To those participating in the DIY raincover discussions - just a
couple points of progress.
I bought the "Sea to Summit" stuff sack I had previously pointed out,
and although it does seem nicely thin and acoustically transparent, it
is crinkly sounding when crushed and may be too loud unless somehow
stabilized.
Using other nylon materials I found some problems. The umbrella type
materials that have a water repellent finish but are not coated with a
waterproof layer seem to lose their water repelling effect if not
pulled taught like on an umbrella or if bonded to any material that
obstructs droplets from immediately beading and rolling off. In tests
with a couple different fabrics under a dripping faucet, the water
began streaming through after only several seconds.
I made one actual rain test using a dome made from the nylon mesh
floor buffing pad material and under layer of thin, coated waterproof
nylon, but the results were not as promising as I had hoped. Neither
water nor wind got through, but the rain drops were still clearly
audible - not much of improvement over just letting my usual fleece or
fur wind screening get wet in the rain. Similar to wind screening, the
proximity of the protective layer to the mic capsules makes all the
difference, and my rain cover at 2 to 5 inches away was not far
enough. At this point I think a larger rain barrier suspended at
least a couple feet above the mics would be a much better solution.
Another issue is that although the coated nylon or the nylon mesh,
either one alone, seemed fairly quiet to the touch, when bonded
together (I used a spray adhesive) the interface became very noisy to
the slightest touch or movement.
Ripstop nylon is not a quiet material, as I'm sure many other nature
recordists have discovered trying to record too close to an occupied
tent and sleeping bag.
~John Hartog
er
> ingress. Alas I failed to make the intellectual leap of looking for a
> pre-made bag with sealed seams! The "Sea to Summit" bags look perfect
> for my needs - and possibly yours too. Does anyone have practical
> experience with such materials, and if so, how sound-transparent are
they?
>
> As far as the "hogshair" material is concerned I have yet to find a
> non-commercial supplier in the UK, but to be honest I haven't looked
> very hard because my health - and therefore the health of the project
> - has been poor. However, with the idea of a water-proof stuff-sack to
> give ample wind and water protection, I'm quite excited about the
> project once again and keen to complete it. By somehow bonding a layer
> of "hogshair" to the outside of a water-proof stuff-sack the result
> would be a weather-proof enclosure which would disperse the energy of
> rain drops, provide a high degree of wind protection, and form a dry
> interior environment for the mic(s)............
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause
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