Topic: High-End Equipment and extreme conditions

[ktime]

Hi all.

I am about to set of to Indonesia to do some field recordings and was wanting to hear about other peoples experiences with bringing high end equipment to such humid environments.

My set-up includes a Sound Devices 744t, 2* Sennheiser MKH 8040s and 2* DPA 4060s.

I understand all of these units are well known for their durability and reliability in harsh environments but I am still questioning whether or not its worth the risk!

I recently spoke with a fellow recordists who recorded in India, and he said that all of his mics (Oktava & Rode) ended up dying due to high levels of humidity, but luckily his insurance company covered everything.

So my questions are:

-if the mics do crap-out will they be destroyed for
life or can they just be dried out?

- and if it just a matter of letting them dry out, will they return to normal or will they be permanently damaged ?

-also how does the SD744t behave in in harsh conditions?

Any, tips, experiences or other resources would be highly appreciated.

Marty

[fozzy]

The 7xx can handle the heat and humidity, i would be more careful with the batteries
I have recorded w/ my 722 in direct sunlight for 10+ hours w/ 110+ temperatures. 

I would be more worried about the mics and the humidity.  Definately store them with some beefy silica gel packs to suck out any moisture they get.

[boojum]

I would write the manufacturers for advice.  SD is rugged but not waterproof.  Their users forum is quite helpful.  You can also write direct to the factory for help here: http://www.sounddevices.com/support/.

The 4060's are for face mics so they must have some sort of protection against moisture.  I believe they do, but check the DPA site for help: http://www.dpamicrophones.com/en.

John Willet on this board works for Sennheiser and can be of help or you can also write the company directly:  http://www.sennheiserusa.com/professional_microphones_headsets_headphones_systems.

The asnwers are available, you will just have to poke around.  Maybe even some folks here can help.  Over at GS there are at one fellow in India who could help.  Check in the Remote Recording forum there.

Have a great time and get some great pulls.   

[Chilly Brioschi]

Most outdoor festivals are the rough equivalent of a third-world country in my experience.

You came to the right place to ask.     

Start with Pelican cases and water shields
Foam windscreens can go a long way, but once saturated are pretty useless.
Monsoons are formidable, I would not consider bringing expensive gear to one.

Good luck
Cheers!

[notlance]

Do contact the manufacturers.  Here is what I have heard:

The SD boxes are extremely reliable in high humidity environments.  Search out some of the nature recording and birding sites for stories about using the 7xx in Central and South America.  The Sound Devices forum has a guy on it who has a 7xx that has been outdoors near a bog in Minnesota for months without a problem.

The Sennheisers are RF condensers and so they hold up better in high humidity than DC biased condensers, in general.  Sennheiser MKH mics are the gold standard for nature/birding recording.

Can't comment on how the DPA mics would fair.

[SmokinJoe]

If I wanted to record "howler monkeys in a typhoon", I would bring what you want, and bring a couple of home-made mics with cheap panasonic caps and small preamp/battery box as well.  They actually sound surprisingly good! and if you are scared to bring out the Senn's on a particular day, use the cheap ones.  Same with AT853's.... you can get an extra set of card caps cheap and keep them dry in a small pill bottle, and swap them out of they get damp.

[JackHenry]

Try to get in touch with a user on http://recording.org/forums.html by the name of RFreez. he is in Chennai, India and has done a lot of field recording over there.

His profile is here.
http://recording.org/forum-userprofile-29593.html

John

[John Willett]

I have seen exactly this question in another forum 

I answered it there

IE: No problem with the MKH 8040 - SD should be fine as it's designed for outside recording in nasty conditions (but check with SD) - be careful with the DPAs as they are electrets.

[mfrench]

*The DPA 406x cleaning procedure suggests immersing them in distilled water, swizzling them, and then drying them out while powered up. They'll be deaf while they're wet, but no harm will come from wetting them; Humidity shouldn't bother them.

*confirmed with Bruce Myers in email discussions numerous times.