p.k.roberts

+1 for the trackball, but I use this one;

https://www.kensington.com/en-ca/p/products/featured-products/orbit-scroll-ring-trackball-1/

I find the scroll ring a useful additional control.

Yes I do - it was only over about 2 feet though as I recall ...

I think this is a 'dots 'n' spots' disco light with a plastic lens? If so, it may not make a huge difference. Are there any signs of glue on the lens which might give a clue? If not, I'd whip the front off and use a bit of gaffa to temporarily try it both ways and then pick the best.

On 7/4/2022 at 12:44 PM, adam2 said:

As regards RCDs to protect against earth leakage, I see little point on a standard mains supply. Many outlets will already have RCD protection, and if you find an outlet without RCD protection, then power amplifiers are very low risk appliances.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with this. If you're plugging in at a venue, you may well not know whether the supply is fed via an RCD or what condition it is in, so I would always connect my equipment via an RCD. This a very low cost and potentially life-saving device; I can't see why you wouldn't take this precaution. For reference, have a look at BS7909.

With regard to the generator question, there's a useful 'primer' here;

https://electrical.theiet.org/media/1550/operation-of-portable-generators.pdf

I've always had very good results with the products from Orchid Electronics. Solid, reliable, transparent and just 'do the job'.

http://orchid-electronics.co.uk/Dual_Micro_DI.htm

I was watching this on the ETC YouTube channel the other day; it may answer most of your questions as well as some you haven't thought of yet ...

 

+1 for the ART mixer - I fitted one in a 'scout hut' several years ago and it has proved resilient in the face of pretty severe abuse.

Tony, it's possible the students are being let down, but not by you.
Draw your own 'line in the sand' and stick to it.
However, it may help to feel you've done everything you practically can to help this process, so I would document (and photograph) everything you can, suggest any checks that should be made pre and post external hires and detail a suggested risk assessment procedure. Pass that on and walk away, otherwise you'll drive yourself bonkers.

 

I too am a little unclear about the initial question, but the first thing I would want to know is what format the source material is being supplied in and what physical audio outputs that will appear on. So is it, for example, SPDIF (optical or coax) or embedded in an HDMI signal or 6 discrete analogue channels. Once you know that, you can then decide whether your desk already has the appropriate input(s) or whether you need some kind of decoder/de-embedder between the playback device and the desk.

The other common misconception is about the LFE output. This is not a sub-woofer feed. It is interned to be used for low frequency effects only. However, if your 5 'full frequency' channels do not have the capacity for reproducing the required bass response, the LFE speaker can 'double up' as a sub-woofer; this is achieved by high pass filtering the feeds to the 5 'full frequency' channels whilst simultaneously combining the 5 'pre-filter' outputs, feeding those through a low-pass filter and mixing this signal with the LFE channel. In other words, a bit of clever routing/speaker management may be required here.

A reliable and useful document about mic powering here;

https://microphone-data.com/media/filestore/articles/Powering mics-10.pdf

 

In this situation, I've gone for expandable braided sleeving, with the ends secured either with decent tape or cable ties (you need one or both to stop it fraying), but I would agree with johnb that this does require a bit more care when coiling; either 'figure of eight' or 'over and under' will help with that though.

I think the law says that the blade has to be both less than 3" and non-locking.

I know we've had threads about this in the past, but I just came across this and though it might prove useful (if a tad depressing) ....

 

If you just need to lower the centre of gravity a bit, then would weights designed for gazebo legs help at all? They come in a variety of solid, 'sand' or water filled options. Otherwise, K&M and 'Gravity' make flat-based speaker stands, but the foot-print might still be a bit larger than you'd want.

That's what I was going to suggest - but the CPC pre-amp only kicks out 36V phantom, so will probably work, but might be a bit borderline ....

I'd pick yourself up an inexpensive dynamic mic and one of these;

https://cpc.farnell.com/pulse/mpre/microphone-pre-amplifier/dp/DP32529?st=microphone preamplifier

I think you might have misunderstood Hilary's reply; you may need phantom power of some kind and something to boost the signal level from your microphone. Can you tell us what microphone and 'phantom power box' you are using?

 

No problem on Brave or Edge; Kaspersky does does flag it as a 'potential security risk' using Firefox, but gets there in the end after clicking through a few 'caution messages'.

Are you using this with a lav mic? I've had issues in the past with the capsule of some of these becoming very slightly loose (they screw on) and causing the symptoms you describe.

If you mean loudness normalisation (as opposed to peak normalisation) e.g. to get a standard broadcast level of -23 LUFS, then Audacity will do that out of the box.

Coincidentally, I've just had fan go mechanically noisy in an UltraStudio HD Mini, and although its a five minute job to swap it out, neither BMD or their UK dealers are willing/able to supply a spare part, so I'm starting to lose a bit of faith in them as well. The problem is, their prices are very attractive, so it's quite difficult to source alternatives close to their offer.

If you're going to use the mics as a stereo pair, where off-axis response becomes much more important, then a pair of small diaphragm mics might suit better. More info on the differences between large and small diaphragm mics here;

 

https://www.neumann.com/homestudio/en/difference-between-large-and-small-diaphragm-microphones

Would some kind of pantograph arrangement work for this? - not very great picture, but gets the basic idea across, here https://www.jrclancy.com/cable-pantographs.php

 

I'd carefully check the permitted bend radius of the fibre though.

Thanks all.

Hi All,

 

I'm sure there was a topic some time ago regarding recommendations for very small run PCB manufacturers, but I can't seem to find it. Can anyone point me at it or are there any current recommendations?

 

cheers