Topic: Storing mics...Caps on or off?

[manitouman]

I did a quick search and the only thing I pulled was storage containers. I'm more interested in if it is okay to store your mics with or without the caps on. I've noticed some folks leave the caps on and others store them with the caps off.

Does it matter? or is it a matter of preference? Is there a reason why you should leave them off? I thought maybe leave them off because of the inner parts of the body where the pin on the cap inserts into. I dunno, that's why I'm asking. I've always left a set of caps on so that nothing could get in between the cap and the body. But I've seen people store them off the bodies as well.

Which do you prefer and why...

Thanks!

[bhadella]

I prefer the leave them on.  Now that I run actives, I leave them completely assembled when not in use.  I also was afraid to damage them with exposed pins, rings etc.  I'm also worried of cross-threading them when reassembling.   

[ero3030]

same caps and bodies together for 10 years now w/o any issues. like Brian said, would'nt want to take the chance of cross threading.  ed

[dean]

I prefer the leave them on.  Now that I run actives, I leave them completely assembled when not in use.  I also was afraid to damage them with exposed pins, rings etc.  I'm also worried of cross-threading them when reassembling.   

QFT.  The cross threading threat scares the shit out of me.  I only change caps when I have to.

[goodcooker]

I read somewhere that the danger of storing the caps off the body was static electricity.
According to the person posting the caps on the body couldn't be harmed by a static burst while caps that were not attached to the body could be. Possibly a concern in the winter in CO.

Maybe this was in the thread about anti static foam for Pelican cases////and I don't think a consensus was ever reached.

I store my mics with a set of caps on them mainly to keep out dust since I live in an old warehouse that is extremely dusty. And I always keep screens on them when in use for the same reason.

[Javier Cinakowski]

keep the caps on, they are properly grounded this way and the poster above mentioned the threat of static electricity....

[manitouman]

Thanks for the responses. I think I'll do what I've always done and keep a set of caps on the mics and store the other caps separately in a container. I'll post some pics once I get my container in the mail.

 

[Roving Sign]

I read somewhere that the danger of storing the caps off the body was static electricity.
According to the person posting the caps on the body couldn't be harmed by a static burst while caps that were not attached to the body could be. Possibly a concern in the winter in CO.

Maybe this was in the thread about anti static foam for Pelican cases////and I don't think a consensus was ever reached.

I store my mics with a set of caps on them mainly to keep out dust since I live in an old warehouse that is extremely dusty. And I always keep screens on them when in use for the same reason.

Isnt there a DSatz post in the pelican thread that suggests this whole notion of static harming mics is bunk...?

[DSatz]

> Isnt there a DSatz post in the pelican thread that suggests this whole notion of static harming mics is bunk...?

Hi. I hope that I never put it quite that way, because static discharge really can harm the FET input circuits of microphones and (true) active accessories sometimes. But this type of damage doesn't seem to occur very often, despite all the strange occurrences that life throws at us; I don't think we need to walk on eggshells. In other words, I'm not an extremist either way on this particular issue (unlike some other issues, perhaps). I'd just recommend common-sense care, especially in dry climates in the winter.

I usually store my microphone amplifiers with capsules on them, but that's mainly because they're already that way when I get them home after a recording. I record with active accessories the majority of the time, but I always reassemble the microphones to put them back in their case(s). Some of my microphone cases allow a certain amount of sliding of their contents, and I want to avoid the amplifiers possibly bumping up hard against the threads of the capsules while everything is in my backpack.

--best regards

P.S.: I happen to mainly use Schoeps microphones. Schoeps has little plastic anti-static covers for the inputs of their microphone amplifiers and active accessories. The covers also keep out any dust, cookie crumbs, stray meteorites or Cylon infiltrators that may be trying to soil the contacts. They're included with all Schoeps active accessories, and are also available quite inexpensively as spare parts.

They would no doubt fit onto any other microphone with the same (20 mm) housing diameter--the original AKG C 451 series, for example--but they're an exact fit without a millimeter to spare, so unfortunately they can't be used with the Neumann KM 100 series or most other modular microphones.

P.P.S.: All caps should of course be removed whenever the National Anthem is played.

[dean]

^ dirty, rotten Cylon infiltrators!!!   

[stevetoney]

I know this is probably a VERY elementary suggestion, but there might be some younger people that have never heard this tip...

If you mate your capsule up to the body and twist them in the OPPOSITE direction from each other until you feel a click from the threads lining up with each other, the chances of cross-threading become almost zero. 

Also, of course you should NEVER EVER force a threaded connection.  If the thread starts binding on you, simply repeat the above.

I started faithfully doing this many many years ago and have never cross threaded anything since.

[su6oxone]

Whats this cross threading everyone is referring to? Twisting the caps on too hard? Okay, i'll give it a search...

[stevetoney]

Whats this cross threading everyone is referring to? Twisting the caps on too hard? Okay, i'll give it a search...

Where the theads get boogered up because they haven't been aligned properly and then after one or two rotations, the person gives them an added bit of force and in the process of applying that force, they mess up the threads permanently.  In that case, chasing the threads with a new thread cutter is the best solution to fixing up the boogered threads.  However, if you're careful and a) never force it or b) use the better technique of making sure the threads are properly engaged (giving it that reverse twist that I mentioned a few posts up), then you should never have to worry about thread problems. 

[su6oxone]

Great advice now that i see what it refers too, thx!

Whats this cross threading everyone is referring to? Twisting the caps on too hard? Okay, i'll give it a search...

Where the theads get boogered up because they haven't been aligned properly and then after one or two rotations, the person gives them an added bit of force and in the process of applying that force, they mess up the threads permanently.  In that case, chasing the threads with a new thread cutter is the best solution to fixing up the boogered threads.  However, if you're careful and a) never force it or b) use the better technique of making sure the threads are properly engaged (giving it that reverse twist that I mentioned a few posts up), then you should never have to worry about thread problems. 

[TNJazz]

Whats this cross threading everyone is referring to? Twisting the caps on too hard? Okay, i'll give it a search...

Where the theads get boogered up because they haven't been aligned properly and then after one or two rotations, the person gives them an added bit of force and in the process of applying that force, they mess up the threads permanently.  In that case, chasing the threads with a new thread cutter is the best solution to fixing up the boogered threads.  However, if you're careful and a) never force it or b) use the better technique of making sure the threads are properly engaged (giving it that reverse twist that I mentioned a few posts up), then you should never have to worry about thread problems. 

I finf the best solution to be using mics with interchangeable capsules that don't require any twisting or threading...