<<> I am going to the cloud forest in Ecuador next month, and then to
the lowland rainforest there. I supposed the humidity will be fairly
high. Will my DAT be unreliable in the high humidity? Could it stop
working?>>
Maybe, but it's just as likely to stop working in other conditions,
too. A bigger problem with high humidity conditions is reliability of
condenser mics. I spent a week in a rain forest in Costa Rica some
years back. The Tascam DAT performed flawlessly, however, my AKG 451s
folded up immediately, producing ongoing pops as the humidity caused
arcing between the diaphragm & backplate. Fortunately I had an
electret condenser AT 825 with me as a backup, & it worked fine,
although at a lesser level of quality than the AKGs. Generally
electrets withstand humidity much better than true condensers. If you
can't take any electrets, I would recommend keeping your mics in a
sealed baggy full of silica gel bags. A friend of mine kept his
Neumann shotguns alive for a week of shooting on rivers in Papua New
Guinea this way.
> Is it time to invest in my Sound Devices 722?>>
Yes, although for other reasons. No moving parts has a lot going for it.
Scott Fraser
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