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Re: Reliability & Humidtiy (was mic check

Subject: Re: Reliability & Humidtiy (was mic check
From: Klas Strandberg <>
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2005 12:27:02 +0200
At 08:04 2005-08-31, you wrote:
>
>
>In a message dated 8/30/2005 3:22:27 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
> writes:
>
>ME mic's  are electrets and not part of the discussion.
>ME mic's are as reliable as  all other similar electrets, that is - quite
>good.
>
>
>
>I have been recording with the Sennheiser ME 66 and 67 for many  years. Th=
ey
>have been real work horses. The only problem I have had with them is  at
>highland and subtropical elevations where the humidity is high and
>the  temperature
>cool to cold. I have had them malfunction 3 times in these  conditions.
>Recording volume drops

The loss of gain is theoretically okay, (membrane gets stiffer) but I don't=

understand the hum. You should get more self noise, nothing else.

Also MKH mic's fail now and then.
As a matter of facts: A film team in Brazil 1988 (??) had several MKH. They=

all stopped working. They only had the Telinga. Then they dropped the
Telinga in the water and now they had no mic at all. But the Telinga dried=

up and worked again.

See similar report from David Kuhn:

"While travelling down a rocky Kaua'i stream bed last week, I and my
Telinga Stereo took a dip, submerging the dish long enough to get all of it=

very wet. The Zeppelin around the mic's was saturated and trickling water.=

The mic had been on record-standby. I immediately disconnected the cable
from the accumulator to the back of the mic's, removed the dish, expelled
some water from the zep by centrifugal force, and brought it home to dry
out. I carefully avoided switching the mics on.
Back at the ranch, I directed a hair dryer at the mic's, on low heat at a
distance of 18 inches. After about a half hour of this I connected the
system and tried switching the mic's on.  The right channel sounded clear
but the left had an intermittent unsteady flutter/rumble. I then pulled out=

the pipe that feeds into the zeppelin frame so hot air could get in to
where the capsules reside. Another  20 minutes of drying cleared up the
left channel."

To me, in my mind, this ongoing debate is only about one thing:

The "R=F6de and CAD generation" of mic's, which are excellent when you look=

at noise figures and price -  are they "reliable enough"??

Yes, definitely, I would say - but if you intend to do really important
work you will absolutely need a pair of back-up's. Rob's R=F6des have been=

working just fine, mine has not.

On my part, it has been to try to explain WHY a big membrane, low noise,
polarized membrane mic is  - by necessity - also unreliable.

So what is the conclusion? Get a pair of R=F6de or CAD and pack them in a
really good suitcase with silicon bags and all. Use any other stuff you
have until you get into this perfect day / night with it's fantastic
soundscape. Then pack up your R=F6de's (whatever) and go!


Klas.

>and there is a hum in the recordings. When  things warm up
>all is fine. I doubt if the MKH series would have these  problems..at leas=
t I
>have never heard of such.
>
>I use MKH with my parabolic dish, but still use the MEs for a hand held
>microphone.
>
>My best,
>
>John
>
>John V. Moore  Nature Recordings
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>"Microphones are not ears,
>Loudspeakers are not birds,
>A listening room is not nature."
>Klas Strandberg
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Telinga Microphones, Botarbo,
S-748 96 Tobo, Sweden.
Phone & fax int + 295 310 01
email: 
        




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