Topic: DIY cage style screens

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I am looking for some ideas on how to build cage style screens, ala Rycote but lighter and with minimal sonic impact.  The application is indoor situations where the primary concern is smoke and thrown liquids.

Since this isn't on-location ENG, I don't need the durability of a rycote. From what I've read, the Rycote cages create their own sonic impact so they aren't ideal. So I'm thinking of a very minimal and lightweight cage covered by either cotton, nylon or silk..

For ease of construction I am leaning toward a cylindrical cage rather than spherical. Wire seems like a fairly easy option. Plastic is an option if I can find something small, stiff and easily bonded to form a structure.  Not quite sure how to avoid/handle seams in the fabric due to the contours. Maybe the stretch of nylon would be ideal?

I expect these things will be flimsy and plan on transporting them in a hard case.

Any ideas?

[Brian Skalinder]

I saw a DIY page a while back where someone used the fine wire mesh from a tea strainer ball.

[bdasilva]

Nature group uses shop vac filters with (tea) strainer in the front and rear. dead rat covering.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

What about bending a target rack into a cylinder and covering it with a big dead rat wind screen - at that size, more of a dead cat really.   Some of the target racks with smaller guage wire would be light weight and allow a lot of air.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Those are some good ideas, especially for larger enclosures.  In this case I'm thinking of something smallish. I sometimes run two pair of mics close together so leaving space for the screens could be a challenge.  But I suppose there is the possibility of going the other way - just enclose both pair completely and it would be a sort of a box thing.

Maybe stretch a nylon over a balloon and then paint the cage on the nylon with fiber reinforced epoxy?