Topic: so my mics are getting rained on....

[disco]

went down to a local bar/venue tonight. I'd previously patched out of their pa or whatever type of board they are using. However this band was just going to run everything though the monitors....so I got creative. It's a small clam shell type stage with a bit of an overhang. I clipped my mics to the underside of the overhand, did the soundchecking on stage with the band and sauntered off. About 90 mins in the rain starts comin down...the band keeps playing. So I am stuck with two decisions, let it go and hope or ask the band to stop so I can grab my mics. Obviously the best choice would have been to shield them beforehand (if I had something), but mountain weather can change in an instance so who knows.
I'm just curious what people would have done in my situation (i left them as is, running)

Also, what do I do now? Just let them dry for a few days? Pray? Toss them in the dishwasher
They are CA-14 omnis if that helps....thanks guys

[greenone]

I wonder if just shutting off the power to the mics would have made a difference, or if that was even an option at the time. Seems to me that wet electronics can be dried out, but wet electronics with power going through them ends up releasing the magic smoke...

[stevetoney]

From other threads I've read, seems like they should be OK.  I think it's been recommended to dry them off as well as possible and make sure you get any residual accumulated water from the inside out so that internal parts won't corrode, but then just let everything dry out for a couple of days.  Can't comment on shutting power off though.

[disco]

I wonder if just shutting off the power to the mics would have made a difference, or if that was even an option at the time. Seems to me that wet electronics can be dried out, but wet electronics with power going through them ends up releasing the magic smoke...

my mics were clipped strapped to the canopy, cables were strapped to the rails of the overhang and my recorder (couldn't suspend the preamp) was attached using a joby camera mini tripod.
I had to set my levels while standing on the stage with a few members checking. I'm glad the recorder was covered, that prolly wouldn't have done too well in the rain. So I would have had to move people to kill the power. But it was still on and working when I took it down. I'll see how the mics work tomorrow

[listener2]

Disco, so did the mics keep functioning throughout the show to the end, how did the recording come out?  That ought to give some indication on how much the rain wetness affected the mics and their sound.  What kind of mics were they?  I hope they were not real expensive jobs! I guess some mics could survive getting drenched, while others might not fair so well.  I hope you are able to give them a good thorough drying out and they continue to work up to spec.  I personally would never let my expensive mics get wet and I always make sure to know the weather forecasts when I go to an outdoor arena or venue.  But then again, sadly, these days I hardly get out anywhere anymore to record.  Hope all goes well with your mics!

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

My initial thought:  DREAD!!!  Electricity and water = bad...

We'll see...  Let your mics dry out as well as you can as quickly as you can.  I'm sure they are OK, many kind of electronics can be saved after getting wet, but it could be bad...

I personally would have broken down immediately, then found a dry spot, or an umbrella and duct tape...

Terry

[Church-Audio]

dry the mics hanging so the front of the capsule is facing towards the floor leave them for a few days they should be ok. leaving them connected will not damage the mics. Like others have said.

[disco]

Chris I'm happy to report that after about a 15 min rain (they were slightly shielded but still exposed) the mics worked just as well when the band started back up. There was a fair amount of wind and its the desert so things dry fast. The tape and recorder worked fine. I'll wait to plug the mics in but they ran even through the whole show. I'll both the pre/post rain songs tomorrow.

[disco]

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3KF5GP99

track 6 is pre, track 8 is post.
track 7 was the banter after the rain but before track 8, I didn't see the need to include 1:40 of banter

I'll plug the omni's in again this afternoon to see if they work, but they were still picking things up fine when I tore down.

[Johnny Thunder]

You'll be fine Disco, but give those mics a couple days before plugging them in again. Let 'em hang with the fronts of the capsules facing the floor like Chris said. Fortunately, omnis are alot less suseptable to moisture than cards are, so that's good news. After you give them a couple days dry time, you might also do well to get some dessicant and put the mics and the dessicant into a ziplock bag and store them like that. It's not a bad idea to store electronics that way anyhow. Why do you think brand new electronics ship with those little packs in there in the first place?

-JT

[adrianf74]

I'll plug the omni's in again this afternoon to see if they work, but they were still picking things up fine when I tore down.

What Johnny said... give 'em a few more days hanging time if you can... the more time, the better.

[Church-Audio]

You'll be fine Disco, but give those mics a couple days before plugging them in again. Let 'em hang with the fronts of the capsules facing the floor like Chris said. Fortunately, omnis are alot less suseptable to moisture than cards are, so that's good news. After you give them a couple days dry time, you might also do well to get some dessicant and put the mics and the dessicant into a ziplock bag and store them like that. It's not a bad idea to store electronics that way anyhow. Why do you think brand new electronics ship with those little packs in there in the first place?

-JT

Actually because of the way I make these mics BOTH are the same as far as getting them wet is concerned dont do it intentionally but they both should survive getting a bit wet. Just make sure you dry them out they way I mentioned.

[disco]

Yep..hanging now
Thanks guys