Baptistry Mic

[Jeff92k7]

Help....

One of the members of our church (who is not part of the Audio team) has scared that pastor into thinking our baptistry mic is going to kill him. We have been using an Audio-Technica condenser gooseneck mic mounted to the rail in front of the baptistry. This member went to the pastor and told the pastor that he was going to die if we kept using that mic because the phantom power from the mic would kill him when he's in the water. This is only after the member came to me and told me to take it down and I told him that I appreciated his opinion but that I wasn't going to move it because there wasn't any problem with it.

Anyway, for the mic to short out in the water, it would have to fall into the water which would mean that the mic was no longer plugged in and therefore would have no power.

Regardless, the pastor has told me to take that mic out and wants to use an old Audio-Technica choir mic hanging overhead. Well, that would be fine except for the fact that the only place to hang one would be in the rear of the baptistry, behind the people in it. (Our baptistry sticks out into the auditorium above the choir so the cieling only covers the rear portion of the baptistry.) The cieling in front is much too high and it is not feasible to hang it in front.

How can I properly mic the baptistry when the only good mic mounting location is now "off-limits"? BTW, the pastor won't wear a wireless lapel in the baptistry for the same reason so that's not an option.

Thanks for your replies.
Jeff

You can't be serious....are you?? I've honestly never heard of someone saying this before.

All logical and common sense reasons aside, could you use a dynamic mic?? You wouldn't be sending the killer 48volts to the mic, therefore the mic would be harmless...Even though it was harmless to begin with.

[mrouse55]

A wired mic around a baptistry can be a hazard, but not from the phantom power. A bad , or disconnected ground can result in a potential 120 volt zap if the mic is touched while grounded. Keith Richards was nearly killed at a concert when he grabbed a mic that was connected to an improperly grounded console. When I was in college, I was warming up for a concert, when the keyboard player swung a boom with a mic on it out in front of my bass. A spark arced the half inch between the mic and the bass, burning one of the strings enough to cause it to break. Fortunately, I wasn't playing at the time, and was not touching any of the strings. It seems that the ground through the bass was better than the ground from the console.

Now, who want's to test how effective the ground is in your baptistry?

Now, the obvious solution is a stand mounted wireless mic.

[sheldon]

Originally Posted by mrouse55

Now, who want's to test how effective the ground is in your baptistry?

The ChurchSoundCheck list archive is full of documented horror stories on this subject. Including people that cut the ground plug off to get rid of ground loop...

Originally Posted by mrouse55

Now, the obvious solution is a stand mounted wireless mic.

We are going to use a wireless body pack in a ziplock baggie at our next service to try this out. Lectrosonics makes a water proof body pack that is compatable with our Sennhesier receivers. Although it is $1100... but it is worth it in my opinion. A life is worth more than this!

Ehh...you guys are right. For as dangerous as power is, I should have realized that.

Hey guys,

Yes, I do remember hearing about a pastor in Ontario, Canada that was killed from a wired mic falling into the baptistry. It's sad but true.

We use a wireless lavalier with the beltpack in a 'ziplok' style baggy (for splashes) clipped onto the back collar of the pastor's shirt. It hides itself surprisingly well.

[[Admin] PHugger]

Didn't the MythBusters just prove that 120 volt appliances in the bath tub can in fact kill you?

Some further reading -

http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/...fety/index.php




PCH

he wont use the lapel mic because it has a 9V in it hmmmm
interesting it seems like the wireless mic either way would be a good idea

Maybe a shotgun mic would work....Just throwing it out there.

[sheldon]

Originally Posted by AMac

he wont use the lapel mic because it has a 9V in it hmmmm
interesting it seems like the wireless mic either way would be a good idea

Show him how to test a 9v battery on his tongue... :nosepick:

[Mark Finley]

we use a podium mic with an adjustable gooseneck, mounted on a standard mic stand. It works well.
Here's a picture that you can see the setup.

[kac4him]

now if your phantom power is turned on you sound board wouldn't the 48vlts still be sent to any mic. ? so actually you would either want to turn off phantom power or go wireless correct.