calls
Call systems with no power
27/07/20 23:22
We had a bit of a problem with this new nest site as there is no electricity available nearby and it is too far from the nearest building for bluetooth to work, so the call systems we have deployed in the past were not going to work here. I discussed it with Martin Ridley who is constantly trying new ways of making swift nest call systems and he had a few things up his sleeve but I could not find a battery powered solution which permitted intermittent programmed timings. The advantage of having a bit of calling, now and then, is that it can be adapted to what your neighbours find tolerable and, though I cannot prove it, I think that occasional calling provokes interest with swifts more reliably than a constant noise, dawn to dusk… discuss.
In the end I opted for a BT526 bluetooth stereo speaker which operates from before breakfast to after dinner without running out of power, set quite loud. I put the swift music mp3s on a 32GB micro SD card, copying it until it filled up the card so it does not stop. The BT526 is water proof but I hung it from a hook on the bottom of this nest to give it shelter from heavy showers. Not being able to programme it means I have to go to it and winch it down to turn it off and to USB charge it over night but it is not a bad compromise. If it were within bluetooth range I would be able to broadcast from the house and set timings on the computer or other output device. At £27 on Amazon it is great value and the sellers say that if you give them a review and send them details of the purchase they will send you a second one for free. They sound pretty good playing regular music too and the second unit would allow a more effective stereo sound stage (they can be linked). So if you have a nest site which is not near power, there are options. Product plug over.
