how can i use a zoom h4n to make waterfall plots

December 15, 2012 12:27 AM

i want to use a h4n to make waterfall plots

i want to use a zoom h4n recorder as a usb interface to make a waterfall plot of ambient noise. the plot should have time as the x axis,
noise frequency as the y axis, and intensity shown by colour.
the h4n gives 24 bit wav files.
expesnive data acquisition systems can achieve this but are tricky to set up and use, and not often easily portable.
so does anyone know if there is a software already exists that would do this, or how hard it would be to develop the software?

posted by edtut to Computers & Internet (1 answer total)

Waterfall plots are a little different than what you're describing, which sounds more like a spectrum analysis. Generally you'll copy the audio from the Zoom onto your computer, then use a utility to scan the file and generate the graphic. Which software you use depends on what operating system you use, but there should be a free one available if you tell us what kind of computer you want to use for this.
posted by rhizome at 1:32 AM on December 15, 2012