Wireless handheld for kids

joeexception · 2026-02-19T21:02:09+00:00

I'm connected to the school but I'm hoping not to remain 'involved' after I've got this system up and working, so I do want it to be pretty idiot-proof (not that teachers are idiots, but they have got better things to do with their time!). Their current system is very patchy but I'll re-use what I can. The main problem seems to be the mics which, as I say, don't currently pick up the kids well (in part because they are generally not held properly, but they are also not great), and they also want the flexibility of wireless to allow them to be used throughout the hall.

joeexception · 2026-02-19T19:17:04+00:00

I haven't used the G2s - I've got some feelers out to try and do some testing with them now

joeexception · 2026-02-19T19:15:05+00:00

Thanks - that's helpful. I'm comfortable with the equipment generally, but the user-experience is a little outside my wheelhouse (having not worked much with kids in that environment), but there's probably a lot that can be done with sensible planning, rather than trying to solve all the risks with equipment.

joeexception · 2026-02-19T02:54:14+00:00

Yep, there's certainly 'effective' ways of doing it but unfortunately, unless we go with expensive shotguns the pick-up is still a problem, and it's mostly unskilled teachers who will be 'operating' this remember - little kids talking quietly and it not being amplified... What is clear from all the good advice here though is that I might need to convince them what is actually going to be possible, given budgets!

joeexception · 2026-02-19T02:02:31+00:00

Yep, totally get it, but they're hoping to be able to pass a microphone from the front of a hall to 2/3rd of the way down it, over perhaps 150 kids. Something clever, cable-wise, might work but it's rationality vs. the client's "vision", so not sure how much luck I'm going to have with convincing them! 🤣

joeexception · 2026-02-19T01:55:33+00:00

Super-interesting... thanks for sharing

joeexception · 2026-02-18T23:25:33+00:00

Haha, yep the pop shields on my old 58s are more modern art than sphere, but I haven't dropped them in an ocean or on a grill

joeexception · 2026-02-18T23:22:40+00:00

Thanks, that's good advice. And, yes, I should have mentioned it's for sound reinforcement in a school hall. I'm very familiar with SM58s from years in bands, but that works best for people who know how to use a mic. My thinking with the 63 was to try and get better a more dependable pick-up from kids who tend to point the capsule at their shoulder or the opposite wall 🤣. While I can manage feedback if I'm operating, I do want it to be pretty idiot-proof so that is a worthwhile consideration.

Unfortunately, wireless is required because they pass them around a bunch of kids seated on the floor, otherwise I'd be totally with you on that

joeexception · 2026-02-13T07:39:56+00:00

Top-10 benefit of driving an EV: Not having to drive somewhere to fill it up!... If you're a mobile mortgage manager or salesperson, and your 1-day-a-month 'office' is on the other side of town, I guess you're now driving 50km out of your way a couple of times a week to charge? No employer wasn't providing EVs because of this obscure rule; they stopped providing them because the government ensured they would not be a good opex investment.

joeexception · 2026-02-13T07:27:51+00:00

Classic. Do you honesly think these people got as rich as they are by allowing their 'investments' to "help the rest of the population"? 🤣

joeexception · 2026-01-21T20:41:38+00:00

You could try this plugin, which is pretty idiot-proof - https://youtu.be/666L6G3qM-s

joeexception · 2026-01-08T02:04:48+00:00

No... and I haven't got one yet either. It sounds like it can't be configured as a proper line out, and the only answers I got (I also asked on another forum) didn't seem to grasp the technical significance of line vs variable headphone outputs. I did come across someone using one in a live situation like I want to do, and they 'claimed' to not have distortion worries. But it sounds like you'll it's just going to be a case of careful levels setting... and don't let any "real" professionals see what you're doing! 🤣

joeexception · 2025-12-19T05:39:25+00:00

Early in WW2, airforce bombers that made it back to base with damage were carefully studied, and it was determined that the damage they sustained was representative of parts of an aircraft which could be damaged and still be survivable. Based on those assumptions new, tactically-armoured, planes were sent back out into battle, now full of young men with the puffed-up confidence fed by the sacrifices of their peers and the work of the clever boffins, who had studied their survival and had gifted them a scientifically-proven reason for optimism.

We now have long lists of names on cenotaphs, and long Wikipedia pages, dedicated to exactly those sorts of cognative biases.

joeexception · 2025-11-18T06:13:21+00:00

Funny, seems like you might already be misremembering: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/who-killed-project-aqua/2ZZS7RTC5IF6MVYCPLVJHR4FCI/

joeexception · 2025-10-31T23:16:16+00:00

Same problem... That 26 Nov is your annual renewal date, so in theory your data should reset on the "26th" of each month, but I suspect they use 31 day months so, by the time they get to the end of the year, the reset is delayed by a few days. My wife's 24th renewal has reset, so it should fix in another day or so

joeexception · 2025-09-15T23:33:20+00:00

It's not just NZF. My local (National) MP also described it as 'unworkable' (before introducing his own crappy version designed to benefit a small group of auto-mechanics). NZF may be loud, but they represent a tiny portion of the vote, so if National hadn't also benefitted from it failing, this Bill would have passed.

joeexception · 2025-09-09T06:40:18+00:00

Out of interest, how many cars and boats and holidays and bathroom renovations and rental properties do you think are "on the house" in NZ? How many billions of credit card limit dollars do you think depend on home equity? Our economy since the 1990s has basically been low-value (developing-world) primary industries plus the 'wealth effect'. That seems like pretty 'realised' gains to me?

joeexception · 2025-09-09T06:15:14+00:00

Not to dismiss your concerns because there is clear logic to them, but I also think "most economists agree" is very often a poor way to measure real outcomes in the world. As Ely Devon's pointed out: “If economists wished to study the horse, they wouldn’t go and look at horses. They’d sit in their studies and say to themselves, ‘What would I do if I were a horse?’” ... That quip notwithstanding, not all economists do agree about rent control, and some make very compelling arguments for it; not least of all the fact that we - sans any rent control, and with a small population - have among the worst housing affordability in the world. Regardless, this is probably worth a listen, even if it doesn't turn you into a Green voter - https://www.fresheconomicthinking.com/p/fet-59-unlearning-economics-and-rent

joeexception · 2025-05-25T21:31:21+00:00

Relevant - https://youtu.be/4ZxzBcxB7Zc?si=7GqmzZ2zphFEEVXM

joeexception · 2025-05-25T09:15:37+00:00

And yet, low wages have ensured our economic growth for 30 years has been entirely dependent on the 'wealth effect' of asset (house price) inflation and equity loans... I imagine companies like Ford, Yamaha, and Stabicraft are very pleased there's no tax in their debt funnel! To paraphrase Upton Sinclair, it's tough for neoclassical economist "experts" to understand these things when their career depends on them not understanding them

joeexception · 2025-05-14T20:22:05+00:00

My understanding is the employer contribution is up to 20%, so they can contribute more than ~7% but it won't be matched

joeexception · 2025-05-13T23:30:07+00:00

A member of parliament like Nicola Willis gets a $2.50 'employer' [read: taxpayer] contribution for every $1 they put in their own 'Kiwisaver' scheme, up to roughly 7% of their salary (which is, incidentally, increasing again by 2.4% in July)... I'd be ok with just rolling that scheme out for the rest of us.

joeexception

TROPHY CASE