Did you run the mikes through a Battery Box?
Yes, my mics are powered by an external box. It's a Naiant tinybox. Do a Google image search to get an idea of what it is.
I have a Sony M10 with Church Ugly Battery Box and Church CA11 Cardioids - only thing I don't like about the M10 is it's size, risk of metal detection and the fact I have to buy a new pair of Duracells every concert for fear of them running out mid show.
Try good NiMH rechargeables with over 2000 mAh. They will last for over a day and you won't have to pollute the environment by using throw-away batteries.
Battery boxes are a pain in the ass - from a stealth point of view they can be hard to explain
I've never had to explain anything - because nobody ever saw any of my rig.
So my question really is - Do I have to use a BB with the Church CA11's with this device or does the device light them up? If not then I think it's on my Santa's list.
I can't test this as I don't have Church mics, but I would guess that the plug-in voltage the A10 provides is not enough for your mics (you probably won't find a small recorder that can do that).
In my opinion, the Church Ugly Battery Box and the mics are as small as rigs get these days. It should be possible to get that into any show.
Thanks Sebastian,
All clear. You are quite correct - the Church gear is small - and I've never been busted - but that doesn't stop me worrying about it! Going to a show out here in Kangaroo Land is not cheap - seeing an act like Steven Wilson is $125, seeing someone like Roger Waters is $250-400 depending on where you want to be. Last thing you want when you've shelled out those amounts is getting politely asked to leave the venue!! OR worse- getting zapped by a metal detector and not even getting in... So far, the main venues here in Oz don't have walk through metal detectors as they do in airports - just hired agency labour waving wands at you as you go through. With the recent events though I'm guessing it's only a matter of time before we're taking our belts off, dropping our phones into trays and walking through gates. I question the quality of the wands - and the staff they employ to wave them - I walked in to Roger Waters last year at the Rod Laver and was "wanded" - I was carrying my phone, had my PCM M10 behind my belt buckle just in case, wires running up and down my back, battery box in my pocket, etc - nothing registered on the wand. My tactic is to not be first in line and not be last in line - be in the "everyone keen to getting in crowd, security bored, big crowds waiting at the gates, time"- by this point they are just keen to get everyone through. If you're first in line they are super thorough, if you're last in line the same.....
I will definitely be checking out the batteries you mention - I made a mistake last time by putting in NEW but cheap AA batteries into the PCM - I turned the PCM on once seated - probably 45 minutes before the show started (I don't like messing about - turn it on, check the levels as the show kicks off, lock the device switch and leave well alone until I'm out of the venue - with the occasional check of levels during loud bits). It was a 3 hour show (with interval) and it took another 20 minutes to get out at the end and into the carpark - so I'm guessing the PCM was running 4 hours - and the screen was blank and the device not responding to key strokes when I got to the car. Gave me a shock..
I've, in the past, taken the gear into the show and then "set up" in the bathrooms - but it's not really ideal and if there's no trap available not really practical. I prefer to rig up at home and walk in ready to go - but this means wires etc in place for agency staff to detect using wands !!! Not sure wires would trigger one - but my wires run down my back - hard to explain if they did trigger a wand....
Maybe I need to go back to setting up at the show - wires in pockets next to phone and PCM, battery box secreted and hope for the best....
Or maybe I'm just over thinking it and security wands and never going to be an issue with the amount of metal in the wires / battery box...
Thanks for all your info - the other thing I like about the A10 is it looks more like a phone than the M10 - a quick wave at a 55 year old agency security staff and I don't think they'd question it....
Cheers
Andy