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Re: Weatherproof Box

Subject: Re: Weatherproof Box
From: "Steven Shepard"
Date: Tue May 30, 2017 7:59 am ((PDT))
Nicely done, Benedict=97thank you for sharing this!


/Steve

Dr. Steven Shepard
Shepard Communications Group, LLC
www.ShepardComm.com
Mobile +1-802-238-1007
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/stevenshepard

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving sa=
fely in an attractive and well-preserved body, a latte in one hand and choc=
olate in the other, but rather to skid in sideways, covered in scars, body =
thoroughly used up, totally worn out, screaming, =93Yahoo!, what a ride!=94

> On May 30, 2017, at 04:30,  [naturerecordists] <nat=
> wrote:
>
>
> I posted the pictures for this build a while ago, but I finally had the c=
hance to use it in the field. So here's a quick write-up for the weatherpro=
of box I built a while back:
>
>
>
> I do almost all my recording by setting up my gear and recovering it the =
next day. The only catch with this is that if it rains, the gear gets raine=
d on. Gordon Hempton has some really good information on weatherproofing mi=
crophones, but I wanted something more substantial than the gallon Ziploc I=
 was using to protect my recorder.
>
>
>
> I stuck the photos for the build here:
>
> https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/naturerecordists/photos/albums/645602=
561 <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/naturerecordists/photos/albums/645=
602561>
>
> It started out life as an ammo box from Costco. About $20US. I added a we=
atherproof outlet cover from the hardware store (about $8US), four XLR pane=
l jacks and color-coded grommets from Redco Audio (about $6 US per channel)=
, and a bunch of foam lining (free from scavenged packaging material).
>
>
>
> Initially the interior connectors were Neutrik XLR connectors from Redco,=
 but with the foam lining there wasn't room to plug connectors onto both si=
des of my recorder. So I swapped them out for low profile 90 degree connect=
ors from Cable Techniques (about $15US apiece... ouch.) I don't have pictur=
es of this yet, but the new connectors allowed me to plug all four channels=
 into my recorder. Around the same time I picked up a right angle power cab=
le so I could use an external battery as well.
>
>
>
> A dry-run with a temperature logger indicated the foam lining was acting =
as too much of an insulator, and the recorder was likely to overheat. So I =
removed the two side foam panels and replaced them with thermal pad materia=
l - a silicone rubber compound designed to remove heat from electronic comp=
onents. The recorder butts up against one, and the external! battery pack b=
utts up against the other. The thermal pad provides contact area to heat si=
nk the recorder and battery to the outside walls of the box. (Sorry, I don'=
t have a picture of this yet, either.) This solved the overheating issue.
>
>
>
> Night before last I set everything up to record coqui frogs in a eucalypt=
us forest out on an old cane haul road. Unfortunately the area is being log=
ged, so this is likely the last time I will be able to record there before =
the trees are all gone. I had some issues with moisture on the mics, but I =
got a nice transition from predominantly birdsong to the calls of the coqui=
 frogs. Bit of a long recording, so I apologize.
>
>
>
> https://soundcloud.com/tnbenedict/from-birds-to-frogs-with-occasional-cow=
 <https://soundcloud.com/tnbenedict/from-birds-to-frogs-with-occasional-cow=
>
>
> This was done with an SASS with single EM-172 capsules for each channel. =
(Thanks again, Vicki!)
>
>
>
> Unfortunately the battery I thought I'd charged wasn't, so the whole setu=
p gave up around 1:30am, well before the dawn chorus. I'm looking forward t=
o using this for the next IDCD, but I'm planning to try again well before t=
hen with a fully charged battery.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
>
>
> Tom
>
>
>
>
>









"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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