AudioTech: Probe Diagnostic Listening Tool

A few years ago, I had a water leak somewhere on a 600-foot-long pipe. There was no wet ground to give the leak away, and I even tried water witching/dowsing to locate it! No dice. Enter the AudioTech Probe, whose motto is: "You can hear what you've been missing." Described as a "Diagnostic Listening Tool," the device has a 7-inch-long probe connected to a lo-fi mic and headset that runs on a single AAA battery. I stuck it into the ground along the water line, and bingo, the leak sounded like a jet taking off! I'm a big fan of character mics: Astatic's DR-10 crystal cardioid mic, RCA BK-6B miniature dynamic lavalier mics, and even a Shure SM57 in a toilet paper roll! So, when I heard the AudioTech Probe, bells and whistles went off. It's a unique sound, and it's a ton of fun singing into a 7-inch-long yellow rod! Accessing the signal via a 3.5 mm mini plug is not ideal, but it works just fine. I believe these have been discontinued, but there are currently five on eBay for about 25 bucks each. A fun bargain – and it doesn't get more Tape Op than this!