Bob Marts Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Over the years, there have been occasions where I have turned down my Comtek feed in order to mute it from the listeners between takes, and then forget to turn it back up when we roll. Since there are times when it's appropriate for the sound crew to keep the mics up for our own technical reasons, but at the same time keep the mics muted to the "public", I needed to make myself some kind of reminder to unmute the feed when we roll. I finally built a simple little box that would switch off the Aux send to the transmitter and at the same time, flash a bright red battery-powered LED to signal the muting. Turned out to be very useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Nice! I want to build one, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gilchrist Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Bob, That's fabulous and would be terrific especially for commercials. Best regards, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Nice. I did a similar thing but built it into the control panel on my cart. There is a red LED for the Comtek feed and another to indicate if the playback speaker is on. Both lights should be off when we roll. The Comtek switch also allows me to send the output of a small MP3 player through the Comtek circuit if I wish. Feeding my eclectic selection of music through the cans eliminates the inevitable "I don't hear anything through my headphones" whine that comes from video village before the mics are set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Marts Posted March 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 John, I love the "on-hold music" approach. I may have to redo my box. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Nice. I did a similar thing but built it into the control panel on my cart. There is a red LED for the Comtek feed and another to indicate if the playback speaker is on. Both lights should be off when we roll. The Comtek switch also allows me to send the output of a small MP3 player through the Comtek circuit if I wish. Feeding my eclectic selection of music through the cans eliminates the inevitable "I don't hear anything through my headphones" whine that comes from video village before the mics are set. Great ideas!! I love the mute box with the light, and the need for something coming through the cans while production audio is muted is cleverly solved with the iPod feed. My cart speaker occasionally gets left on too, since I can't always hear it bleed through my headphones. It's embarrassing, although nobody has ever said anything, and I am thankfully far enough away and not turned up loud enough for the actors to hear their own voices during their performance. It would be great to have a visual reminder that the speaker is on. My DIY skills are limited, but a nice little box which reminds me to turn off my speaker and turn the Comteks back on would be at the top of my list if it were available for purchase. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Robert, I am going to whip something up for myself. If you want to, send me your wishlist and I will see what I can do. No obligations and no promises but the price will be right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Great. Let me put on my thinking cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McL Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 This little thread made my day. -- Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 I had a little box like this, and found that I was able to completely ignore it when mixing and leave the feeds off anyway! I've resorted to killing everything between takes so I know if I can't hear, no one can hear. For those of you with greater presence of mind than I have, this box is a cool thing. phil p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 I figured that a blinking LED would be more attention-getting, more to come... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Marts Posted March 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 Here's the LED I used. The switch is DPDT - one side to cut the Comtek, the side to apply the power to the blinking LED. The box also held the LED battery. Aux send is routed in and out of the box on it's way to the transmitter. A very easy project for a first time builder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 My cart speaker occasionally gets left on too, since I can't always hear it bleed through my headphones. It's embarrassing, although nobody has ever said anything, and I am thankfully far enough away and not turned up loud enough for the actors to hear their own voices during their performance. Doh! The exact same thing happened to me on my last shoot. Luckily, I was down the hall and around the corner from the actors, plus the speaker wasn't very loud. I realized it about 20 minutes in while on a break. I'm gonna have to put a big red light on this thing when the monitor is on! --Marc W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 This is by far the most complex circuit I have made. (still very simple) A red LED blinks once every second until the toggle switch is thrown to unmute the audio feeding a Comtek or any other device. The whole thing runs from 1 AA battery and should last a very long time. Dimensions are 4.25" X 1.25" X 0.75" I also made a different circuit that is much simpler and runs off a 9V battery, if space isn't an issue. It is also easier to adjust the speed of the flashing LED. Thanks for the inspiration Bob, that was a fun one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyOne Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 I had a little box like this, and found that I was able to completely ignore it when mixing and leave the feeds off anyway! I've resorted to killing everything between takes so I know if I can't hear, no one can hear. For those of you with greater presence of mind than I have, this box is a cool thing. phil p Ditto, ditto. The system I use now works pretty well. When the crumpled ball of paper hits me in the head (launched by Steve Sollars, my erstwhile utility) I immediately look for the speaker fader and/or the IFB feed and correct the situation. Jay Patterson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Waelder Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 When the crumpled ball of paper hits me in the head (launched by Steve Sollars, my erstwhile utility) Why erstwhile? Sounds like he's on top of it. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyOne Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 DW Oh, he's the best! A twenty year vet boom, doesn't want the responsibility anymore, covers my a** eight ways from Sunday, but I love giving him a hard time! Only thing is, when I pi** him off, he threatens to retire on me! Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 nice! Schematics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundperson Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 use micro switch instead. no/nc feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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