electronic predator calls

nunyet · 02-03-2007, 02:59 PM

I have called a few coyotes in with mouth calls but think the reason is the uncalled areas I have hunted not from any skill.

Some of you guys seem to have this coyote thing figured out so my question is, will the electronic call work better, the big advantage being having the sound coming from where you are not? I have quite a bit of area I can get on.

I'm going to try and make it to the I fish hunt in Feb.

Thanks nunyet

Birdnest · 02-03-2007, 05:06 PM

I like the electronic calls for a couple of reasons. You mentioned the most important with the sound being away from you. Also, a big thing that some overlook is the ability to reduce the volume(remote). This buys you some valuable seconds while Wiley is circling downwind trying to figure out where that sound is coming from. I also like the ability to change the sound(remote). Say you have yote that is not cooperating, sometimes kicking on the challenge call really changes the scene. You get the idea.

Pros: lots of sounds in MP3 format at your finger tips, new callers are pretty portable with good battery life.

Cons: $$$$$$$$

Hope this helps.

Joe

This thread reminds me of my dad, brother and I making a caller out of a tackle box, car stereo, motorcycle battery, and a radio shack loud speaker...

Rank Amateur · 02-03-2007, 08:17 PM

A electronic caller gives some of us untalented predator hunters a chance. We all can't be Skeins or Rusty's. It would take me forever to learn all the different calls with mouth calls.

Keeping the call away from you is a definate plus, plus the ease of switching calls with out any movement. There is definately a learning curve. Only experience will teach the lessons. Having uncalled dogs to work with would be a big plus, I know some of the dogs I have been working lately know some of those calls already.

The call manufacturers are developing new sounds all the time and the dogs haven't heard them yet.

skein · 02-03-2007, 08:49 PM

The main plus I see with e-callers is the range of sounds. There are sounds I simply cannot imitate, yet are easily available with the Foxpro and others.

The main negative I see is it seems to quickly become your go-to device instead of practicing and perfecting a mouth call. Remember, with a mouth call you can play the tune just as you want it, fitting a variety of situations as they arise. And you'll never outgrow the satisfaction you get by calling one in yourself.

One more thing. E-callers have a tendency to make a guy get button-happy. I see guys going through half the litiney of available calls on every stand. Interrigation howls, group howls, rabbit distress, woodpecker distress, and back to howls, all on the same stand. Mostly the real world doesn't work like that, and a lot of the predators know that.

Just my cupple scents.

Skein

Rank Amateur · 02-03-2007, 09:21 PM

Skein makes a good point about being able to put some emotion into your call at the right time, you can't do that with the e-caller, well not yet anyways.

Yes, it can get easy to be a button pusher, yet recently I have been getting better results with a mix. One does need to think like a coyote and what he would expect to hear out in the woods, probably he doesn't hear much at all. There are a few more sounds I would like to add to my caller so things would make more sense. Then again some sounds just don't make any sense, like a pup in distress this time of year, but for some reason it works.

Ni! · 02-04-2007, 09:42 AM

The sound doesn't have to make "sense" in order to work, as Rank mentioned. You can use snowshoe hare sounds here in western Oregon and they work great. As far as I know, we don't have any of the real thing, but that doesn't keep coyotes from trying to eat them.

However, I'm still buying and using hand calls even though I've got my FX3 and I like it a lot. On many of my stands I end up using both the FX3 and some hand calls. I do most of my howling with hand calls.

If I were just starting out with predator calling and didn't have a ton of money to spend, I wouldn't worry about getting an electronic call. I don't think you'll call in many more animals with it. I would focus a lot more on locating coyotes (or whatever you're trying to call) and finding the best areas to call, and learning how to set up a stand and play the wind, etc. If you find that you're calling in animals and you'd like them to be looking somewhere other than straight at you, then it's time to spring for the e-caller. But if you're not calling in critters, the e-caller isn't going to be the magic potion that suddenly makes them show up.

M'kay13 · 02-04-2007, 05:16 PM

Do a search for "Varmint Al". Varmint Al has simple instructions for building a budget electronic call. I built one and called my first dog with it on my fifth stand. I think I built the whole thing for around $35.

nunyet · 02-04-2007, 06:54 PM

Thanks guys:

Very useful information , I'm going to stick with my mouth calls after all the good responses.

nunyet

Hunt'nFish · 02-07-2007, 10:15 AM

Well I just finished building my MP3 based E-caller. WOW, super easy.
I think I only spent $500 too!...............Just joking.

Built it per Varmint Al's instructions using RadioShack 101 parts.
MP3 player was the most costly part. The rest ran about $20 or so....I already had the speaker.
Downloaded a bunch of sounds and two 16-20min pre-recorded sequences.
Can't believe how easy this was. Much better than my tape player based unit. Cleaner, crisper sound and the quite portions of the routine are completely silent. No hissing background noise from the tape.

Only one problem though. I tried to add a 30ft extension cable between the amp and the speaker but I get only faint sound out with amp on high and MP3 volume cranked up. I guess the speaker wire I used (flat wire like lamp cord) has too much loss??? I figured when it comes to speaker wire bigger was better...more copper = less resistance. Might have to check my soldering on the jack connectors.
(UPDATE: yep had a bad connection. Fixed, and I hear no differance w/ 30ft of ext cable between amp and the speaker.

)

Little concerned about how long the little 9v battery in the amp will last when driving a speaker that big. But figured since the amp has an Ext. 9V DC input I could wire up 6 D-Cells in series for a battery pack. My MP3 player's battery is good for 15hrs of use so hopefully that will be enough for a long weekend.

Next is to research the Logitech wireless transmitter/receiver accessories to eliminate the extension cable. last year they were like $150.....might have come down since. I tested a set last year and got a couple hundred feet range, line of sight.

Anyway I couldn't be more happy.
Hunt'nFish

E-caller & Bag-O-Tricks

Hunt'nFish · 02-07-2007, 04:50 PM

PS: if anyone has links to more MP3 sound files. Please share them.
I still haven't found any fawn bleat/baul files.

gerry · 02-07-2007, 05:44 PM

I built the "Varmint Al" caller also and it works great. The first set, using his 20-minute sequence got two dogs into about 100 yards. Real cool except the next sound out of it was "Kenny Chesney...When the Sun Goes Down".Apparently Coyote don't like country music!

REEL HANDEL · 02-07-2007, 06:19 PM

A combo of E-call and mouth call works for me. neither works allthe time too much calling is not good most of the time. My

. I fined they come in the first 10 min. most times.

fiddler · 02-07-2007, 06:28 PM

Sounds:

http://www.western-rivers.com/downloads.html

I built the same e-caller but have yet to use it. Good to hear you guys are getting some results with it. Can't wait to try it out. I plan to use 8 AA rechargables for my little amp.

Hunt'nFish · 02-13-2007, 10:41 AM

Thanks for the link Fiddler....marked the site.
Well I've been playing and playing with mine and I have yet to run the little 9v down.
Perhaps it's just fine as is....just pack a back-up battery just in case.
Hunt'nFish

fool phishn · 02-13-2007, 10:53 AM

If someones looking for a e-caller I have a foxpro 416b with remote that I would like to sell. PM me and we can talk. Thanks

Limbhanger · 02-13-2007, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerry

I built the "Varmint Al" caller also and it works great. The first set, using his 20-minute sequence got two dogs into about 100 yards. Real cool except the next sound out of it was "Kenny Chesney...When the Sun Goes Down".Apparently Coyote don't like country music!

fool phishn · 02-14-2007, 04:55 AM

Hunt'nfish I sent you an email as I could not send you a pm.Did you get it??? FP

Chesapeake · 04-03-2007, 12:45 PM

For the guys trying to build your own electronic call.

I just built one using the Radio shack mini amp and the sound quality was very poor. The amp would produce noise without even an input.

I ordered this:

ORDER DETAILS:
Item: CANUK193
Quantity: 1
Description: 20W Bridge Power Amplifier (Assembled)
Price (each): $19.95
Item Total: $19.95
_________________________________________

Just google the Item number.

I wired it up with 2 9v batteries in series to get the 18v and it has much better sound quality. No noise at all when no sound is being amplified and it has much better volume. It is easy to wire up with just a little soldering.

I havent tested how long the 9v batteries will last but suspect it will be several hours of play time.

Hunt'nFish · 04-03-2007, 12:58 PM

Huh, that's interesting. mine is pretty quite....a slight hiss on HI, but not noticable at more than a few feet. HOWEVER, I'd take more volume. Does that one go higher? I presume it does??? If so, $20 well spent.

18v huh. Interested to hear how long the 9v's will last.
Hunt'nFish

Hawk · 04-03-2007, 01:16 PM

We built ours quite a while ago, and I forget the amp we used. But, some amps are dirtier than others and, if you drive the amp too hard with a low volumn sound source they will hiss. I'd try reducing the amp power output and increase the volumn of the sound input.

Just my

.

Chesapeake · 04-03-2007, 01:20 PM

Oh yeah it goes louder, alot louder!!! You can **** your wife off who is watching the Batchelor real fast.

The amp is rated 20 watts over 4 ohms. The Speco speaker is rated 15 watts at 8 ohms. The 8 ohm load will drop the output of the amp.

The Radio Shack amp was 5 watts at 4 ohms I think.

Not only does it get louder but it maintans sound quality at the much higher volume.

Chesapeake · 04-03-2007, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawk

We built ours quite a while ago, and I forget the amp we used. But, some amps are dirtier than others and, if you drive the amp too hard with a low volumn sound source they will hiss. I'd try reducing the amp power output and increase the volumn of the sound input.

Just my

.

My Radio shack mini amp would hiss at the same volume all the way through the dial from just barely on to full volume without even having any input at all. It also had very poor sound quality. I looked inside and it doesnt even use audio quality components. The resistors are all cheap 5 and 10% resistors. If I remember right the IC was just a cheap power IC and not an audio chip. Plus the volume potetial was just barely enough.

It's a cheap $12 mini amp. I got exactly what I paid for.

The $20 amp uses audio quality IC's and decent resistors. All the savings are from the fact that its just a board and not a finished product in a case.

Thats great for me because I can solder and I dont need a plastic case with a cheap speaker I dont intend to use.

Chesapeake · 04-03-2007, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hunt'nFish

Huh, that's interesting. mine is pretty quite....a slight hiss on HI, but not noticable at more than a few feet. HOWEVER, I'd take more volume. Does that one go higher? I presume it does??? If so, $20 well spent.

18v huh. Interested to hear how long the 9v's will last.
Hunt'nFish

Hunt'nFish,

The hiss in mine isnt all that loud to me but I feer old wily coyote can hear a bit better than me. My main goal was volume.

I will have to get out and hunt to test the batteries. They should last a while.

Hunt'nFish · 04-03-2007, 02:27 PM

Keep us posted, Rick. I have an extra speaker, so I think I'll check out this other amp and build another.
Hunt'nFish

Hawk · 04-03-2007, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

My Radio shack mini amp would hiss at the same volume all the way through the dial from just barely on to full volume without even having any input at all. It also had very poor sound quality. I looked inside and it doesnt even use audio quality components. The resistors are all cheap 5 and 10% resistors. If I remember right the IC was just a cheap power IC and not an audio chip. Plus the volume potetial was just barely enough.

It's a cheap $12 mini amp. I got exactly what I paid for.

The $20 amp uses audio quality IC's and decent resistors. All the savings are from the fact that its just a board and not a finished product in a case.

Thats great for me because I can solder and I dont need a plastic case with a cheap speaker I dont intend to use.

I agree Chesapeake, the $20 ready to assemble is the way we went (I think) and it does pretty good. My teenage son was great with the soldering, and we had a good time doing it together.

docmichar · 04-29-2007, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

For the guys trying to build your own electronic call.

I just built one using the Radio shack mini amp and the sound quality was very poor. The amp would produce noise without even an input.

I ordered this:

ORDER DETAILS:
Item: CANUK193
Quantity: 1
Description: 20W Bridge Power Amplifier (Assembled)
Price (each): $19.95
Item Total: $19.95
_________________________________________

Just google the Item number.

I wired it up with 2 9v batteries in series to get the 18v and it has much better sound quality. No noise at all when no sound is being amplified and it has much better volume. It is easy to wire up with just a little soldering.

I havent tested how long the 9v batteries will last but suspect it will be several hours of play time.

I just built one. It is awesome, and for under 50 bucks not including the MP3 player. I tried several MP3 players and found that the better player produced better output. I ended up using my Palm Pilot (Lifedrive). I tried a really cheap Lyra MP3 player and the audio amp clipped the sound if the frequency was too high. If anyone is interested I will post pictures.

Doc

Hunt'nFish · 04-30-2007, 08:57 AM

Sure throw up a pic!

So you think it was clipping because the freq was too high? I think it was clipping because it hit the 80db output max. My 2Gb Sansa c200 does that. I think it to protect young ears from damage. Very annoying. But I just crank the volume on the amp full tilt and know how high I can set it on the player before it clipped. Plenty of volume...unless the wind is blowing.
Hunt'nFish

CombinationLicense · 11-29-2007, 12:03 PM

Hey guys, I need to resurrect this thread to ask a couple of questions of you e-call builders. I decided to build one of these units to replace my old JS tape player and have started picking up the pieces. To start out with I picked up an inexpensive MP3 player off of Craigslist and one of the Radioshack amps. I then stole the large speaker from my old JS unit and made a couple of patch cords to get it up and running. After downloading 100 MB's of sound files it sounds pretty good. Yes, easily good enough to send the bird dogs into a frenzy and irritate the better half

Now for the questions: First, how did the 18v amp work out? Second, I want to build a self contained unit like is shown on the Nodak forum but I'm having trouble finding a small quality speaker. They recommend the Speco SP-5 and so far I can't find one locally. Other than using the RS 4x6 speaker has anyone got a line on a local supplier?

Thanks

"CL"

riverswild · 11-29-2007, 04:32 PM

Quote:

They recommend the Speco SP-5 and so far I can't find one locally.

I had Radioshack order one for me. I also found one at a Marine/boat shop.

kwbed · 11-30-2007, 09:46 AM

Electronic calling is cheating. Just my humble opinion

DAB · 11-30-2007, 04:53 PM

What do ya mean Cheating ? I have 2 E- Callers But am learning to use mouth calls ,,, What ever brings them a running.

,,

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwbed

Electronic calling is cheating. Just my humble opinion

PIR8 Hook · 12-01-2007, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwbed

Electronic calling is cheating. Just my humble opinion

Could you please show me how to do cougar vocalizations?

kwbed · 12-01-2007, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PIR8 Hook

Could you please show me how to do cougar vocalizations?

Sure thing, anytime. haha Im just kiddin of course I cant do that. To each his own. I was just kiddin anyways

CombinationLicense · 12-03-2007, 12:01 PM

Well, I found a speaker similar to the Speco model at the little cb & radio shop on Hwy 224 in Clackamas. It sounds ok but not nearly as good as the big one that came with the JS tape caller. C'mon, aren't there any shops in in the Tri-County area that carry the Speco 5" speaker?

"CL"

Hunt'nFish · 12-03-2007, 02:43 PM

Have you guys seen this one? Homemade MP3 Game Caller

The guy did a smash up job on it AND it's wireless, something I've wanted but not found the parts for. Solved!
Hunt'nFish

CombinationLicense · 12-03-2007, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hunt'nFish

Have you guys seen this one? Homemade MP3 Game Caller

The guy did a smash up job on it AND it's wireless, something I've wanted but not found the parts for. Solved!
Hunt'nFish

Yeah, I saw that one and the one posted on the Predator Masters web site too - pretty cool stuff. I started watching Craigslist for one of those Nady wireless setups some time back but haven't seen one yet. The one I'm working on now is setup in a big insulated coffee mug. It's patterned after the example on the Nodak forum but is a little different. Basically, I cut the spout and center out of the lid to form a mounting ring for the speaker - the ID of the mug is just under 5" so the speaker fits perfectly centered and flush, with the cutout ring sealing it into place. I'm using an illuminated rocker switch instead of the switch/led combo in the example and one of the Radio Shack amps removed from the case. I'll have one hole drilled in the rear to mount a female mono jack that I can plug the mp3 player into. When it's done the whole thing will be enclosed in the mug and changing the battery will just entail screwing off the lid and pulling the speaker to access the guts. Since it's not wireless yet, I plan on just using a patch cord of 25' or so to connect the output of the MP3 player to the input jack on the remote speaker/amp unit.

It's already in progress but I'll try to get a few pics from here on out and post 'em up. Also, I still might change out the Kaliber KPA5 speaker for a Speco SPC-5 if I can find one.

"CL"

Hawk · 12-03-2007, 03:56 PM

Has anybody played with the new FoxPro Scorpion, or know much about it?

riverswild · 12-04-2007, 04:24 PM

My buddy got a Scorpion this week. Should be trying it out this weekend.

Hawk · 12-04-2007, 04:43 PM

Let me know how it works. I'm seriously considering getting myself one for Christmas.

PIR8 Hook · 12-04-2007, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwbed

Sure thing, anytime. haha Im just kiddin of course I cant do that. To each his own. I was just kiddin anyways

Yeah, Me too!

riverswild · 12-05-2007, 04:22 PM

Well if it would ever show up...Foxpro is supposedly great with customer service but we are finding out otherwise.

My buddy ordered the caller Monday Nov 26th. They told him it would be here in a couple days (payed extra for better shipping). Thursday he called and they said they hadn't shipped it because they didn't have the cases, but they just got some in.. So basically they did not have any assembled. He told them he didn't care about case color and that they ruined his weekend. (we had snow and planned to go calling). They said sorry, it will ship tomorrow. That was last week. He called Tuesday Dec 4th and it still had not been shipped. He talked with another guy who said, "we were out of the cases in the pattern you ordered".. My buddy was p'd by now. He said, "black, white, camo I don't care, just send me my caller". They said it would go out this morning..We shall see.