Baton or maganta mk 5

[Uv moth notingha]

Just a quick one , between the batbox baton and magenta mk5 , which detector is better for general purpose ?
the baton's ablility to produce sonograms is tempting , but the magenta's digital display might be more useful in the field ........
Any feedback from an owner of one of these two would be welcome , as would anyone who knows of someting better...
Thanks
UVMOTH
[font="Garamond"]Arms race , moth v bat .

[The Woodman]

Hi Uv moth notingha

I have and use both Magenta 5 and Baton. They are two completely different detectors as you know. The baton is a frequency division, untuneable device which detects all frequencies and converts them to audible sound either for your ears via the loudspeaker or for recording via the 3.5mm output socket. For me, it's strength is just that - it will detect all frequencies as opposed to any heterodyne detector like the Mageneta. With the Magenta you will only hear a bat if it echolocates on the frequency the detector is set at (not strictly true in practice but the theory is good).

Don't forget, Batbox also produce a heterodyne model with an LCD display but it's more expensive. There are other brands out there too. The Magenta is good value for money, works well and produces a good sound. So good for the money that I've just ordered six of them.

If you went for the Baton, which is good in other respects, you'll have no idea what frequency the bat you're listening to is at. The only way you'll find out is to record it and then analyse the recording or play the output (real time) through a laptop, PDA or similar with the appropriate software.

Get back to me if that's not clear but my suggestion would be to go for the Magenta 5 if you want a handy cost effective bat detector. If you are not worried about a large frequency display to the tenth of kHz go for Magenta Mk4 which is cheaper.

[nightshade]

If you want to learn and share the experience the Magenta is the tool, then next Christmas you try for the Baton