Cans

[danburns]

Our Tec-Pro system at school's like this - we have the basic one. At another theatre I work in, we have the master station with the ASM, and it has a built in speaker and gooseneck mic, with a latching and PTT mic switch. So when I plug in my cans in place of the mic to the front panel I can mite the mic only.

 

Or, goto canford and buy one of their SMH/DMH 300 range - when you flip the mic up it turns off

[sam.henderson]

If turning your mic off also turns off your headset earpiece, then your cans system is either sh*te or broken ...

 

Yep audio is quite right, the same thing happens to me (that was the problem I was describing) on all tecpro "master cans stations"- none of them are shi*e or broken! Its very annoying.

 

Sam

[gaspipe58]

If turning your mic off also turns off your headset earpiece, then your cans system is either sh*te or broken ...

 

Yep audio is quite right, the same thing happens to me (that was the problem I was describing) on all tecpro "master cans stations"- none of them are shi*e or broken! Its very annoying.

 

Sam

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'll accept not broken but still shi*e. No much good if you can't mute the mic.

 

On the subject of breathing noise has anyone thought of trying aircraft headsets? I've used them when flying (Yes I know.... <_< ) and they are obviously very good. No engine noise; not bad with 4.5 ltr of unsilenced aeroengine at full power three feet infront of you. No breathing noise with the mic rammed into your gob. Before anyone asks the intercom is always open. The bad bit is the price.........

 

Have a look here

 

Not the only source just the first one to hand. Make sure you're sat down as prices can hurt ;)

 

Tim

[the kid]

Are those not also industrial grade silenced as well though.

 

Our cans at college don't turn off but just quieten down.

[paulears]

noise reduction cans won't help breath noise at all - the clever ones. David Clark and Sennheisers work by reintroducing the ambient noise out of phase - anything from the mic only then gets through. So the breath noise, by coming from the mouth gets through. I should add that there is some capssule filtering too, to remove more of non-speech noise below and above - this may reduce breath noise a little. Used some a couple of years ago on a rock concert and they worked surprisingly well. Comms was a clearcom system with remote mic off - really useful when someone leaves a mic open.

[gareth]

Yep audio is quite right, the same thing happens to me (that was the problem I was describing) on all tecpro "master cans stations"- none of them are shi*e or broken! Its very annoying.

OK, so not broken. But definitely sh*te. What good is a cans setup with which you can't mute the mic without going 'deaf'? What if you need to cough or sneeze? Or you're eating or drinking? Or (heaven forbid, because this one is particularly unpleasant) you have a head cold and are full of snot?

[Ekij]

Modifying these 'eccentric' cans by adding a mic mute switch should be a very simple thing. Just break the line. It will probably 'pop' a bit when you disconnect or reconnect (you could add resistors and capacitors to quieten this) but even not doing so would probably be better than having an open mic all the time!

[Blame Jono]

if the problem is with your master comms station, why not rig another station next to it and use that one and not bother with the master?

[egw]

if the problem is with your master comms station, why not rig another station next to it and use that one and not bother with the master?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

switch= £1

Beltpack = £100

having cans everywhere you want them = priceless

 

Anyway, we modified our Tecpro so that the switches on the front of the unit do the same job as the switches on the beltpacks, just turn the headset mic on and off. Nice and intuitive for those who haven't used the system before (of course for anybody who has...) and simply a matter of swopping a few wires.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Ed

[erroneousblack]

erm thats why a good sm says" LX 35  go"  or "SFX97 go" tune yer ears to define the difrence between lx,sfx,fx,flys, go,no  and any  combination there going to throw at ya

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A good DSM should say, LX, Sound, Lime, Flys, surely?

[Bryson]

Indeed, I'd be very upset to hear a DSM using SFX along with LX. Sound is much more useful. Along with that, I'd rather hear 'pyro' or 'smoke' than FX. Why does Electrics get the most efficent call? Because there's almost always more LX cues than the others, I guess.

 

And I'd prefer Stop, to No.

 

Isn't Lime a bit old-fashioned? Haven't heard that for ages - normally it's "spot".

 

The most important thing, however, is the order. Anyone who I hear saying "LX 90, Standby" or "Go LX 90" gets no muffins at my house...

[Shaun Foster]

Modifying these 'eccentric' cans by adding a mic mute switch should be a very simple thing. Just break the line.

 

I thought a mute switch on a mic just shorted the line instead of breaking it, but I could well be wrong.

 

 

The most important thing, however, is the order.  Anyone who I hear saying "LX 90, Standby" or "Go LX 90" gets no muffins at my house...

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I've just done an amateur dance show where my cue's were called like that. sometimes I just got "LX29" and no "GO" so I started going on the cue number but then I would get "LX34...[I give up waiting and run Q]........ GO". The fact that we were on radio's made it much much worse.

[Just Some Bloke]

Indeed, I'd be very upset to hear a DSM using SFX along with LX.  Sound is much more useful.  Along with that, I'd rather hear 'pyro' or 'smoke' than FX.  Why does Electrics get the most efficent call?  Because there's almost always more LX cues than the others, I guess.

 

And I'd prefer Stop, to No. 

 

Isn't Lime a bit old-fashioned?  Haven't heard that for ages - normally it's "spot".

 

The most important thing, however, is the order.  Anyone who I hear saying "LX 90, Standby" or "Go LX 90" gets no muffins at my house...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I'd agree with all of that. "Sound" is much better than "SFX". Indeed, anything with FX in it can sound like LX so "pyro" or "smoke" works best for me too.

 

Order of words is SO important that it can't be overstated. If an amateur DSM calls cues the wrong way I always mention it - you have to in order to avoid mistakes (and they'll never learn if no-one tells them). If you've told someone once and they still get it wrong, just keep telling them every time it's wrong. After being told something 10 times, most people manage to improve!

[erroneousblack]

Isn't Lime a bit old-fashioned?  Haven't heard that for ages - normally it's "spot".

 

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

OK, but I am getting on a bit, twas how I was taught back in the late 70's early 80's.

[LeeStoddart]

 

Isn't Lime a bit old-fashioned?  Haven't heard that for ages - normally it's "spot".

 

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

OK, but I am getting on a bit, twas how I was taught back in the late 70's early 80's.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Again showing age - but that's what I was taught by the ol' timer who introduced me to the DSM corner.

 

 

On the other question of the sequence of giving commands - it's vital to get the standby word at the beginning of the message and the GO at the end of the message.

 

Last show I called I slipped up once and started the stand by message with LX Q and had to stress the standby and apologise profusely.