RoyJ Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 :unsure: Quick question is it ok to wrap a mike cable around the mike stand or woukd it act as a transformer? Sorry if this seems a basic question, but am a lampie trying to learn about sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dj Dunc Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 nope its perfectly fine, but dont do too many wraps, I normally do one on the vertical and one on any boom piece, and leave a nice coil of cable of excess at the base, as you never know when youll need to move the mic stand or use the mic without stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdoweuk Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I've had countless people tell me not to do this, but they never seem to have an explanation... surely there isn't enough power to induce a current... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Siddons Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Its normal practice and no it doesn't act like a transformer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Absolutely NO problem, and whoever told you that reason is speaking from their nether regions!On a personally personal level, I dislike seeing cables wrapped round stands, but that's an aesthetic preference. Plus it makes it rather tricky when the talent tries to take the mic out for a bit of al fresco peformance! But with those that are simple pick-up mics, it's often much neater on longer-term shows (if your stands have lost/don't have those useful little clips) for the cable to be taped to the columns - much neater in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrea Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 One reason not to do it, is simply to stop the talent fumbling with the cable when the need to get it off. With Boom stands, I tend to hook it over the counter weight end, so it isn't wrapped, more just looped over. Means that it doesn't need unwinding. I can't see any other reason why you shouldn't do it to be honest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Yeah it's fine. I usually do a few wraps so that I can get the cable nearer to the ground in a neater fashion and then can run the cable where I want it. You don't want to wrap it round too many times though as you'd just be wasting cable. Moderation: Please, no more pink posts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 People tell you not to wrap lx cables around a bar too - but I've never seen a few turns cause any grief there, either. Again, wrappings a bad move simply because it's a pain to unwrap quickly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blip2 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 People tell you not to wrap lx cables around a bar too - but I've never seen a few turns cause any grief there, either. Again, wrappings a bad move simply because it's a pain to unwrap quickly! There are a few and then a few too many... and then you get an electromagnet (not going to happen with sound cable) Personally I loop the cable round the middle over the counterweight (if just to keep it out of the way if the boom is at an angle) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 There are a few and then a few too many... and then you get an electromagnet (not going to happen with sound cable)Sorry, but that's absolute bull! a) you're not going to get anywhere near the number of turns from any mains cable to create anything like an electromagnet;b) even if you could you'd need a solid iron core to do soand c) electromagnets are constructed with single core cable, NOT with 3-core TNE cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnno Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 There are a few and then a few too many... and then you get an electromagnet (not going to happen with sound cable) If the line and neutral conductors were in a common casing (as they usually are) they would both be wrapped the same way around any pole. Since the load current then flows in them in opposite directions (relative to the pole) each would generate a field of identical magnitude but opposite polarity to the other, hence no net field. Isn't that the way some circuit breakers work? A short at the load returns current via the protective conductor and the unbalanced currents in the phase conductors then have a net magnetism which is cunningly arranged to throw the trip. It would be the same for audio cable but the fields from milli/micro-volt/amp audio signals would be minuscule. Sorry, but that's absolute bull!a) you're not going to get anywhere near the number of turns from any mains cable to create anything like an electromagnet;b) even if you could you'd need a solid iron core to do soand c) electromagnets are constructed with single core cable, NOT with 3-core TNE cable. You only need one turn to make an electromagnet (see below) and strictly speaking you don't need a core at all, that just concentrates the field that would be created by the geometry of the coil and lets you do useful work with it. You can use any sort of cable carrying any sort of current. Provided the net current flow is non-zero you'll get a field. OT There is a school physics demonstration transformer kit that has a single-turn secondary fashioned out of thick aluminium with a cross-section like rainwater guttering in which you place solder. Firing-up the primary melts the solder from the heat of the multi-amp induced current. We've got one probably from the 1970s but it's ex-PAT and looks pretty lethal so we can't use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolley1466 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I've had countless people tell me not to do this, but they never seem to have an explanation... surely there isn't enough power to induce a current... I'd say simply because it's a pain the the a*se for a performer to quickly pick up the microphone, unwrap it (whilst trying to talk to the audience) and then have a tangle. Plus it doesn't look very neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 As I singer, I'd be a bit unhappy coming to a mic that I couldn't get off the stand. Personal preference is cable hooked over the locking handle, then straight down to a nicely laid coil on the floor (placed the right way up so it unwinds of course). The other downside to wrapping is that if the talent still decides to take it off the stand, they never spin the mic as they're untwisting the cable, so they always end up with a horrile coily mess of a lead. Not only does it annoy them, but it's also a pig to coil back up again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyandi Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 My rule of thumb is on instrument mics etc always a couple of turns round the stand but for vocal mic's where the may remove from the stand its best to just drape over the boom tightening knob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 There is a school physics demonstration transformer kit that has a single-turn secondary fashioned out of thick aluminium with a cross-section like rainwater guttering in which you place solder. Firing-up the primary melts the solder from the heat of the multi-amp induced current. We've got one probably from the 1970s but it's ex-PAT and looks pretty lethal so we can't use it.We've got one and we still use it! Back On T. All bull; coil away if that takes your fancy, with the sensible caveat that it isn't quick to take off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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