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Farraday Cage protection


phenix

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WE HAVE AN UPCOMING LOCATION SHOOT IN WHICH TALENT WILL BE WEARING A FARRADY CAGE SUIT.  TESLA COIL WILL GENERATE ARTIFICIal lightning in the millions of volts whICh is to be deflected from talent by the suit.  There will be experts on site.

For your consideration:

1) Will there be
potential for damage to audio gear if talent is wearing a SMQV transmitter with Sanken COS-11 microphone while in the Farraday cage and while lightning is flowing around the cage? 

Could, possibly, components within the wireless or the microphone experience damaging inducted current or high voltage static charge -- even though the lightning would not be flowing through the talent's space within the cage?

2) If the answer to 1) is "no" and wireless may function as normal and transmit under lightning conditions, will a lightning-effective Farraday Cage prevent 100-watt 600 mhz FM broadcast signal from reaching a receiver outside the Farraday Cage within 75 feet of the transmitter? 

3) If answer to (2 is that signal will be received through the Farraday Cage, will the FM broadcast signal itself be effected significantly by the lightning bolts in the room?  The wireless receiver may be in the same room as the lightning as it passes through the air from the tesla coil to its target in the room.

4) Are there any safety issues that need attention regarding the talent wearing a metal piece of audio equipment while in a Farraday Cage?

5) Does anyone here have any suggestions for additional issues I should resolve prior to the lightning strike?

There is a scout prior to shooting, so the answers to these questions can be determined empirically in advance of the shoot -- would anyone like to volunteer a wireless for the experiment?
rphenix

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Any audio collected would only be like...

"GAHHHHHOOOOOWEEEEEEAAAAArrrrgaaaahhhhhhlordyTHAAAAATHURRRRRRRRTS", anyway.

Set the limiters and stand back.

(Sorry, I just couldn't refrain). 

Where are all the seriously knowledgable electronics brains here?

Edit: Aside from Jack, I mean.

Edited by Rachel Cameron
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i want to know where you got a 100 watt SMQV.

Forget about the tesla coil, your wireless will burn the talent by itself...

As for the other questions, I don't think your wireless transmission is going to like either the cage or the lightning, and the two in combination are like the ultimate worst case scenario.  (I suppose they could be in a lead lined room as well- that might make it worse)

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

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Had personal recording experience with "Omega Recoil" Tesla coil in Oakland a couple of years ago~~~ 8ft tall, Toroid about 6 ft diameter~~ million volts

Transmitter out of the suit/cage at the time was 750Mhz lectro~~illegal but disposable~~~there's something Illegal/Irrational about a million volt anything

IFB Lectro for talent was 670Mhz~~~ not disposable

RF worked fine both directions with High Voltage operating 

However

The Plasma arcing is really loud~~~~110 to 120db at 1ft ~~~the talent always wears hard muff hearing protection so IFB guzinta to talent is manageable, but the talent mic is a problem~~~Swiss Army Knife incision just below Adam's Apple was quickly ruled out.  Really Old Sony ECM50 taped to the side of talent's mouth worked pretty OK ~~~~Strongly suggest wild VO.  ~~~~~if you need realtime audio  I'd rig up a David Clark Aviation Headset/Mic or sumptin like that.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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All info very helpful.  [Yes, SQMV would be 100mw not 100 watts!]  This seems a good situation for use of recording device inside the suit.  One mixer with Tesla coil experience cautioned that carbon fiber boompole in room with coil conducted stray current.   He reported that Sound Devices 788 recorder case became "electrified" and that recorder froze, but recovered on reboot.

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  • 2 weeks later...

That sounds like Lightning On Demand's Tesla coil.  Worked with them at a couple of Survival Research Labs events.

If the personal shield is tightly woven no UHF RF will get in or out.  But the suit LOD used was very coarse and probably wouldn't stop UHF.

Tesla coils run in the 10-20 kHz range.  That's a very low frequency.  It's difficult for a small UHF antenna to absorb much energy from that very low frequency.  I did not try mic'ing the guy but probably your equipment will survive. 

And the comment about LOUD is true.  I did record the SRK event but used 421's with a pad into the LINE input of a D7 DAT.  Calculated 0 dBFS was 140 dBSPL.  That recording has launched (lunched?) woofers from the infrasonic from their equipment -- the V-1 engine and the sonic cannon.

Bill Ruck

San Francisco

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