Has anyone made their own dead cat microphone cover for a phone recording?

Nature Talk
1

A dead cat is the name for a microphone cover that deadens the sound of wind. They’re usually very furry, hence the name. :)

I’ve looked around the internet and not had any luck buying one that seems to suit what I need: something small and portable that I can put on or around my iPhone when I record sounds for iNat on a windy day, so that the recording doesn’t have a lot of wind sounds.

This is a recent observation I made where the wind noise is quite loud, even with me staying very still with my hands cupped around my phone: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/404384169

Anyone made anything like this?

2

I’ve never done it myself, but I read about using a fur roller covers as mic windshield.

3

I had/have the same problem with wind. I do not use a “dead cat” but I did find a way that surprisingly makes the recording better when there is wind. I put my back to the wind then hold out the bottom of my shirt with one hand and hold my phone inside of it. You have to stand still and not let the phone touch/ rub anything or it will pick up the noise.

4

Don’t small microphones that can be plugged into a phone exist? I’ve been wondering about getting one myself

5

[note: original subject line was “Has anyone made their own dead cat for a phone recording?”]

Wow. So not what I guessed this thread would be about. I thought it might have something to do with creating a humourous/disturbing voicemail greeting.

Imagine my disappointment.

6

(changed the topic title to make it more clear)

8

I have made these for my iPhone using fake fur and fabric glue. Both are sold at most fabric stores. Basically make cover for the lower (microphone end) that covers approximately one third of phone. Fold the material and cutting a bit oversize, then gluing the sides together. Size it so that the phone can easily be slid into the ‘dead cat’ envelope of fake fur.

To use, at least for my phone and recording app, start a recording then slide the phone into the cover, don’t touch or move the cover as any movement adds a lot of noise, when finished remove and end recording. It works surprisingly well even in pretty windy conditions. The downside is you will need to trim the beginning and end of recording as sliding it on and off is noisy.

Note that, as I understand it, this method will not work well if using the iNaturalist app to record a sound, as these are not available to edit on your phone so can’t be trimmed.

9

A friend of mine states that an ordinary sock will work pretty well, but I have not tried it.

10

I was still super confused by the title! :joy:

I don’t think I’d ever heard of a “dead cat” microphone cover before. I thought they were asking a (somewhat bizarre) question about if anyone had made a custom cover for their microphone with a picture of a dead cat on it.

11

This sounds quite feasible. I might try adding a hole through the sock to reach the start/stop button of the iNat app. This will avoid the problem with the loud sound of the dead cat moving.

Carrying it in my pocket and sliding it on just for the duration of the recording sounds quite practical.

Thanks, @kenchamberlain