Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2019 March 15

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March 15

Is there a higher quality equivalent to the "Magic Ear" ?

See https://tvstuffreviews.com/magic-ear

I like the concept of a directional microphone placed in the shirt pocket with ear buds that looks like a radio. The larger size than a conventional hearing aid should allow it to be made less expensively, not get gunked up with wax, allow larger batteries that last longer, and not make it obvious to everyone that I have a hearing problem. However, this actual version seems like it's low quality crap. From the reviews, it seems to both cause and pick up interference from nearby electronic devices, and the volume settings are inadequate or often nonfunctional, and the device fails after a short period, and the ear buds don't fit in the ears, it sounds like you are in a tunnel, and they take months to deliver it. So, I like the form factor, and concept, but would like to find a higher quality version, with electromagnetically shielded wires, and better quality control. Now for my questions:

• Is there a name for this specific type of device I could search for ?

• What kind of microphone does it use ?

• Is there any inherent reason why such a form factor can't work well ? One limitation I can think of is that stereo sound would require 2 microphones, pointed in different directions. Covering the pocket with a coat would also be expected to cause problems.

• Does anyone find any specific products like this ? Ideally the batteries would be be replaceable and rechargeable, but non-rechargeable batteries are next best.

SinisterLefty (talk) 17:33, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

• I have a couple of those which came from China via eBay for about $.99 each. They're kids toys. But even then, no reason to not be reliable.

If you want a hearing aid, there are plenty around these days. Investment in engineering to give reliability and better battery life have obvious advantages. If you have time with an audiologist to set one up, then a modern digital one (or an old analogue one, with far greater complexity) can adjust its particular frequency response to match what you're missing, so that you get a much more realistic, 'flatter' (that's a good thing) overall result.

If you have perfectly good typical human hearing, but you want Superman hearing, then that's a different game. It's also likely to need a physically larger microphone (or sound collector). The sort of thing with a parabolic reflector, often used to record wildlife. For reasons of robust physics, hearing quieter sounds will benefit from a greater "ear" to catch them with, even if the "eardrum" itself is still small. Hearing different frequencies may require different sizes of "eardrum" as well - you might want to listen to bats, you might want to listen to trees in wind, or to elephants.

I also have a Zoom H1 digital recording microphone [1]. This was bought as a recorder for the output from a mixing desk, but it also includes two stereo microphones, as a Blumlein pair, and an earphone socket. It has proven an extremely useful bit of kit for several years now, both with its microphone and without, and even as a bare microphone into a PA system. Adding a small 'dead cat' windshield helps though. It would do the job you're after (I think the newer models fit a shirt pocket better, with the mics pointing forwards) and is certainly worth a look. Andy Dingley (talk) 19:44, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

Thanks for the info. Am I correct that it would be aimed either up or down if placed in a shirt pocket ? Is there a version which would be aimed forward ? SinisterLefty (talk) 02:03, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

That one would point upwards, yes. It's the H1 though, the first model, and there are several since. I think some of the later ones have a hinge. Andy Dingley (talk) 10:27, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

OK, thanks. SinisterLefty (talk) 19:57, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

Wikipedia's Unique Userboxes

So I am making my user page more interesting by planning to add more Userboxes to it.

What I am confused on is if I need permission to use a Userbox made by someone else... (Not like the ones made by the website or the WikiProjects.) James-the-Charizard (talk) 18:58, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

If they posted it to Wikipedia, it's here under their implicit agreement to licence content freely, same as anything else they post. So you're OK. Andy Dingley (talk) 19:46, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

The important thing to remember is to attribute the content to the author. For example, Template:The 12 Days of Wikipedia was lifted from an editor's userpage [2] and no attribution was given. 86.136.237.254 (talk) 20:31, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

You only need attribution per Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia if you copy the wikitext of the userbox like Template:The 12 Days of Wikipedia. No attribution is required if you only transclude a userbox. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:46, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

Agreed. Transclusion, like linking images, would be seen under established WP practice to itself be adequate attribution. Unlike copying, these two preserve the linkage to the source. Andy Dingley (talk) 00:12, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

I assume that the word "transclude" means putting the target page inside curly brackets. The point is, that since the template itself does not provide attribution your transclusion of it won't either. 86.136.237.254 (talk) 08:42, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

Yes, transclusion means that. If you transclude a page then it's not considered your burden to examine whether the transcluded page was copied from somewhere without giving attribution. Cameron11598 posted the old version of User:Cameron11598/Christmas Greeting to many users with substitution. Template:The 12 Days of Wikipedia was copied from User talk:Bsadowski1#Happy Holidays.[3] L293D should still have given credit, even if it was only with a link to User talk:Bsadowski1#Happy Holidays where Cameron11598 can be found. I have now credited the original page in a dummy edit.[4] PrimeHunter (talk) 11:24, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

Thanks @PrimeHunter:!--Cameron₁₁₅₉₈ ^(Talk) 16:59, 18 March 2019 (UTC)