Freesound Forums

When I recorded thunderstorms I was afraid to damage my microphones by the rain. I am currently looking for "do it yourself" solutions to protect a pair of small diaphragm mics from the wind and water. There are only very expensive professional soutions on the Market (e. g. Schoeps), do you have an alternative idea?

-Erdie

Some DIY wind protection ideashere You need to create a volume of still air around the mic. Looking at the Rycote zeppelin can also give you some ideas. Suitable mateal and nylon mesh is available in garden centres, it is used to keep birds off plants.

The standard solution to waterpoofing mics seems to be to use an unlubricated condom, but it doesn't do wonders for your HF response. The DPA windpac has a type of closed-cell foam you can put on top to keep the rain off, as the thud of the raindrops can ruin the recording

Thanks !

Somehow sticking a mic in someone face with a condom over it might put them off a little, though its possible others may enjoy it.
I used to be a hardware engineer, and though I couldn't say absolutely, I know the vast majority of electronics will be unharmed by water (unless you try to turn it on when its still wet). Back in the early '80s I used to be in the Air Force, and we would put circuit boards through the dishwasher (military issue of course).. seriously.. it was a regular dishwasher, and the boards were regular circuit boards and it was a documented procedure. The boards were the controllers for a then 25Million aircraft, and the military were very carful with these I assure you. Unless it was salt water, or there were paper caps, or something else like that, I can't really imagine it would hurt it. Even in a rain storm, its not like it would be submurged.

I'm sure if you asked the manufacturer they would say don't do it and warrenty void, but it would be more interesting to press them on specifics, like what would be harmed. I suspect nothing, honestly. The only possibility I could imagine is if something shorted.. and as most have the electronics in a steel tube, short of submersion, it would be pretty tough to do.

If you try it let me know what happens :wink:

- Brian

The real problem with thunder is that rain is always associated, in particular when the source is nearby. The trick is to record the thunder while the rain is receeding from you, or hasn't quite reached you yet. You wont get the overhead thunder in the recording, it will be a little further away, but still, on a noise that loud it will be hard to tell that.

A car port is a good place to setup to avoid the rain. But then again, in between thunderclaps you will still hear the rain on the roof no matter what.

Use Rycotte just in case it starts pissing on you unexpectedly, but as mentioned the trick is to record the thunder before or after the rain has hit your nearby locale.

Or just don't worry about the rain ...

http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=25956

Mike

There is an odd effect that condoms can have on recordings. Vibrations in the media surrounding the mic (air, rain, water) can set the rubber skin vibrating like a taut drum skin and add an extra layer of harmonics (I guess you can call it harmonics if you like the sound and distortion if you don't). I once recorded a bathtub draining with a microphone submersed in water using a condom to waterproof it. As the force of the water rushing by increased an audible thrumming came into the sound as the rubber began to vibrate.

Interesting recording mike!

This rain problem makes me think of recording dry thunder like there is in Mexico.

klangfabrik: good idea using condoms to record underwater! I'll have to try that sometime once I get a decent external microphone.

klangfabrik
There is an odd effect that condoms can have on recordings. Vibrations in the media surrounding the mic (air, rain, water) can set the rubber skin vibrating like a taut drum skin and add an extra layer of harmonics (I guess you can call it harmonics if you like the sound and distortion if you don't). I once recorded a bathtub draining with a microphone submersed in water using a condom to waterproof it. As the force of the water rushing by increased an audible thrumming came into the sound as the rubber began to vibrate.

That actually sounds like a very good and plausible idea, could you submit that sound for us?

ermine
Some DIY wind protection ideashere You need to create a volume of still air around the mic. Looking at the Rycote zeppelin can also give you some ideas. Suitable mateal and nylon mesh is available in garden centres, it is used to keep birds off plants.

Great tip, thanks!

DJChronos asked if I could submit that recording. I wish I could say yes but it was recorded years ago on a Nagra loaned to me by the sound effects library/studio ( Pathe Sound in Toronto) that I worked for at the time (like 1986 or so). Sadly I never kept a copy for myself but it's ownership could be contestable so maybe it's just well. I hope to be doing some field recordings soon so maybe I'll jusy try it again. It was an interesting sound.