Phil O'Keefe Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 No, I haven't gone mental. OTOH, maybe I have. Here's what I'm thinking about getting: http://www.hobbytron.com/RCWorkFireTruckRemoteControlFireEngine.html It's supposed to be about 30" X 14" X 7". The ladder is supposed to ascend, decline, and rotate left and right, as well as extend and retract - all via remote. I'm thinking I might be able to use it in the studio. Anyone guessed yet where I'm going with this? If you could attach a mic clip to the end of that ladder, and it could handle the weight (of say a small dynamic mic like a Audix D2), you could adjust mic positioning from the other room. Sure, there are purpose-built, motorized mic positioning systems out there, but the ones I've seen are pretty expensive... The fire truck is probably not heavy-duty enough for what I would like to be able to do with it, but OTOH, if it didn't work, I'd only be out about $35, and I'd still have something to terrorize the cats with. I kind of wonder though, why someone hasn't built a relatively affordable, remote controlled mic positioning system. If one (that actually worked well) hit the market for under $200-$250, I'd buy it. :phil: Would you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mistersully Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 now THAT'S thinking outside the square Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Depending on the sound source, I don't know if the firetruck would resonate or not, so you might have to cushion the mic a little bit. Other than that, if you can control the ladder fairly easily, I say go for it. It's a great conversation piece, and if it serves a practical function, cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kendrix Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Some bands get spooked with the red recording light on. If you have that red emergency light flashing while recording it might totally chase the good vibes away. However, if you can fit a lava lamp on the back of the fire truck then it should work fine. I have an image of an challenged engineer calling 911 and then having six of these trucks fitted with mics speeding up to a drum kit- sirens on and red lights flashing. ...The studio first responders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GZsound Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 The only problem I can see is with the weight of the mic and the boom extended tipping the truck over. I would think it wouldn't require a lot of effort to take off all the body work and glue on some lead counter weights to get the center of gravity lower. But my first and most urgent thought was....Hmmmm...what an interesting thought process..who'd a thunk it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 10, 2007 Moderators Share Posted November 10, 2007 25 years ago, a friend of a friend worked as a camera man on Mork and Mindi and did a lot of feature work as well. He quit it all to invest in his idea of a remote controlled camera mount. The idea was to put the camera where you never could with a man operating it because of danger. A car speeding directly into the picture, fire shots, high perspectives, etc. all with full control of angle and camera adjustments remotely. I remember thinking how cool that would be for a mic mount. Fresh in my mind were the sessions we were doing and the engineer asking for a mic to be moved an inch that way.... no, no, no, that way!!! On and on. Imagine tweaking mic placement on a cab in the other room. I'll take one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members offramp Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 If it works, you could, with great accuracy to your clients, tell them that "that track was on fire!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members daklander Posted November 11, 2007 Members Share Posted November 11, 2007 If the firetruck is a bit on the light side I'm sure you can figure out how to add ballast. From the looks of it, you'll have about 7" of extension. This one looks better to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 11, 2007 Members Share Posted November 11, 2007 No, I haven't gone mental. Not that there's anything wrong with that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humannoyed Posted November 19, 2007 Members Share Posted November 19, 2007 I kind of wonder though, why someone hasn't built a relatively affordable, remote controlled mic positioning system. If one (that actually worked well) hit the market for under $200-$250, I'd buy it. :phil: Would you? Great idea and one that I had thought of also, as I am sure others have. I was trying different bass drum mic placement at the time the idea came to me. Definitely a produce that would sell well if the price was right in my opinion. Day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JM350 Posted November 22, 2007 Members Share Posted November 22, 2007 Several years back there was a robotic mic positioner device on the market but it was pretty pricey and dissappeared rather quickly. It moved the mic around a bit but didn't do the other stuff that the original biological model did like making coffee, picking up lunch, and sweeping the floor. Today the robotic version could probably sell ok if the price was a lot lower than first time around and it was marketed properly, in other words aimed at the home studio where it is more likely someone is working without an assistant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 22, 2007 Author Share Posted November 22, 2007 JM350, do you recall the name / manufacturer of that product? I honestly think that if someone came up with a remote controlled mic positioning system that worked well and was priced at $350 or less, they'd sell a gripload of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 22, 2007 Author Share Posted November 22, 2007 The only problem I can see is with the weight of the mic and the boom extended tipping the truck over. Counter-weights or ballast in the base would probably take care of that issue. My bigger concern would be the motors being able to handle the weight of the mike, and holding it in position. A simple RC tank (with treads, for better maneuverability) with a small, manually adjustable (for height) mike post / stand on the top would allow you to change the mic placement in terms of closer / further away, and left / right, but not the vertical angle of the mic, by repositioning the base (via remote) by "driving" it into position. And it would probably take a bit of time for the user to become proficient enough with controlling it via remote to get just the placement they wanted. Add in the elevation control and rotary control of the "ladder" and it gets more flexible in terms of placement, without having to reposition the "base" by "driving" the vehicle to a different location... Maybe I should talk to someone in the embedded systems classes at UCR... gsHarmony, if you have a name and contact info for one of the professors over there, I'd appreciate a PM with the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JM350 Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 I think it was called The Positioner. It went onto a regular mic stand so not a lot of up and down or side to side beyond a tilt and rotate kind of thing. It went for something like five or six hundred bucks if I remember correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DontLetMeDrown Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Yeah I've been wanting to collaborate with someone to make something like this for a while. I have have some pretty good ideas but I am not much of a technical person. My invention is actually a motorized device that clips onto the end of any mic stand and is controlled by a cheap remote. If anyone has the tools to help me create this, hit me up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marshall Jeffer Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Maybe a tank would be a little more heavy duty: http://www.bananahobby.com/electric-rc-tanks--infrared-battle-tanks.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Straycatstrat Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Hey! Excellent idea! (Really!) Now I consider if a small RC plane (with a wireless mic attached) flying around a cabinet would make a nice Leslie effect...maybe not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 I think I am getting warmer. RC robotic arm on a mobile base, in kit form for about $220 - with the optional "elbow". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 Supposedly it can pick up a full can of soda, so I would imagine it could handle the weight of some microphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 Hey! Excellent idea! (Really!) Now I consider if a small RC plane (with a wireless mic attached) flying around a cabinet would make a nice Leslie effect...maybe not. Hmmm... if I throw the motor noise out of phase, maybe it will cancel out the motor noise from the Leslie... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Straycatstrat Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Whoa...cool gadget! Looks like this is the right thing for those dangerous jobs...recording time fuses or musicians@home in their stinking bachelor dens.. This could be it! But I'd try the firetruck first. If it doesn't work, it will still be a nice gift for a kid (or adult). "RC Frequency 27 MHz" You better don't have an active CB enthusiast in the vicinity then... (I guess same goes for the firetruck) Hmmm... if I throw the motor noise out of phase, maybe it will cancel out the motor noise from the Leslie... Or we use a glider...("play faster Jimmy! Can't find no thermals after sunset!") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 Yeah, I thought about that RC frequency potentially being an issue... especially since my studio is practically a concrete bunker, and there are concrete / rebar filled concrete block walls between the CR and the studio and iso booths. 2.4 GHz would be better. The 2.4 GHz Frontier Tranzport works great in here (fantastic product), but lower frequency stuff might be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 Or we use a glider...("play faster Jimmy! Can't find no thermals after sunset!") And I guess planting grassy fields and putting nice high hills on the studio floor is out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Straycatstrat Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Naaaah.. it's just the other way around. That's why communication with submarines works best at VLF. If 2.4GHz is no problem, 27MHz won't be either. But when I had CB back then, it was always fun to bother kids with RC toys a bit... I meant that the VEXplorer could start exploring your studio on its own when a nearby CB station transmits... (But maybe modern 27MHz RC units are a bit more sophisticated and CB operators become rare, at least over here.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Straycatstrat Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 And I guess planting grassy fields and putting nice high hills on the studio floor is out... But if your studio starts looking like Disneyland this would be a very relaxing environment! And imagine all the customers standing in a line ending on the east coast sooner or later.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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