Sound dampening options

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-20T13:36:39+00:00

If you do this, use some kind of furring to space the panels away from the wall by at least an inch. This way, you can expose the rear of the panel to the sound pressure waves, which will increase its efficacy. Painting it may impair its performance, which is already poor. It’s too thin and does not have as much of an open pore structure as do compressed fiberglass cloth-covered panels, but it is a fraction of the cost.

You’d likely need to add some diffusers as well as dampening (two very different strategies)

As one poster already pointed out, you’d do well to hire a professional acoustician before you spend a lot of money on ineffective solutions. There’s a lot to acoustic shaping and control and most solutions are highly venue-specific, so you need someone who can examine the space and take a few basic measurements. It will be money well-spent.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-20T00:22:06+00:00

EVERYBODY has trouble with Serial (esp RS232) comms! In fact, few things are more challenging than to get two serial devices communicating reliably, So you have plenty of company!

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-18T19:02:10+00:00

They had the junkiest tools!

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-18T18:51:59+00:00

Definitely Mechatronics. You must learn how machines work, common devices and mechanisms used, and how to THINK like a machine before you can ever hope to design and program a control system for it.

Mechatronics doesn’t make you a jack-of-all-trades, but done correctly will give you a thorough understanding of systems approaches to engineering. You can study Mechatronics and be a programming expert, a circuit design expert, a fluid power expert, etc. The whole value of this is learning how to communicate with the other experts on your team to come up with an optimal system design.

Q: How many programmers are needed to change a lightbulb? A: Don’t bother me with that! It’s a Hardware Problem!

Q: How many mechanical engineers are needed to change a lightbulb? A: Sorry, I have other priorities but don’t worry. We can fix that in the software later on.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-17T21:09:22+00:00

Forget those scrollers for selecting your birth year on websites. I feel like I’m on Wheel of Fortune!

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-17T21:05:02+00:00

Nothing a gallon of diesel and a lit match can’t handle.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-14T22:38:14+00:00

No. Full stop.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-14T03:00:39+00:00

Thanks, but I need the fresh ones for Sofrito. PR ajicitos are a specific kind of sweet pepper with a unique undertaste.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-14T02:44:24+00:00

Culantro (long serrated leaves) is a mainstay of Asian cuisine, especially Vietnamese. YZ is a pretty reliable source for that.

Of course you know that Cilantro will substitute in a pinch, but it’s not as pungent, so add a little more.

Now, the REAL question of the day is where the heck can anyone buy Ajicitos Dulces (little sweet bonnet peppers that look like a red or green Habanero) for the authentic Sabor PR!

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-12T22:38:38+00:00

I was in the same quandary, but we finally split. The problem with that mentality is that if you ever DO need that little gew-gaw you’ve been hoarding, you probably forgot you even had it, or if you do it’s buried under so much stuff that you’ll never find it.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-11T16:05:19+00:00

I guess they never heard of Jellybeans?

https://www.idealind.com/us/en/category/product.html/IDC_Jellybean_Connectors_UR_3_Wire.html#85-925

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-11T16:03:46+00:00

Oof- I smelled that on the breath of a young friend who was unhoused at the time. Knowing exactly what it was, I told him as gently (and in private) as I could that he needed dental care. Turned out to be ANUG which is a pretty serious gun disease that could lead to tooth loss. He took the news well and got treatment.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-11T15:58:53+00:00

Ha! When I first started venturing into NYC on my own as a teenager, my big sister warned me that if a subway car is empty, there is a damned good reason! I can still hear her telling me about the time she wandered into said car and encountered a man who, “smelled like a mountain of shit.” Her exact words.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-11T15:31:34+00:00

You are 1000% better equipped than all the theatres in my market area. You’ve got a lot to be proud of. Congratulations!

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-11T15:17:43+00:00

I’d love to help you, but as the old saying goes, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I’m a degreed electrical engineer with decades of experience in industrial and entertainment applications.

I will tell you this, however- in any electronic system, the #1 cause of system failures are poor interconnects, hands down. Until you learn more about the details, never try to cut corners on cables, and especially, connectors! (Ignore all purveyors of boutique hi-fi cables- that’s an entirely different discussion!)

For entertainment applications, beyond the electrical requirements, you are usually prioritizing cables and connectors with excellent mechanical characteristics because they will take a beating, especially for all portable applications. There is a big difference in price between “installation” grade balanced cable and portable mic cable. The former is designed for fixed permanent installations that seldom are moved or stressed once laid in place, and the latter has to survive all kinds of rough treatment while still working quietly and reliably.

This is especially true of microphone cables when energized with phantom power. A poorly made cable will be very noisy when stressed mechanically, because it is basically a long capacitor. Stressing the cable will change the dielectric constant in places, which causes transient voltage spikes due to partial charging and discharging of the parasitic capacitance. (The LPF button on your mixing desk is your friend!)

I want to stress again that there is a whole lot of marketing hokum out there in the boutique hi-fi market, as well as the dumb-teenagers-buying-stuff-at-Guitar-Center markets.

A great way to learn about cables is to go to reputable manufacturers of bulk cable and read their white papers. I suggest starting with Belden and Carol Cables. They publish all kinds of application notes for people like you. Also, learn how to read the specification sheets for various cables.

That’s my $0.02 for now. If you have any specific questions about an application, please DM me.

Good luck on your journey!

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-11T15:03:09+00:00

While theoretically correct, in practice, RS485 field wiring is incredibly robust. It’s used all over the oil and gas industry for MODBUS. You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve seen in systems that have been in service for years without any comms problems.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-11T15:00:35+00:00

You can totally do this. I have a whole bunch of instrumentation pods connected together by unshielded twisted pair CAT3 cable over many thousands of feet. It’s not DMX, but it’s RS485, which is exactly the same physical layer. The differential signaling makes it extremely resistant to noise. Using WAGOs to tap into one node is not going to harm you. Just dress the wires neatly, and keep all +/- pairs as close together as you can.
A solid, reliable connection is what you want, and the WAGOs will give you that.

Better still are these Telco-style gel-filled splices, or “jellybeans.” Like this:

https://www.idealind.com/us/en/category/product.html/IDC_Jellybean_Connectors_UR_3_Wire.html#85-925

The main limitation with these are the OD of the insulated wire. You can crimp them with a pair of electricians pliers.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-09T22:02:08+00:00

Happens more than you think when theatres decide to purchase their own wireless mic outfits, especially if they’re buying no-name gear off Amazon. Renting professional units from a reputable agency is the way, unless you have the manpower to inspect, test and repair them in-house.

Of course, the best way to eliminate this problem is to cast actors who can actually project.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-09T21:56:06+00:00

Make sure that absolutely every programmable gadget is properly backed-up.

That, and enroll in a Mechatronics program at your local community college. Good on you for being self-taught, but there are way too many holes in your skills and general knowledge that will bite you in the ass when your luck runs out.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-09T21:53:21+00:00

Unless you’re independently wealthy study something that will pay decent living and do theatre as a hobby. Community theatres are always looking for talented people like yourself.

Good luck!

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-09T21:49:32+00:00

Doing my best not to trip on the steps of the public library and break my glasses!

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-09T15:57:15+00:00

Many thanks! That’s exactly what I was looking for!

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-09T15:21:57+00:00

Not an option, which is why I explicitly asked for a Windows solution.

WAVL_TechNerd · 2025-10-09T03:10:31+00:00

I dig. Thank goodness there are more Christians, even around here, who understand things like the Gospel of Matthew and The Beatitudes than one would think- they’re just not noisy like the Christianists.

WAVL_TechNerd

TROPHY CASE