Elekon Batscanner Bat Detector

Customer Reviews:

Ideal for beginners
by W Brown in the United Kingdom (29-04-2013)

We are new to bat detectors and were unsure which type or model to try. We used the Batscanner on our first outing and were very surprised by the clarity of the display in the dark, the sound of the calls on the speakers and the total ease of use. It is ideal and means that we have been able to easily identify four types of bat just in our garden. We are looking forward to using it in the future and exploring further afield. The only little problem is that a lanyard would make it safer to use.
 

One Of The Best Little Handheld Bat Detectors!
by Al Milano in the United States (14-02-2013). Read more at http://batdetecting.blogspot.com/

The new Batscanner bat detector, from Elekon, in Switzerland. Yay! It got here (in the US) faster than I thought it would. My compliments, for the fast shipping! Since we've been having some ideal weather for bats, my next thought was "This is going to be fun!"
Approximately $265 US dollars for Elekon's Batscanner (fully built) + Shipping costs (depending on where you are, of course). The unit arrived well packaged and protected.

Some first impressions – I love the compact size, and comfortable feel it has when held. I really like the green LED display, and the sensitivity of this unit is just amazing!! And, I also love the fact that it features a line-out jack: For headphones, or for recording! (my favorite part).

I was very happy to see that The Batscanner is now also available for purchase, from NHBS.

The unit is sensitive! One can immediately tell how sensitive it is, simply by powering it on, and rubbing your fingers together in front of the microphone. The microphone on this unit, is the now popular MEMs type. When in the field (without any man-made or electronic interference nearby): Pressing the power button will cause the unit to display three dashes " - - - " on the (green) LED display. In contrast to powering it on indoors, where it will latch on to whichever electronic signal that reaches it first.

This unit fits very comfortably in the hand! It also seems to fit in just about any pocket. The unit simply displays the last frequency that was detected; until a new bat flies by, within it's range. I believe this is a clever arrangement. It is also useful, in case you weren't looking at the display during the bat pass – You can just look down & see what the detected peak frequency was.

For now, the only "nit-picking" I can do, is in regards to battery changing. You do need a small Phillips head screwdriver in order to remove the 2 small screws that hold the battery door in place. But, as far as I'm concerned this arrangement isn't too bad. My minor issue, is that you need good dexterity to properly insert the batteries. It's a slightly tight fit. I've found an easy method: Always insert the (+) positive side of the battery first, then the (-) negative side will slide in easier. Another issue of concern, is that the unit seems to power itself off, after about 30 minutes of inactivity. Not very good for un-attended recording!

I've always used NimH re-chargeable batteries, in all my bat detectors. This one is no different. The new Batscanner from Elekon, is a scanning heterodyne type bat detector. So, the Batscanner has been picking up bats, and works as it should – When a bat flies within range, the echolocation is heard from the front speaker. And, if the user wishes to listen with headphones: Any standard headphones (with 3.5 mm plug) work fine. I tested the unit with several name-brand earphones, and didn't encounter any problems. As expected, when headphones/ear-buds are plugged in, the front mounted speaker is muted. I have also tried some extensive testing, with the detector hooked up to various recorders. I did not end up getting any good results. As per the manufacturer, this detector was never designed to be used for un-attended recording. It was made for listening.

I agree that the Batscanner is, in fact very easy to handle & listen with. In my case, I just like to experiment with recording from different bat detectors. And, of course, it's always fine with frequency division detectors. But, as we know: Recordings from heterodyne detectors are considered practically useless anyway – Aside from the aesthetic quality.

Going forward, I'll be using high quality alkaline disposable batteries; and I've already noticed an improvement in performance and length of battery life. So, that's good.

An interesting discovery: Upon testing frequency response/frequency read-out by producing known frequency tones: The display did not seem accurate. In fact, the only way I can get the display to read anything at all, is if I produce a 20 kHz tone... Nothing else was picked up or registered (10, 30, 40, 50, 60kHz..etc.). The program I used is called Usonic. It's a free, DOS-based program that uses your computer's "beep" speaker – Sometimes, it will use one of your main speakers, on a laptop, for instance. If interested, you can download it from the Durham Bats Group Website. In any case, I contacted Elekon about it, and found out that this is by design. A very clever design, I might add! Here is an excerpt, from Elekon's reply:

"...but you underestimated us. If you go outside and "listen" to the bats you should have no other animals or noise you hear. The point is that we are triggering bats with a complex hard- and software-combination. If you have a linear signal we know that it is not a bat and don't display it."

Wow! Is that amazing, or what?!? What this also means, is that the unit will not focus on any unwanted sounds that you may encounter in the field. Very cool! ...This is also why most singing insect sounds are not heard.

All-in-all, I like this detector very much! It's sensitive, perfect for Bat Walks, and displays the peak frequency of the last bat that flew by. Helping the user get closer to making an identification of the species. [...]"