"Walter Harley" wrote in message


Two questions that folks on this group might have good answers for. The
context is that I'm upgrading the sound system for an old church.
Budget is minimal; so, thankfully, are expectations.

1) I need a mic on the piano. It needs to be able to work with lid
open or shut. It needs to be permanently attached - no gaff tape! Less
than $200 would be nice. Any recommendations? (Sorry, I don't
subscribe to Recording - I saw the mention of the article there.)

If I was going to have to cover an church service, especially one with
congregational singing, with just one mic, it would be a mic inside the
piano. Which mic and where would depend on the piano. I use a Shure PZM (SM
93 I think) double-sided taped to the underside of the lid, about the
middle. I use quite a bit of Scotch's heavy-duty permanant double-sided
tape. When the piano was recently rebuilt, the mic left with it, and came
back with it.

Reason for the PZM is that I can't get the piano to cut through loud
congregational singing without feedback, using just my other mic which is
outside the piano, pointed at the underside of the far end of the sounding
board. In the end, SR is more about being heard than hi fi sound quality.

2) The mic lines will need to run about 100' through a cold-air
return under the sanctuary. Am I correct that this means I should be
using plenum rated cable, rather than my old standby Belden 9451? Is
there a similarly "standard" plenum rated cable that everyone uses
for fixed installs?

I've been told that plenum cable is really only rated for use in
applications like a dropped ceiling, where the whole ceilng is in essence a
cold air return. Putting it inside actual ducts is reportedly a no-no. I'd
like to see some discussion of this.