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Michael Miramontes

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Posts posted by Michael Miramontes

  1. I recently did a gig in the desert and unfortunately my gear got dust/sand in it. Some of my laptop buttons and mouse pad don't work now and a few of my TRX900's won't eject the cards. So, looks like I need to tear all my gear apart and clean the heck out of it. Since I've never had to charge a cleaning fee before I figured I'd ask ya'll to see what's fair so I can hit up production. 

     

    Any info is appreciated.

     

    Thanks,

    Michael 

  2. My home is a circa 1730 Dutch colonial. It has a front porch with an extended eve overhang. This eve blocks the sun coming in the front windows during the summer when the sun is high, and allows the sun to come in all day during the winter when the sun is low. The house is oriented slightly to the southeast to allow the sun to find the house at the earliest moment, and at dusk the sun is coming in my "north" windows. When I had my solar panels installed a NJ state agency surveyed and inspected to determine the amount of subsidy they would apply to my system. The agent told me that my house and its orientation along with the steeply pitched roof were the most ideal he had encountered for sun exposure. There are many houses of that era in central Jersey and a lot of them exhibit these characteristics. Passive solar use as well as other environmental stewardships were practiced by these early settlers.

    Got any pics of your house that you would like to share? I love architecture. 

     

  3. Hmm,

    Several of their construction ideas aren't that practical in the real world. Still trying to see how implementing these rather EXPENSIVE modifications to a home will save energy. 

    Don't get me wrong. I'm all in favor of stuff like this. Just want to get a better understanding of how these new ideas can be done by everyone and not just those with enough residual income to buy organic everything. After all, isn't the point to get everyone "off the grid" instead of just a select few. 

  4. Not trying to derail this thread but anyone know if RFID tags are being used to keep track of gear? I just made it back home from a 2 hour drive in which I had to recover a TRX that I left on set by accident. Sure wish I can push a button on my laptop or RFID receiver of some sort just before I leave set to make sure all my stuff is with me. 

  5. While I was working on this truck I hired a mobile mechanic, who specializes in classics , to come over and work on the 54 Hard Top's valves and timing. 

     

    Today I tackled the rear end by getting it ready for new trailing arms, cover over shocks, and panhard bar. I wish there were more hours in the day and I was 18 years old again. I would have had this done already. 

    Bed out for easier access to the rear axle and frame.

    Trailing arms are mocked up. It took several tries to get everything lined up and square. 

    Goodbye lief springs. You served your time well but now it's time to step aside for newer engineering. 

    Rear axle was dropped and removed. Tomorrow I'll prep the axle and tack it up to the trailing arms.  =)

     

  6. I'm back at it. This time I'm on a mission to complete all three of my "projects" before the end of the year. Although it's quite an undertaking it's been helping me relieve some stress (I relax by building things). 

    Here are some updates on the 54 Truck. These pics were taken about two weeks ago when I was working on the front disc brake/coil over suspension conversion. 

    Here I'm grinding down the frame to prep it for the new components. 

    IMG_0187_zpszyfqwz4v.jpg

    Setting up the Boxing Plates

    IMG_0189_zpsdlq5es7w.jpg

    Tack Welding the Upper A-arm/Coil Over mount.

    IMG_4674_zpsmdgfcext.jpg

    Making sure Cross Member/Lower A-Arm support is dead center and level. Old school levels are great, however lasers make a world of difference. 

    IMG_4676_zpsjb1mpfdl.jpg

     

     

     

     

     

  7. How do those crazy front wheels sound when they roll? Are they loud? The concept seems good however I have my reservations about them. My experience has been that too many parts leads to a higher chance of failure. Also, what if one of those pieces becomes uneven/scraped/damaged, then will the entire wheel vibrate now that it isn't quite "round" anymore? Again, interesting idea just curious how practical they are on all types of surfaces (blacktop, wood, concrete, gravel, dirt, etc.)

    Are there any online videos in which you can hear them rolling on various surfaces? The only one's I'm finding have music playing over them.

     

  8. Fast and Light to Pluto

    BY Dennis Overbye, Jason Drakeford and Jonathan Corum | Jul. 6, 2015 | 13:21

    On July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft will zip past Pluto and its five known moons. Nobody really knows what it will find.

    13+ minute video.

    http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000003783764/fast-and-light-to-pluto.html

     

    ( Quote from the BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33459476 )

    ... When it arrives at the dwarf planet, New Horizons will be travelling* at almost 14km/s -

    far too fast to go into orbit.                       (*sic. U.K. spelling)

    ... New Horizons' difficulty is getting all that information back to Earth.

    The distance to Pluto is vast - more than 4.5 billion km - and this makes for very low bit rates.

    It will take 16 months to send back all the science acquired over the coming days.

    I hope they're not transmitting all that info on 2.4gHz. =)

  9. "Shameless Plug"

    Aside from being a sound person (secondary income) I'm a licensed Real Estate Broker/Mortgage Lender (primary income). I have access to residential and commercial listings in all of California. 

    If this is for any length of time (year lease+) then the first step is to see what your daughter/friend's income qualifies them for, assuming that their venture will be financed. Once their debt ratios/max loan amount is determined then that info, along with their search criteria, is gathered and several property matches are found. Then, they are taken to each property so they can decide which is best. A contract/offer is signed and delivered to the Listing Agent. If the Owner likes what he sees then the lease is fully executed and bada bing they have a place. 

     

    Of course, this is the simplified version of how this goes. There's a lot of paperwork/legal stuff that needs to be settled to make sure your daughter/friends get into a good deal. 

    If you have any questions feel free to PM me. 

  10. Or maybe the sticker will say I drink all coffee on this cart.

    Really though, I haven't had problems with people putting drinks on my mixing cart. There isn't much of an open space.  My follow cart on the other hand.....

    ​Yeah, I noticed you don't have much space to place anything on top. I was just messing around. =) 

    My cart on the other hand has plenty of room so hence my frustration. =)

  11.  

    Our women camera a/c's here are also so good without the ego of male counterparts!!

    mike

    ​I've noticed this too about female A/C's. What I don't get is why the camera dept. always feels like they're the alpha males on set? I find myself having to "piss on their leg" as soon as they start giving me crap so as to let them know not to mess with sound! Things usually go a lot smoother between our departments when I get this ritual out of the way. LOL . It's nice not having to go through all that BS though when dealing with a chill camera dept. 

    Anyways, I do think we need more sound chicks in the mix. Sure would be nice to go to a soundie gathering that wasn't just a sausage fest. haha

     

     

  12. Regarding all this talk about weight, especially from those that down own an RX12,  it's not that heavy! ….and this is coming from someone with 2 herniated discs. The chassis is already made from aluminum so anything lighter may have to be carbon fiber which will definitely increase the price of the unit. 

     

    Maybe they can make carbon fiber slot covers for those of us waiting. =)

     

     

     

  13.  

     

    As a side note:

    What's going on with all the unintelligible dialogue on tv and features these days? It's mainly actors mumbling their lines, but is there nobody anywhere in the post chain going "uh hey, guys? Am I the only one that can't understand a word that is being said?". When I had dialogue that could not be understood I always made a note of it and also would talk to the post sound supervisor and just let them know so they could make the call on whether or not to move that concern up the food chain. Maybe that is happening and directors just don't care?

    Funny you should ask. This same scenario came up when I visited Henchman while he was mixing a show. The problem was that the season was already in the can by the time it got to him. So, any comments to the production folks would have to wait till next season. 

  14. Any news?

    Still no news on this. I'm extremely disappointed with Zaxcom about this. I was told, before I purchased the unit, that foam inserts would be made. Recently, I had to send my Nomad in for service and when I asked about the inserts I was told they'll get back to me. Yep, that never happened. I find it really tacky having to cover my expensive RX12 with gaff tape. 

    I had to move my nomad on top to make it easier to get at the CF card slot. In the bottom of the bag it gets a bit tricky.

    I have my RX12 below the Nomad because it's the only way I can get all the cabling to fit. Both units are very snug. In fact, I just ordered smaller right angle connectors to address this issue. 

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