Water repellent on Windjammer?

scorsesefan

scorsesefan

Veteran
Hi all. Might encounter some light rain on a shoot tomorrow. Is it ok to spray a can of water repellent on my Rycote Windjammer? Will it damage anything? Anyone have any experience using zeppelins in the rain?

Thanks
 
I would not apply any chemicals to a windjammer. A specifically designed rain cover or 'hogs hair' is usually recommended. Hogs hair can be purchased at Home Depot, Lowes (or other) in the plumbing\ heating dept. It's used for HVAC filters. The non-fiberglass type.
 
In real rain it's not uncommon to use a pad over the zeppelin to keep the rain off and to stop you from recording the drops hitting the zep. I can't think of the name of the material, don't do this often, but it's like the harry padding you find in old furniture.

I doubt that water repellant would do much for the dead cat. The fur is synthetic anyway and if it shed water the water would likely end up getting to the cloth inside and then you might actually have a problem. The fur it's self is going to be "water resistant", unless your in a downpour.

Light rain/mist I haven't done anything extra, heavy rain umbrella (not a good choice because of the plop plop), a top shield of the mat stuff (worked well).
 
There's nothing that's going to be totally water proof.. except maybe a condom over the mic itself.. which can be effective. Ive been caught in the rain a few times and everything survived w/o incident. The dead cat just turns into a wet dead cat and the HF are attenuated a little more than usual. I'd be more concerned keeping the cart or bag electronics dry.
 
Okay, thanks for the advice guys. My recorder will be in a plastic case but I guess I am a bit worried about water going through the fur and into the zeppelin and the mic getting wet.
 
It depends on how heavy the rainfall is. As others have said, some synthetic "fur" is relatively water-resistant in a light sprinkling. But once it gets saturated (from long exposure to light rainfall, or brief exposure to heavy rainfall) then it is no longer effective and indeed I would worry about my microphone.

I would think that in NYC, it should be relatively easy to get a piece of hogs hair filter material from most any neighborhood HVAC guy which big enough to form a "umbrella" for your fur/zeppelin.

I didn't see anything described as "hogs hair" on the Home Depot website, but there are several varieties on Amazon. For example...
http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Frameless-Filter-20x30x1-Cut-/dp/B009CEVRH0

Remember also that some makes and models of microphones are problematic in high humidity, particularly conventional and electret condenser types.
That is one of the advantages of RF condenser microphones, they are much more tolerant of ambient humidity.
 
Rode brag about their NTG-3 model being RF-bias:
"Its RF bias technology makes it almost completely resistant to moisture, making it the only option when recording in demanding environments where condensation is an issue."

But they don't make the same claim about the NTG-2.
 
Probably a little late, but something you could test.

You could try that hydrophobic spray, Neverwet, I believe they sell it at Home Depot now. I mean, if it will stop mustard from sticking to cotton clothing, it'll stop water from sticking to a deadcat. A quick jolt would remove any small drops that have pooled.
 
Don't spray anything on the hairs of any windscreen. Before each use you should comb them out from being flat, so they help stop wind from swirling around
as the designers intend. Rode include a comb with their Blimp kit for this purpose.

Richard Crowley said:
Rode brag about their NTG-3 model being RF-bias:
"Its RF bias technology makes it almost completely resistant to moisture, making it the only option when recording in demanding environments where condensation is an issue."

But they don't make the same claim about the NTG-2.
Click to expand...

Because the NTG-2 doesn't employ their proprietary RF bias technology.

And it's called 'advertising your products features' :) Rode has now sold many thousands of their popular NTG-3, and it's now available in Black.

Sooo Rode DO have bragging rights and after a major mic manufacturer was unsuccessful trying to sue Rode over the design,
Rode has taken a patent out on the NTG-3 in the EU.

In 2009, Rode made a cosmetic change to the design of the NTG-3 body, and that led them to more investigation and testing.
As a result, their NTG-8 has vents on one side only ... and there's more revolutionary product coming.

Cheers.
 
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