Topic: DIY Blimp Winscreen

[tgakidis]

I know I have way too much time on my hands.  I don't know where, but i saw a similar project on line awhile ago.  I picked up this stuff and it's been sitting in my basement for a long time and i finally decided to tackle this project.

Part 1

Plastic Canvas Egg & Plastic Canvas Board (From craft store)
Gaff Tape
Dead Rat Material (From craft store)

Pic 1 - Canvas Egg

Pic 2 - Wrap your mic with a piece of canvas board and secure with gaff tape.

Pic 3 - Cut a hole (top of egg) to fit the diameter of mic & canvas board tube w/ gaff tape.  Add more tape around the tube if needed.

Pic 4 - Insert into the hole

Pic 5 - Cut a square piece of canvas board to use as support for the tube inside the egg.

Pic 6 - Insert the square piece

Cont. in next post.....

 

[tgakidis]

Part 2

Pic 7 - A look at the mic inside the tube & egg, there is plenty of room to put on a stock wind screen for really windy days

Pic 8 - The final product before adding the custom dead rat.

Pic 9 - Custom Dead rat secured with Velcro cable tie

Pic 10-11 Final Product

It is surprisingly very sturdy!!!

[run_run_run]

what a badass

[SmokinJoe]

Good idea, and I suspect it will work great.  It doesn't look ghetto at all.  +T for yankee ingenuity!

For the most part this summer festival season, my windscreens and rats were adequate.  What I would like to figure out is how to avoid the wind related phasing aka combing effect.

[tgakidis]

I have thought alot about the old wind phasing issue as well.  What about stability cables like you see on radio towers.  Seems like a pain in the ass, but it could work.

[SmokinJoe]

I have thought alot about the old wind phasing issue as well.  What about stability cables like you see on radio towers.  Seems like a pain in the ass, but it could work.

There were times when I had my stand mounted solid, bungeed to a fence, and they weren't moving much.  It still happened.  And there was that time you had your guns hidden behind the little shed at moe and it still happened.  At one point I hypothesized that it had to do with a mic stand bobbing around, and probably that doesn't help, but I don't think that is the main ingredient.

I think it's actually something we can't control, like the wind changes the localized barametric pressure between the stacks and mics, so the density of the air changes, and the speed of sound fluctuates.  If that's true, it doesn't matter what your configuration is, you're screwed.  I'm starting to think the best solution is a stack tape a few feet from one stack, and over that short distance it won't distort.  Next time I'll have to try that.

[Matt Quinn]

I have thought alot about the old wind phasing issue as well.  What about stability cables like you see on radio towers.  Seems like a pain in the ass, but it could work.

As far as I understand it, that phasing is mostly caused by the sound waves themselves being pushed into or out of phase by the wind, so securing the stand isn't gonna help much unfortunately.

Nice screens though! I've been thinking about something like that more for water protection than anything, I tend to freak out a little running outdoors.

[Gutbucket]

Nice work! Seems we think alike.  I did the same with the full sphere plastic canvas ball for my mini mics and looked at the egg shaped one thinking it would be perfect for traditional SD 'pencil condensers'.  Good to see someone do that. Here's a link my thread-    
DIY basket style windscreens - AKA ghetto Rycotes  
I've since eliminated the last-minute interior foam windscreen supporting the ball.

[tgakidis]

Nice work! Seems we think alike.  I did the same with the full sphere plastic canvas ball for my mini mics and looked at the egg shaped one thinking it would be perfect for traditional SD 'pencil condensers'.  Good to see someone do that. Here's a link my thread-    
DIY basket style windscreens - AKA ghetto Rycotes  
I've since eliminated the last-minute interior foam windscreen supporting the ball.

Nice work Gutbucket!

[KING RONNIE]

now that is some good ole American engineering. nice work.