stebee Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Hi All, not sure if this is in the right forum but here it comes... a show I will be working on in the next few weeks will need a working microphone that can light up at the grille, the effect being that the rest of the stage will be in BO and we will just see the performers mouth. I have no real idea how to achieve this effect, I want to use a standard SM58 and normal mic cable. if you have any ideas, please let me know. regards Ste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamtrb Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 If you add a pop shield (or something that looks like one) you could mount 2 or 3 LEDs on its edge that should light the performers mouth sufficiantly Good luck adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebee Posted July 22, 2003 Author Share Posted July 22, 2003 the problem being, how do I get power to the led's without using another cable? has anyone done this before or have any suggestions that will allow the mic to still work and not do harm to the actor? ste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Phantom power could do it, if you are able to butcher the mike a bit you could tap off the phantom power in the cable and use it to power the mike. My knowlege of electronics is not really good enough to say how to do this, but I'm sure it is possible. Thanks Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 the problem being, how do I get power to the led's without using another cable? has anyone done this before or have any suggestions that will allow the mic to still work and not do harm to the actor? steI can't say I've ever done it in a mic, but you could pop some sort of small battery in the mic (or if you don't mind butchering an older mike, a 1.5v AA or something. Or you could have the battery on the mic stand clad in a black surround?). Then pop 3 or 4 LED's with a 330ohm resistor to protect them and some of sort of STSP (Single Throw, Single Pole) switch and bobs your uncle. Some nice super bright LED's might be good for this trick. Maplins would good for this project... Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Depending on the required size of mic head, you could use a birdie lamp (50 or 75w) and attach a levalier mic to the top, then insert that into its own mic housing. This would make the mic practical, but I'm not sure about power - either Phantom, or hidden batteries I should imagine (birdie lamps run at 12v, so a 9v PP3 battery and a couple of AA batteries should do the trick...) You could, theoretically, use a radio mic levalier and thus end up with a wireless pracical.... Does any of that make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 but I'm not sure about power - either Phantom, or hidden batteries I should imagine Phantom power could do it The problem with phantom power is that you don't have much current to play with. You can only draw about 6mA per leg so that's only 12mA to play with, which won't be very bright even with high efficiency LEDs. Also you've got the problem of tapping off the current without upsetting the audio. birdie lamps run at 12v, so a 9v PP3 battery and a couple of AA batteries should do the trick...) A small 50w birdie lamp (aka MR16) will draw over 4 amps at 12 volts so your batteries will last about no time at all. And a 50W lamp at a few inches from your mouth is going to be very warm/bright. Go with the LEDs, a ring of them concealed in a foam pop shield will do it. You will need another cable up to the mic but you can get away with something very thin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Farnell do a very nice diffused white LED (Order Code 3013510 for the 5mm version), which might be what you're looking for. I used a couple of them for a little project recently and was very impressed by their soft, even light. They're £2.58 each +VAT and are also available in 3mm diameter. If you think a diffused LED will not be bright enough, then go for clear ones. Pay attention the the beam angle when ordering They run on 3.6 volts, so you can either parallel wire and run them from a couple of AA or AAA batteries without a resistor, or you could wire three of them together in series and run them from a 9 volt PP3, again without having to worry about a resistor. Presumably you'll only be using them for a minute or two per night, so the batteries should last for ages. If you don't want to mount the batteries on the mic, maybe you could put them in the performer's costume and run the wires down a sleeve to a battery clip. The only problem might be that the turn couldn't change hands with the mic if you did it this way. Another solution might be to use coin cells, which are more concealable. It would be interesting to see some pictures of the finished product, whatever you use in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Go with the LEDs, a ring of them concealed in a foam pop shield will do it. You will need another cable up to the mic but you can get away with something very thin. Could you avoid the additional cable or batteries by using quad cable? You could then just drill an tiny hole in the XLR to run out the spare two cores (that have your LED power supply in) and glue/tape them to the side of the mic? Not sure about voltage drop over that kind of distance, though. It would mean that you can switch it remotely, too. There should be plenty of room for the gubbins inside an sm58's pop shield if you're not on on-board batteries - just nip the foam out and drill/cut another little hole to get the cable in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 You will need another cable up to the mic but you can get away with something very thin.How about using scroller cable, with an adaptor at each end to jump from 4 pin to 3 pin (and vica versa) and then using the 4th pin to provide a small current to the LED setup? Stu EDIT: Doh, beaten to it by the Man who types fast... typical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 what about that cable ya use for powered speakers,a 2 core and screen for audio and a 3 core 1mm flex all in the same sheath,should be ok for a kw or 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebee Posted July 23, 2003 Author Share Posted July 23, 2003 thanks guys, some good suggestions there and plenty for me to be getting on with. pics when it happens, assuming the director dosn't cut it before it has a chance to see the light of day (or light of several l.e.d's) rgds ste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen_mcauley Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 This wouldn't be a Beckett Play would it? Cos if it is I've never seen it done using a light up mic before! Mo chance of just mounting a mini mag underneath the mic then? Good luck. happy soldering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 assuming the director dosn't cut it before it has a chance to see the light of day Don't you just love it when that happens? You spend hours slaving over a special to realise the director's 'vision', they take one look at it and cut it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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