Category System Maintenance

More Than a Remodel? – Tim’s Tech Talks – March 2021

By in Sound System Upgrades, System Maintenance

A person recently asked, “We’re planning on changing the ceiling in the auditorium. Will that impact the sound system?”

The answer is “probably.” If you’ve made any major changes to the main surfaces in your auditorium and the sound just isn’t as good as it used to be, it might be time to have a audio professional take a look. Painting over an acoustic ceiling (for example) might change how much sound it absorbs or reflects. Replacing the carpet from your auditorium with any hard flooring surface, switching pews for chairs, removing heavy cloth curtains, adding a large window, covering over concrete block or any other major changes can potentially create problems. Each system is tuned to the room as it was when the system was installed. Changes over time can make things sound worse or create feedback problems that seemingly pop up out of nowhere. If you are just repainting a painted wall or replacing carpet with similar carpet then you probably won’t have anything to worry about as things are not changing significantly. But if you have major remodeling planned, be sure to include sound system maintenance in your budget. Happy Updating!

Photo by David Pisnoy on Unsplash

Tim’s Tech Talks – March 2020

By in Microphones, Sound System Upgrades, System Maintenance Tag , , ,

“Because Physics.” That’s a phrase that I find myself using when I explain “the why” about sound systems. Often I hear questions like; “Why can’t we put the speakers here?” or “Why can’t we use this kind of microphone?” As a system designer, I’m keenly aware of how sound waves interact with the structure of your room or how microphones work. Physics is why your sound system can have feedback or your hearing assistance system can’t transmit properly when you push the expandable antenna all the way down. Physics is the reason that you can hear low frequencies but not high frequencies when you stand behind a speaker. Physics affects if I recommend acoustic treatment in some rooms and not in others. Physics is critical in everything from the gauge of speaker wire to the location of wireless mic antennas. I’m not just expressing my opinion, that’s how God made the world. It has rules and we have to live by them. Sound has predictable characteristics if we take the time to understand them. So take a minute, be curious and revisit your high school physics class. You might be surprised at how it can help you understand your sound system.

Tim’s Tech Talks – February 2020

By in Sound System Upgrades, System Maintenance, Tech Team Tag , , ,

I’ve more than once seen the “overkill” system. It is often inflicted on small traditional churches who hire a big tech company to fix the sound system. They install something so complex that users barely know how to operate it. And when that “one guy” who knows how to run it takes a new job in another state… you’re in trouble. Why do they install these? I can’t speak as to motive but I think it’s because the designers tend to be sound techs. It’s easy for them to forget how overwhelmed you were the first time you sat in front of a mixing console. Sometimes it’s because the newest whiz-bang tech is what they think you want. It’s important to communicate what you need and if the company isn’t listening, move on. Sometimes it’s because there’s more overhead in selling you a bigger fancier system than a simple solution to your problem. Money makes the world go round.
A well engineered system keeps you in mind. Chances are, your volunteers are not full time sound technicians. They are just trying to serve the Lord and help out the church. A well engineered system is simple to use, simple to learn and as feedback proof as it can be, given the laws of Physics.

Tim’s Tech Talks – January 2020

By in Sound System Upgrades, System Maintenance

“The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.” (Proverbs 30:25)

I’ve seen it many times. Something fails and the church is in panic mode trying to find a replacement before the next week. Sometimes this is unexpected, but often the audio or video system has been on the fritz for several months or even years. You’ve had signs and problems, but no plan, either financially or practically. This creates more long term issues. Instead of a well researched solution that works properly for your ministry, you buy whatever the local music store happens to have in stock or call your local audio visual company with a plea for help. You’ll often spend more money than you need to, since you’re in a pinch. The previous verse says that the ants are “exceeding wise” for planning ahead. As you start a new year, take stock of your sound system. Maybe you just need to replace small things like mic cables. Perhaps you need big things like a new mixer board. Possibly you’ve been putting off replacing your wireless mics because “we’ve got plenty of time.” and now the July 2020 deadline is only months away. Have a chat with your tech crew. Ask about things that are failing and come up with a replacement plan and budget, because today is always the best time to create a plan for tomorrow.

Microphone Cleanup

By in System Maintenance, Tech Team

When was the last time you cleaned your handheld microphones? Yes, you can and should clean them. The handle or body of the mic is easy to clean with a disinfecting wipe. However, the grill of the mic is often neglected and prone to spreading germs, since many people put their lips on a mic grill without even thinking about it.

Keeping your mic grill clean is easy. Many grills are made to unscrew from the mic body. (Always check with the manufacturer.) Be careful not to damage the capsule or tiny wires underneath and place the mic body in a safe place. Now it’s time to wash the grill. Before you wash, gently remove the foam insert from inside the grill. I recommend regular dish detergent mixed with water in a bowl and soft toothbrush. Immerse the grill in the water and let any hardened residue soak if needed. Use the toothbrush to gently clean the mesh. Rinse well to make sure no soap is left in the grill. Rub the grill with a soft towel and let it sit overnight to air dry. Immerse the foam in the water and gently wash it by hand until it is clean. Rinse well to remove all residue. Squeeze the water out and let the foam air dry overnight. The next day, check to make sure both grill and foam are entirely dry before you reassemble the microphone.

For regular disinfecting, I recommend using a single use alcohol wipe available at your local pharmacy, since the alcohol evaporates without leaving any sticky residue to trap dust and dirt.

I don’t like to use cleaning chemicals or spray my mic grills with disinfectants. I treat mic grills like dishes because they often come in contact with people’s mouths. (In fact, some large venues have been known to clean their mic grills in the dishwasher.) Happy cleaning!

Tim’s Tech Talks – June 2019

By in Sound System Upgrades, System Maintenance

One of the issues I often encounter with churches is helping older people hear the service clearly.
Age related hearing loss is called Presbycusis, and is marked by the following problems:
• sounds or speech becoming dull, muffled or attenuated
• need for increased volume on television, radio, music and other audio sources
• difficulty using the telephone
• loss of directionality of sound
• difficulty understanding speech, especially women and children
• difficulty in speech discrimination against background noise
(Source – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbycusis)

Often I’m asked if we can “fix the sound system” so that older people can hear. However, this is generally troublesome for a the following reasons.
1. If I re-tune your system to compensate for hearing loss frequencies, it will become harsh and unpleasant for all other listeners in your congregation.
2. The volumes needed for some older listeners can be uncomfortably loud for other members.
3. Sanctuaries often contribute to hearing difficulty because of reflections and echo.
4. The sound system cannot compensate for speech discrimination in older members. Speech discrimination often has to do with how the brain processes auditory information. It’s a complex topic beyond the scope of this post.
So what do I recommend? A hearing assistance systems. These have several advantages.
1. They let you create an individualized audio feed that has more emphasis on higher frequencies to compensate for hearing loss.
2. They let the user control their own volume.
3. They isolate the user from the room, so that they only hear what the microphone hears. This may help in some cases of speech discrimination but not all cases unfortunately.

You can lead a horse to water…
I’ve found on several occasions that older people are embarrassed or maybe too stubborn to try out a hearing assistance system. One older lady told me that she was worried the headphones would mess up her hair. These are issues that are typically best handled from a Pastoral perspective.

Finally, if you already have a hearing assistance system, test it regularly. I’ve often seen some systems in very poor repair with broken antennas, noisy packs and other issues. Give a younger person a pack and have them listen through a service to make sure that everything is working properly and that you not missing something (good volume, no interference, equipment works properly, all the mics are heard correctly, ect.)

If you don’t already have one, consider adding hearing assistance system. There are several types and we can help you find the one that works best for your application.

Tim’s Tech Talks – May 2019

By in Sound System Upgrades, System Maintenance

Pop! Thump! Boom!
It happens every time you turn your sound system on or off, a loud pop or thump. Not only does it sound bad, it can damage your speakers. So why does this happen and how can you prevent it? Often, this happens when you turn equipment on or off all at once instead of in the proper sequence.
To keep things simple, your speaker amplifiers (or powered speakers) should be the last thing turned on and the first thing turned off.
Here’s why. Gear that sends signals to your speakers (a mixer for example) generally sends a very small power spike down the audio line when powered on or off. While it’s not very powerful, the job of amplifiers or powered speakers is to weak signals into powerful signals. The result is that when you turn off your mixer the amplifiers turn that tiny power spike into a big “THUMP” at your speaker.
Some gear has a “soft” power down, which means that you don’t have to worry about this issue. For the rest of us there are a few things we can do.

Establish a Power Up/Down Sequence. This can just be a small note, indicating in what order you should turn things on and off. Train your volunteers to follow this procedure.

Use a power sequencer. Several companies make units that will power the whole system up and down in a proper order with just one switch. This is a great way to simplify and protect your sound system.

Tim’s Tech Talks – April 2019

By in System Maintenance, Tech Team

Are you using portable speaker stands in your ministry? Did you know that they may be a liability if set up improperly? What if your 40 lb speaker falls over and lands on someone?There are three things to remember to deploy speaker stands safely.
1. Set the legs wide. A larger base is required to keep your speaker from tipping over. Portable speaker stands rely on a footprint since they don’t have weighted bases.
2. Make sure that the stabilizer bars from the legs to the center post are flat or pointing the opposite direction of the legs. The center post of the stand should be well below the central bracket where the legs pivot.
3. Use the safety pins and the lock knobs to secure the stands settings.
It’s not hard to make sure things are safe!

Tim’s Tech Talks – March 2019

By in Sound System Upgrades, System Maintenance

“Every time we use the gain knobs they make a terrible crackle so we just don’t touch them!” Yes, this was a statement from a church that I was helping. So many things have to be attended to in your ministry. Furnace filters, an oil change for the van or resealing the parking lot. But what about your sound system? Is it time to replace those old speakers, buy a new pulpit mic that doesn’t sag or a better wireless mic that doesn’t drop out every Sunday? Often, I encounter systems that have never been maintained. Problems build up, performance degrades and your tech crew gets frustrated because they don’t have tools to do the job. Consequently, church audio gear is bought in panic mode (because something has failed) even if it’s not the best tool for the job. Consider investing in some system maintenance this year. Try a phased upgrade plan where you replace gear as you save up. Your sound system gets used two or three times a week and it’s an important ministry tool. Don’t forget to take keep it in good condition.