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Using a Dell DJ MP3 player for field playback of bird songs. Rev A2, November, 2005
© Copyright Stuart Healy www.aztrogon.com Page 3 of 25
INTRODUCTION
This document describes my experiences configuring and using a Dell DJ MP3 player for field playback
of bird songs in the course of my work. Topics covered include how I went about defining what I wanted,
the compromises involved when I checked into what was on the market, the hardware and software that I
ended up using, how I implemented the project and the practical aspects of field use.
Even though your application, hardware and software may not be exactly the same as mine, the
information contained here will hopefully help you to implement an MP3 solution that works for you.
Original Requirements
Life before MP3 with a myriad of portable tape players and (briefly) a portable CD player had given me
plenty of insight into potential problems with field use of electronic playback equipment.
First and foremost on my mind was robustness, the ability of the equipment to withstand the knocks it
would undoubtedly receive -- I knew that I would be dropping the equipment on a regular basis. For this
reason I decided that I wanted a solid state unit; i.e. one with a memory card rather than a hard disk
The second most important aspect was ease of use in the field. I wanted to be able to quickly and easily
access any bird song using just one hand. With a binocular, micro-recorder, often times a scope and
sometimes a camera to carry, this is obviously an issue.
Two main features were important here: (1) a large display that could be read easily in poor light and (2)
an easy to use selection device. Secondary, but nevertheless important, issues that I considered were
storage capacity, a field replaceable battery, unit size and weight.
Compromises
Now to reality. When I first looked at the market in February 2005, I soon realized that I would have to
compromise on my most important requirements. All of the solid state units were “low end” in terms of
display and controls. Most didn’t have a display at all (let alone a large display) and the controls for
selection of songs were quite primitive.
To get a large display and decent controls for selection of songs meant that I would have to buy a unit
with a hard disk. I also settled for an integrated battery.
Decision
PDAs can play MP3 files but the dorky touch screen pen control ruled that out as a viable option. IPOD
seems to be the main choice for most (music) MP3 users but since I’m a PC and not a Mac user, I didn’t
want to invite any software problems. Consequently, I ruled out IPod immediately and didn’t even
consider the available units. I looked around at various manufacturers’ equipment and eventually decided
on a Dell unit for several reasons -- it had the large display that I wanted, a very easy to use selection
device and, perhaps most importantly, I’ve been a Dell computer user for a number of years (two desktops
and a laptop) and have been very satisfied with the equipment.
I decided on the Dell DJ 30GB unit. At the time of my purchase (March 2005) this was the largest unit
that Dell offered (in addition to 5GB and 20GB). Although such a large capacity isn’t necessary purely for
bird songs, I chose it because I also wanted to play music (man cannot live by birds alone) and download
photos to the unit while on the road (as a backup in case my laptop hard disk fails).