huber