No matter how much time you've invested in setting up your wireless mic systems - planning layout, tuning frequencies, tweaking gain structure, EQing actors, never mind making your system sound good - it's all for not if you loose a mic mid performance due to a sweat out.

As mentioned in an earlier chapter, the two areas most susceptible to sweat are at the connection of the mic transmitter (or belt pack) and the lavaliere element, and the head of the lavaliere element that contains the mic itself. Most of the time, some medical tape and good placement are enough - but not always. Here are some low cost "sweat preventative" measures for the lavaliere itself.

Most lavaliere style elements come with a wind screen. The wind screen by itself is not a sweat prevention measure - in fact it can act like a sponge and draw sweat towards the mic element. A solution to this is treating the wind screen with light repeat coatings of spray starch or a fabric protector, like Scotch Guard. The key is to make sure the foam doesn't become so saturated that instead of a windscreen you end up with an egg shell. This can be pretty tricky, especially if you're using a micro-element and the windscreen is pretty small. Windscreens also add quite a bit of mass to the end of an element and increase visibility - not always the first choice.

If you're using a broad, flat element such as the Shure WL93, or any larger, rugged mic element, a light coating of spray starch can be applied directly to the element head, again making sure not to over saturate and get to hard a build up. This treatment may also have to be repeated if the starch wears off. I would NOT recommend this for a micro element - the starch is likely to do more damage than good.

An alternative to either of these is what my crew dubbed the "mic booty." This is a little more labor intensive, but is safe for micro elements and doesn't involve treating an element directly with chemicals. Instead, match a pair of nylons (pantyhose) to the color of your mic elements. Cut the nylons into manageable sized squares without any seams, extra material, or extra elastic, and stretch them out over cardboard or plywood, cork board or other flat surface with tape or pushpins to keep them smooth, and treat the single layer of fabric with several light coatings of a fabric protector/waterproof-er - like Scotch Guard, letting it dry completely between coatings. Once you've applied 3-4 coats and the fabric has set (according to the treatment's recommendations - usually overnight) cut small squares, roughly 3 times the size of the head of your element. Cover the head of the element like a sock, or booty as smoothly as possible, gathering the excess material at the base of the head. With a needle and thread (of a similar color) sew around the element, snugging the fabric to the head around the cable, with small knot to secure the thread. (Be careful not to punch the cable with the needle, or make the thread so tight that it cuts into the jacket of the cable.) When you're done, carefully trim the excess material away from the thread.

Below: a black micro element (Countryman B-6) with an added earpiece and booty. (The booty hasn't been trimmed yet.) also, a closer look at a tan flat element (Shure WL93T) with a "booty." (This "booty" has had several shows of use and is starting to wear out in the top corner - it's about in need of replacement.)

Until next time cats and kittens...

Cheers,

~R