Tweeters,

There doesn't seem to be much traffic on Tweeters these days, so I've
taken it upon myself to provide some herewith.

Given that there now are batteries and microchips in binoculars (the
stabilizied ones, for example), I think it's time to lobby for some
other neat gizmos that could be added with great effect onto binocs.

1. When birding with a companion, it would be nice to be able to indicate
just where in that hillside of brush the bird really is, other than
by suggesting that it is just above the thick branch, which is just
left of the dead tree, which is near the rock.

Think how nice it would be if you could push a button which would cause
a small laser on your binocs to "illuminate" whatever is dead ahead
in the middle of the viewing field. Your companion's binocs would be
equipped with another gizmo that would "see" the laser light when he/she
pushes the button on his binocs. This would allow him to easily scan
for the "red blotch", in the middle of which would (still) be the bird.

Although this same technology is used for anti-tank weapons and smart
bombs, such high-tech binocs could be viewed as a way to move military
technology to civilian uses.

2. It seems almost impossible to nail down a bird chirping in the brambles
or similar situation. Think of all the song sparrows that brazenly
chirp right in front of you. Unless you get close, you can't get
them to move.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a small parabolic reflector mounted right
on your binocs, with a small microphone at it's focal point. The
output could go directly to a set of earphones, so that by moving the
binocs, you could zero right in on the chirp, or the binocs could have
a microchip that could process spikes in the background noice and
display right in the viewing field which direction to move the binocs
to zero in on the bird. (I have the feeling this one might already
exist.)

Christmasly yours,

Bob Mauritsen
Seattle
rhm at ms.washington.edu