naturerecordists
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: troubleshooting damp gear

Subject: Re: troubleshooting damp gear
From: "David Kuhn" dkuhn012001
Date: Thu Jun 5, 2008 8:35 pm ((PDT))
Nathan, this message should have preceded the below, but got dropped
out somehow--
Check to see that the accumulator is fully charged in the Telinga
handle--mine acts wierd, gain-wise, as the charge is depleted.

David

--- In  "David Kuhn"
<> wrote:
>
> Also Nathan, I use a small hair blow-dryer to dry things out--used
on
> low heat, not too close to the components--when I'm recording
around
> Hawai`i, where wet conditions are a normal hazard, a blow-dryer has
> become essential in my traveling gear bag.
> David
> --- In  Nathan Pieplow
> <npieplow@> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I record with a Fostex FR2-LE and a Telinga Pro 6 Stereo DAT
> > microphone (with parabola).  Yesterday morning, I took my gear on
a
> > very cold and rainy hike up Saddleback Mountain in Maine to try
to
> > record Bicknell's Thrush.  The thrushes were not singing in the
> rain,
> > but I did manage to record some of their calls from the porch of
> the
> > ski lodge, which was sheltered from the rain.  For the hike up
and
> > back, I disassembled my parabola and carried all the electronic
> > components of my rig inside a plastic garbage bag inside my
> > backpack.  It worked fine to record the thrush calls.
> >
> > This morning, however, it's not working fine.  It works, but the
> > levels are WAY low...at normal mic trim levels (the 3:00 position
> per
> > earlier posts to this group), max gain, and half monitor, I can'
t
> > max the levels out even by yelling directly into the microphone.
I
> > can hear the ambient sound perfectly well on both channels if I
> turn
> > the monitor and/or the mic trim levels to max, but obviously the
> mic
> > is not picking up like it should.  Is this because something in
the
> > unit is damp?  I can't tell where the problem may be--it affects
> both
> > microphone channels equally.  The recorder and monitor/headphones
> > seem to be working fine--together they play back yesterday's
> > recordings at full level--so I think it's either the mic or the
> cord.
> >
> > I know my gear didn't get truly wet yesterday, but it was
> definitely
> > exposed to a lot of humidity both inside and outside the plastic
> bag,
> > and some drops of water may have gotten on it here or there.
I've
> > been trying to dry it for a couple of hours today (assuming
> humidity
> > was the problem), but it hasn't seemed to help yet.  Any advice
> would
> > be much appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks--
> >
> > Nathan Pieplow
> > Boulder, Colorado
> >
>





<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the naturerecordists mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU