discussion / Acoustics  / 28 June 2022

HydroMoth GroupGets campaign

It continues to be difficult to source microcontrollers due to global supply chain issues, but Open Acoustic Devices have managed to source a small supply for an initial group purchase campaign of HydroMoth; a variant of AudioMoth intended for making underwater recordings.

HydroMoth hardware is directly compatible with all AudioMoth firmware, meaning you can use the device in any number of underwater applications, from scheduled recording in coral reefs, to triggering recordings by amplitude or frequency in freshwater ponds. HydroMoth has improved LED visibility and more accurate time keeping for long deployments. It also has an in-built magnetic reed switch, which enables recordings to be started and stopped in wet conditions without opening the case. HydroMoth is sold with the AudioMoth Underwater Case as standard, with the option to add a waterproof magnetic key chain fob to make use of the magnetic reed switch. HydroMoth will be ready to ship immediately after the campaign close date. Click here to find out more. 




I'm interested in recording both underwater and in terrestrial forests. Does the Hydromoth work well enough in air that I could just buy a couple of them to test in both environments?

From Alex on Twitter:

Yes. The HydroMoth has the same microphone and firmware as the standard AudioMoth which is widely used for terrestrial conservation. You would need the standard green case which has a waterproof acoustic vent.

@Andrew_Hill Out of curiosity, since this campaign reached its goal & is ending soon, is it possible to turn the remaining Hydromoth units that didn't sell into Audiomoths for a limited GroupGets? I understand that Hydromoths can be used terrestrially as well, but they are more expensive than the last Audiomoth campaigns have been by $50+ so just wanted to see if Audiomoths would still be cheaper. Just trying to figure out if I should buy more Hydromoths or wait until Audiomoths start selling again (ends up being a trade-off between cost and time basically).