Pops through out teaching

[JD Dirks]

My gear: Countryman headset, Shure pack and reciever all 6 years old. 30 Min. into my teaching it sounds like someone pulled their cord out of their guitar before mute. This happens throughout the teaching and cannot be recreated when the church is empty. I have done everything I know (enough to get me in trouble) changing cords from the reciever to the board, check for shorts in the Countryman, changed freq several times......the people just jump out of their seats when this happens. Help. I have no techies and the music store just shrug and say " wierd "

[bladeaudio]

If you cannot recreate it with the countryman, wiggling the cable and connection - that would usually be the first place to look.

There have been some reports of this occurring from ESD (electro static discharge). Like the kind of shock you get when you've run your feet across a carpet and touch a door knob. If this static is building up on the pastor and then discharging it could be creating the pop in the mic.

[bpalermini]

Does the wearer of the Countryman perspire a lot? I had a similar problem a number of years ago with my pastor on two weekends when the AC was not working. If moisture gets into the place where the cable meets the mic it can have that effect.

[prochlea]

There could also be some issue with the HVAC or some other electrical issue in the building... Maybe the air handlers tend to kick about that point in the service, and it's causing some sort of interference. Are you certain that it's just that wireless unit, and not the whole system? Have you tried using a wired mic during the service to narrow it down to the wireless unit?

[cmchamp]

I'm more inclined to want to investigate Pat's recommendation. If your audio gear does not have an isolated ground - meaning that the ground for the circuits for the audio system are directly bonded to Earth at the service panel and no other circuits share it - then when the sump pump, HVAC, copiers, laser printers, refrigerators, freezers, etc. kick in, they will cause this type of noise.

It may also be cell phones, which can easily be tested by requesting that everyone turn their cell phone off during the service to see if they may be the cause. With smart phones, especially, that receive pushed data, if someone is on a schedule and has data pushed every 30 min, 15 min, etc. there may be the culprit.

C.

[petereit]

We've had similar problems with our pastor's mic. I think our sound tech tracked it down to a flaky connector where the mic plugs into the body pack. I'll ask him and update you if it's anything different.

[riafekim]

We had this same problem with ours. We ended up replacing the countryman cable. Even though we couldn't duplicate it by wiggling the cable we were at our wits end and on a whim replaced the cable and that fixed it. If you do this I'd recommend getting the heavier duty cable.

[JD Dirks]

Sound system is isolated from all other electrical. Hand held wired mics do not produce this pop. Static was mentioned by one of the congregation but I could not reproduce the problem once the people left only thirty min. later. (we tried for an hour) No wiggling, jumping, twisting, or back flips would make this thing pop. I don't sweat when I teach. Could someone in the croud have something that could interfere with the freq.? A hearing aid, phone, police pager..... I guess I'll try the cord replacement. Any cord recomendations?

and thank you for reading this and your help.

Cory, I didn't read the second part of yours. I do try to get people to turn off the cells but.....
I wondered the same thing. This just started about six months ago. Have cells changed that much? The data thing sounds interesting.

[bpalermini]

Originally Posted by JD Dirks

.... I guess I'll try the cord replacement. Any cord recomendations?

I don't know of a maker other than Countryman. You can get them from the Countryman web site or, I'm sure, other audio dealers. Your choices are a 1mm and a 2mm thick cord. I recommend the 2mm thick cord, it is much more durable but they are pricey at about $60 each.

[petereit]

Originally Posted by petereit

We've had similar problems with our pastor's mic. I think our sound tech tracked it down to a flaky connector where the mic plugs into the body pack. I'll ask him and update you if it's anything different.

My audio tech confirmed: our issue was a bad cable. Our pastor is very animated and hard on cables. We keep 2 extra on hand now.

[pdc]

I don't think it is electrical, unless the noise occurs everywhere in the PA.

You aren't in the 700MHz band are you? I had a similar problem happen to me while mixing a band, whose guitar player purchased a hand-held and guitar wireless systems on ebay. He bought units in the 700 band. Big no no. Anyway, they were popping as you described.

I think your issue is a shot mic element and/or the cable/connector. If you have been using the same cable for the past 6 years, I would bet money on this.

When this noise happens, look at the Shure receiver's meter to see if the noise originates from the transmitter. If it does, unplug the mic and see if it makes the noise with nothing connected.

Next, verify that the mixing channel is not causing the problem. Change channels and routing assignments. If you have a VCA console, you could have a VCA blowing up. This is common on certain aging Soundcrafts as an example.

Although it would sound more like a click, and not a pop, if the noise shows up in the recording alone and you are using a digital recorder with a digital input from a digital desk, the bit depths and sample rates may not be the same.

[pdc]

Crap. Just read the fix. Too late. Glad you found it.