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Author Topic: How do you do a B-Chain alignment with sealed port windows Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 06-16-2006 06:05 PM                    Just curious how thats done. With port windows that open, its easy to run the mic out the window into the auditorium, but what do you do with sealed port windows? I'm hoping its not the obvious answer....removing the port windows.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-16-2006 07:08 PM                     I've got several locatins like that! Dumpkoffs designed those ports for sure! I use a wireless keyboard and mouse to control the laptop which is running my R-2 both of which are in the suditorium. I set the laptop on top of a ladder in front of the port so I can see it. Yes! I charge extra for doing B Chains in plainly stupid situations like this. Mark  |  IP: Logged Ian Freer Expert Film Handler Posts: 135 From: Wellington, New Zealand Registered: Oct 2003 posted 06-16-2006 07:20 PM                     A couple of other situations I have come across... Occasionally a permanent mic lead will have been installed when the theatre was built and just be coiled up behind a curtain in the auditorium and in the base of the rack. Also sometimes a small sealable cable duct will be installed between the projection room and the auditorium; remove the screw-on seals and through goes the mic lead...  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-16-2006 09:15 PM                     I take a 3" hole saw and make a round hole through the wall and tell them to put a E box on eaither side with the bottom removed If you don't want to do that then call someone else as I don't have the time to waste devising a work around  |  IP: Logged Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 06-16-2006 10:09 PM                    Wireless keyboard and mouse...thats brilliant. I was wondering if maybe I was missing a trade secret or something. Sounds like a real pain.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 06-17-2006 02:11 AM                     What I've done in a 8 plex is put a standard square "J" box on the inside of the booth per each house and on the other side of the wall, mount, under the sound insulation and to the sheetrock, a Switchcraft XLR female panel socket, and run a three conductor wire through the wall which would be soldered to the other end of a Switchcraft XLR male plug that would be stored into the square "J" box that would have the cover. The inside "J" box is mounted close enough to the processors so that the runs can be as decently short as possible. This way, the sound tekkie can hook up his multiplexer in the auditorium to the wall socket, and in the booth, have the EQ and laptop attached to the XLR plug. Thus not having to run miles of sound cable from booth to each house. Amazing when some places are being designed and built that the matter of sound alignments are not on the priority list of such designs...where soundproofing the booth from the auditorium seems more drastically important..Thus, of the sealed port windows (and how are you supposed to clean them if they are sealed outside of getting the stepladders out...which in itself is quite the pain..when the windows are high...) -Monte  |  IP: Logged Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 06-17-2006 01:30 PM                    Yes, cleaning the windows requiers a ladder. Because it is such a pain to drag out a ladder to do that, the projectionists are cleaning them as often as they should. I will see if the chain will spring for some kind of mod so we can get an alignment done. Somehow I dont think they will spring for it.  |  IP: Logged John Walsh Film God Posts: 2490 From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way Registered: Oct 1999 posted 06-17-2006 01:57 PM                     A friend of mine drilled a hole through the wall, and slid in a length of 1-1/4" conduit pipe (not EMT.) He applied acostic cauking around it at both ends to sort of 'glue' it in. When not in use, he slides in some regular insulation and screws on a cap.  |  IP: Logged Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 06-17-2006 04:11 PM                    If i had to buy a microphone to do this, what would be the best way to go? Keep in mind, I'm spending my own money on this and I have no other use for it other than B-chain.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-17-2006 07:00 PM                     Behrenger makes an incredibly flat mic for use with their spectrum analyzer thats about 60.00. It also has just about the right sort of other characteristics that you would want and can be phantom powered from a variety of voltage sources. I've tested them and they are actually pretty good performers for the money..... but I would not use them in my day to day work, the one I use with my IVIE cost about 1200 bucks. Mark  |  IP: Logged Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 06-17-2006 07:36 PM                    I wish I could afford an ivie, but the new IE-35 is around $1700. What are your thoughts on audio inputs to a laptop to do a A-chain? i was told the mic input isnt a good idea, but rather an external sound sound would be best. How would a Soundblaster PCMCIA Audigy card work? It would still use a mic input, but if that would be just as good as a completely seperate sound card, I'd prefer less clutter.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-17-2006 10:23 PM                     Well, You'll be using a 50 buck microphone feeding a 4 buck sound card.... Something doesn't sound right there to me.... and it won't to your customers either! You need am extremely high quality external sound card to do this. I'm not at all impressed by the new IVIE.... Palm Pilots tend to become obsolete very quickly... and they break easily. Its also way too small for my fingers and has a much lower grade mic. Also IVIE is not the company they once were since the original owner has long since sold it. There are a couple of other options I would reccomend but they are 3K up to about 10k. P.S. You need a super low noise mic preamp and it has to have a balanced input. Mark  |  IP: Logged Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 06-18-2006 12:18 AM                    Well, I know its definately not optimal using a laptop, but its all I have. The company wont spend a dollar. Unfortunately I'm spending personal cash on specialized equipment is not an option. I was looking for a IVIE-33 used somewhere, but they are no where to be found. A laptop is all I can use for now. I was looking around for decent RTA software to use as well. The PCMCIA soundcard seems to be a better thing to use rather than a completely external sound card box. The PCMCIA card is newer that the external box I found, and higher quality, but I wanted to make sure it work ok since the only input it has is a mic input like the built in one on my laptop. I am thinking the add-on sound card would have a better quality input and processor.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 06-18-2006 01:45 AM                     Frank...chek out this sound card for your laptop. -Monte  |  IP: Logged Jarrad Salmon Film Handler Posts: 25 From: Baulkham Hills, NSW, Australia Registered: May 2006 posted 06-18-2006 06:21 AM                     quote: Mark Gulbrandsen Behrenger makes an incredibly flat mic for use with their spectrum analyzer thats about 60.00. It also has just about the right sort of other characteristics that you would want and can be phantom powered from a variety of voltage sources. I've tested them and they are actually pretty good performers for the money..... but I would not use them in my day to day work, the one I use with my IVIE cost about 1200 bucks. Mark Behringer in my experience (more live/studio audio) are not a brand I reccomend. Sure they are very cheap and have their place in the industry... But I find them unreliable and lets face it... real professionals simply choose better performers. Only get that mic if you want something cheap and nasty to do the job quickly and on a temporary basis. If I were you I'd hire better gear until you can afford something better  |  IP: Logged

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