Home Made Windsock

[andrewhall]

What are windsocks made out of? I was wondering if burying a small mike in a washing up sponge or perhaps something like a chainsaw air filter (open cell sponge) would make a reasonable substitute. Or another line of thought was something like a thin walled plastic drinks bottle with a sock over it?

Any suggestions from the do-it-yourselfers?

Andrew

Maybe I should add some advice Reactive gave me in an email:

*******************************************************

"If you can create a sphere or a cylinder that mounts over the

microphone, and yet still gives at least one inch of dead air around the

microphone you will have made the perfect wind sock. Materials such as

steel flyscreen covered with fleece work well, even fake fur as it tends to

slow the wind down as it slides over the material."

Gerry Bolda

Reactive Technologies, Inc.

Edited January 28, 2005 by andrewhall

[craftech]

Get a plastic water or soda bottle and cut off the bottom. Use a heated wire to melt a lot of holes in the sides of the bottle then cover it with speaker grill cloth (available at Radio Shack). Fake fur over that will dress it up. and add more wind resistance.

You may have to drill out the neck of the bottle a little depending upon the diameter of your mike. To hold it in place just wrap friction tape or electrical tape around the microphone body until it becomes a press fit. into the neck.

John

Edited January 28, 2005 by craftech

[dex Otaku]

Be careful using a 'solid' container such as a bottle, as it -will- colour the sound, even with holes cut init.

Most windscreens are made using a plastic screen-shell or a simple frame that has fabric slipped over it.

The important factor is really for the sock and frame to be as transparent as possible, acoustically. Anything that has large solid parts to act as reflectors will colour the sound or possibly even cause phasing by increasing reflection from directions the mic is less sensitive in [such as directly behind with a cardioid pickup].

Most zeppelin-type socks are for use with hypercardioid [highly directional, a la "shotgun'] mics, which reject sound from all directions other than straight ahead of the element. Using such an arrangement with an omni is likely to produce strange results.

Which is not to say -bad- results. You never know until you try.

[Classicalgas]

The classic home made pop screen is also a lot of fun to make.

First, remove a girls panty-hose. (How much of this part is fun really depends on your sexual orientation, the girl and the moment. You may need to add flowers, chocolates and/or alcohol to make this truly effective).

After (hopefully) having exhausted the fun part, grab a wire coat hanger and using some suitable cutters, fashion a circle wide enough to cover the average singers nose to chin area. Score 10 bonus points if the girl involved earlier is also the singer. Leave a bit of wire so that the frame looks like a lollipop in shape.

Now the final bit is to cut off one of the panty-hose legs, shove the circle of wire up in there so that the hose stretches over the frame (you might have to go right up into the toe area) and trim the excess hose.

Manipulate the excess wire so that you can gaffa tape the popshield to the mic or the mic stand in a position ahead of the diaphragm.

Not a wind sock, but useful.

[Reactive]

Hi Andrew,

how are you making out with the windsock?

Here is some good info: http://www.equipmentemporium.com/windscre1.htm

Gerry

What are windsocks made out of? I was wondering if burying a small mike in a washing up sponge or perhaps something like a chainsaw air filter (open cell sponge) would make a reasonable substitute. Or another line of thought was something like a thin walled plastic drinks bottle with a sock over it?

Any suggestions from the do-it-yourselfers?

Andrew

Maybe I should add some advice Reactive gave me in an email:

*******************************************************

"If you can create a sphere or a cylinder that mounts over the

microphone, and yet still gives at least one inch of dead air around the

microphone you will have made the perfect wind sock.   Materials such as

steel flyscreen covered with fleece work well, even fake fur as it tends to

slow the wind down as it slides over the material."

Gerry Bolda

Reactive Technologies, Inc.

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