Wildtronics Parabolic Dish Reflectors

Wildtronics parabolic dishes, or reflectors as they are sometimes called, are available in several material and thickness variations. Choose between dish types at the time of your purchase of a parabolic microphone or buy them by themselves for replacements or DIY projects. All Wildtronics dishes are high accuracy true paraboloids with a single precise focus point, yielding the best gain, isolation, and frequency response possible. A true paraboloid is required for good performance; bowls and other similar shapes will produce disappointing results. See our Article on Parabolic Dish Accuracy. All of our dishes are 22 inches outside diameter, with a .75 inch flange, 4.65 inch focus to vertex, and a 3.75 inch center hole. The focal point, measured with the center hole cut, is 4.50 inches from the inside edge of the hole, or 1.10 inches from the outer flange surface. The large center hole offers a solid reliable mounting with ample room for passing cables or mounting equipment. Uncut 24 inch molded blanks are also available for DIY use – contact us for availability. If you want a parabolic dish for a DIY project, consider our All Purpose Parabolic kit. They are inexpensive, ready to use, and also offer a platform that is easily modified for special applications. Dishes ordered at the time of a microphone system purchase can be shipped in the same box; dishes ordered separately are shipped in a 18x24x9 inch box with a very slight roll. The parabolic dishes available are: Standard, Feather Light, and Black Ops.

Standard - Clear Polycarbonate (.060 inch or 1.5 mm Thick)

This is the best all purpose parabolic dish for most applications. The .06 thick dish has a built-in rim stiffener to maintain its critical shape, and weighs only 17 ounces or 482 grams. The dish is quite flexible, but tight rolling is not recommended. It is molded from 100% virgin polycarbonate, not a cheap blend or PETG. Virgin polycarbonate is a nearly indestructible clear plastic with very good shape memory, and a very high temperature rating able to withstand being stored inside automobiles in hot weather. PETG or plastics with polycarbonate blends are much easier to manufacture, look the same, but will not maintain their shape as well, and most importantly at 160/71 degrees F/C, will permanently distort. The temperature inside a vehicle in hot weather can reach 185/85 degrees F/C, as per SAE specifications. Wildtronics only uses plastics that can withstand high temperatures, because who doesn't store things inside a vehicle from time to time. Polycarbonate costs more to form because it requires preheating in an oven for 8 hours before forming, but it is a far superior plastic.

Feather Light - Clear Polycarbonate (.030 inch or .76 mm Thick)

This dish is also made from 100% virgin polycarbonate as above. This dish is ultra light, at only 9 ounces, and is for those who want the lightest, portable dish available that will even roll into a 6 inch diameter for easy, temporary transport (24-48 hours). When used with the large hole resilient mounting method of all Wildtronics systems, the very thin dish is remarkably rigid and usable. If you do a lot of field recording, this dish will significantly reduce fatigue, as it reduces the specified weight of all Wildtronics Parabolic Microphones by 8 oz or 227 grams. However, we recommend the thicker dish for those that do not need to roll it tightly for travel, or where the extra weight is not a major concern. You might want this dish for traveling, as it packs well, and use the Standard dish for general use.

Black Ops - Black ABS (.060 inch or 1.5 mm Thick)

This 14 ounce dish is intended for applications where a dark colored, inconspicuous dish is preferred, or where the dish will be scratched often in use anyway. ABS can also be easily painted or camouflaged any way you want. This dish is lower in cost because it is easy to mold and doesn't require preheating. This dish is the same general construction as the .060 polycarbonate, but made from a lower cost opaque black plastic with a wrinkle finish on the back surface. ABS has sufficient temperature rating for automotive interiors, is flexible and tough, but not indestructible like polycarbonate. Wash and lightly sand inside surface before painting. Scratches have a negligible effect on performance.

Wildtronics uses 100% polycarbonate for it's clear dishes. Polycarbonate is much more durable than competitors that use blends of Polycarbonate/PETG plastic in which the amount of polycarbonate is a low percentage of the mostly PETG plastic. Worse yet, some competitors use PETG plastic that is usually found in food packaging. PETG plastic is weak, has much less bounce back shape memory, and will crack into pieces if dropped hard. Pure Polycarbonate, like Wildtronics uses, is more expensive, and much more expensive and critical to process, but it is the most superior plastic to use for professional products. Polycarbonate blends are not the same. Blends have less bounce back memory and will crack relatively easy. Pure Polycarbonate is used in "bullet proof glass" and you can bend it back and forth and it will not break.

Below is a video about the three different parabolic reflectors.

22 inch outside diameter, 0.75 inch flange, 6 inches deep

4.65 inch focus to vertex

3.75 inch center hole

Gain starts at 200Hz, with potential 6dB/octave gain in proper system design

Standard 0.060 weight: 17 oz (482 grams)

Feather Light weight: 9 oz (255 grams)

Black Ops weight: 14 oz (397 grams)

Standard and Feather Light dishes made from 100% polycarbonate plastic

Black Ops dish made from recycled ABS plastic with virgin plastic top

Made in the USA, RoHS lead free, with CE conformity

Currently, there are no accessories for this product.