Want more information on Geophones for Sale? Feel free to contact us.

I'm often asked about them; where to buy them, do I sell them etc. but the ones I adapt & use aren't something I can yet sell commercially. The process is long & complex so the cost would be prohibitive and I have also built software for working with the resulting recordings. 

I've noticed that some geophones are available online, for audio use. Now, this is where it gets tricky;

My motivation for writing here is to ensure folks understand what is possible and whether they can achieve what they want to. As I said I don't sell geophones so this isn't about competition. That said what I can say is that the JrF c-series contact mics can achieve frequencies into the infrasound range when used with higher specification recorders / pre-amps. I use them also because of their wide sense of available clarity and sense of materiality. 

Additionally, importantly, all digital recorders have built in limiters that can't be turned off without hacking, meaning its impossible to record sounds below 10hz.

If folks still want to give working with geophone elements a go then the ones used in all of the more recent designs on the market are available across the internet for around €20-40.

It is possible to buy or loan higher spec, industrial geophones, like the ones I use, but they tend to be scientific instruments and quite expensive. This is another reasons I use hand built elements in the c-series contact mics; to give folks lots of those low frequencies whilst also providing a lot of detail and, I believe, a more engaging overall sound.

To demonstrate what can be achieved with the c-series contact mics that could be said to be geosonic (down to 10hz) do take a listen to various recordings of mine made with them, such as these (you'll need headphones or full range speakers to get the full effect and of course each of the sites they are uploaded to have their own processing which affects some of the lowest frequencies available);

Telling the future, with science: The Geophone

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Can you tell the future? No, right? Or Can you? It is question that has been an obsession for humanity ever since time has been a concept. Gradually, our ability to do so has improved. We have been doing things like monitoring the clouds on the horizon to guess the chance of rain tomorrow, or trying to find other meanings in the pattern of nature forever. In one sense, the geophone manufacturer is as much a fortune teller as a gypsy, perhaps even more so. Answering questions about the future enables us to plan for the answers, whether those answers are about famine, plague, or inclement weather, the longer our predictions can take place, the better it is for our long term planning, and the more we can advance from it.

One of the more catastrophic things that plague us as a species are natural disasters. Events like earthquakes, and tsunamis are devastating to us not just in terms of their loss to the economy, but as losses to life, limb, and our resources. Therefore, significant resources are pledged each year towards the research and development of technologies and methodology that can help us fine tune our predictive models for the future. This has resulted in the development of a simple sensor that you can buy, a geophone. These can be used to measure the seismic activity in the ground with a view to predict seismic events before they occur, giving us precious warning time to save life and limb.

So how do geophones do this? Let us see the process. There are two kinds of geophones. The first kind is a vertical geophone, and the other a horizontal geophone. Each of these corresponds to the orientation it is planted in, and the kinds of waves it can measure. As a quick refresher, a geophone Is constructed in the fashion of an inertial mass that is suspended via a spring inside a stationary housing that is implanted in the ground. When seismic activity occurs, the housing itself can move, but the mass inside tries to stay stationary. This causes tension in the spring, that is then measured as a voltage, which then goes through several stages.

The handling of seismic data is a delicate process, that goes through many steps. Let us observe them.

1. Collection: The data from the geophones is in the form of a voltage, that is weak. This voltage is collected, and then

2. Preamplifier: Preamplifiers take the low signal from the geophone, and amplify it to a boosted signal.

3. Low-Cut Filter: This filter eliminates a lot of the background noise that is generated during the reading

4. High pass filter: This filter removes any uncomfortable peaks in the signal, finally ensuring a clean, boosted signal.

5. Amplification: This clean signal is then amplified through a proper amplifier

6. Analog to Digital: The final output is then recorded onto a digital medium, so it can be digitally processed

Once this process of digitization is complete, scientists can then perform calculations and analysis on the data to form predictions and make assumptions on the nature of the seismic activity. Over time, this has the effect of

Improving our understanding of the Tectonic Activity

Giving us more lead time and warning for adverse events like earthquakes and tsunamis

Eventually enable us to transform and control the environment around us.

As you have seen, geophones are a crucial sensor in the field of seismic exploration. Without them, our ability to predict seismic events would be hampered. Today, cheap devices can be bought from china, Geophones being a category of product that have recently become miniaturized. So without any qualms, you can go ahead and buy your very own, to experiment with and acquaint yourself with this technology, to become your very own fortune teller.

For more information, please visit High-Density Seismic Data Acquisition.