A/V "supply" bag

[HSSBO94]

I've been asked to assemble an "A/V bag" containing basic supplies for mic'ing people backstage and before shows for our High School. I have around $80 and we hope for it to last the year.

We'll be using 8-10 wireless mics with DPA's or Shure elements taped on the face (or through hair) for various shows..

Here's what I've got for the list of things we'll need:

Tape (3M blenderm) x 12 rolls
Bobby Pins
Alcohol Swabs
DPA lav clips
Scissors
Flashlights

Does anyone have a preferred brand / product for the alcohol swabs? They're giving me the most trouble. The basic goal is to clean the skin prior to applying the tape. I've used pads, cotton swabs, and moist towellette things. Does anyone know of a good place to purchase these in bulk online?

Anything I'm missing? We already have a whole bunch of 9V batteries, which are ordered around once a month so we don't have them sitting for too long.

Thanks!

[avkid]

You can find almost anything on Amazon.
Amazon.com: Antiseptic Alcohol Wipe Towelettes Medifirst 50/box: Health & Personal Care

[shiben]

I've been asked to assemble an "A/V bag" containing basic supplies for mic'ing people backstage and before shows for our High School. I have around $80 and we hope for it to last the year.

We'll be using 8-10 wireless mics with DPA's or Shure elements taped on the face (or through hair) for various shows..

Here's what I've got for the list of things we'll need:

Tape (3M blenderm) x 12 rolls
Bobby Pins
Alcohol Swabs
DPA lav clips
Scissors
Flashlights

Does anyone have a preferred brand / product for the alcohol swabs? They're giving me the most trouble. The basic goal is to clean the skin prior to applying the tape. I've used pads, cotton swabs, and moist towellette things. Does anyone know of a good place to purchase these in bulk online?

Anything I'm missing? We already have a whole bunch of 9V batteries, which are ordered around once a month so we don't have them sitting for too long.

Thanks!

Get yourself some trauma shears instead of scissors: Trauma shears - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . Just make sure you dont cut your mic elements because they will treat them approximately the same as butter. I like them for use around actors because they have a tip specifically designed for cutting clothing off of people without further injuring the person whos clothes you are removing. Did I mention they cut really well? Also they fit better in my chest rig than normal utility scissors, so I like them.

[Footer]

Condoms. Or whatever your preferred sweat protection is.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[Arez]

Also they fit better in my chest rig

So you care to post pictures or explain that one a little further (as in, are you actually packing shears in a chest rig to every gig)? I have yet to see anyone more than two people in our industry that's not "on location" carry a real chest rig, usually it's just a radio harness.

[themuzicman]

If you're going through the hair, elastic cord and toupe clips

[avkid]

I like them for use around actors because they have a tip specifically designed for cutting clothing off of people without further injuring the person whos clothes you are removing.

Umm...why are you cutting clothing off actors?

[LavaASU]

Umm...why are you cutting clothing off actors?

I'd be a bit concerned if I were one of your actors...

[josh88]

I think the cutting clothes was an example because they rip right through anything. They are great for cutting all types of medical tapes.

[shiben]

Umm...why are you cutting clothing off actors?

Im not. Tape can gum up regular scissors really well for some reason, and having shears that can rip thru it with no problem are really handy. And cutting thru whatever does not make them dull or useless. I just find them safer and more effective for what I need them to do.

[shiben]

So you care to post pictures or explain that one a little further (as in, are you actually packing shears in a chest rig to every gig)? I have yet to see anyone more than two people in our industry that's not "on location" carry a real chest rig, usually it's just a radio harness.

Its a radio harness with a pocket, but I got it from Conterra, so it has a separate pocket specifically for trauma shears. I generally use it to hold gloves, a flashlight, headlamp, and radio on gigs where I need those close at hand. I dont like having gloves hanging out all over where they can get hooked on things. Also, it does not ride around like a belt does when crawling thru tight spaces, so I find it preferable for situations like that.

[Stookeybrd]

I just got done with the Addams Family Tour prep so here is what is in my mic tool kit, not even opening my pelican case.
In no particular order:

-mole skin
-alcohol swabs
-skin prep swaps
-Krylon MME
-artistics wire, 22ga 24ga
-plastic ear clips
-spare thigh belt
-spare waist belt
-three USB keys, two have the Mic bible loaded right now (redundancy!)
-Purell and no-name hand sanitizer
-lint roller
-chapstick
-lint free cloth
-black/white/beige elastic spolls
-black/brown/beige toupe clips
-micro flathead screw drivers
-DPA/MKE2/ caps
-Fine and fat tip Sharpie
-Sennheiser stylus
-Pilot G2 pens
-mechanical pencils
-COPIC and Letraset paint markers in a large array of colors
-micropore
-transpore
-blenderm
-tegaderm
-medical tape
-beige paper tape
-1" white Gaff
-1 brick of AA and 1 brick of AAA
-thick lanyard for credientials
-Hellerman tool
-H12 H15 H20 Hellerman sleeves
-shrink wrap tubing
-needle nose pliers
-medical sheers
-compress air
-baby wipes
-travel tissue pack
-non-lubricated condoms
-elastoplast
-graph paper note pad
-post-it
-four function calculator
-ASUS Eee w/ IAS, Wireless Workbench, SIFM, and Signal Hound
-network cable
-iPhone charger
-1/4 to 1/8 headphone adaptor
-SONY MDR 7506
-guitar picks
-drum key
-Ricola
-Emergen-C
-business cards
-cotton gloves
-black cotton toque

[HSSBO94]

Thanks for all the responses!
I'll look in to the trauma scissors now, they sound GREAT

Stookeybrd, you list a whole bunch of different kinds of tape - what's your criteria on choosing a specific one? Also, (warning, potential greenie question is Krylon MME spray paint? What's the application of that?

Condoms. Or whatever your preferred sweat protection is.

We'll go that route if we have to, although being a high school it might be "interesting" to convince the higher-ups that we really need condoms for theatre.

[emac]

We'll go that route if we have to, although being a high school it might be "interesting" to convince the higher-ups that we really need condoms for theatre.

Well personally if your higher ups think that condoms should not be freely offered a high school or might cringe at the idea of having the theater department have a couple on hand, they need to go back to high school themselves. Every high school should have free condoms. Just my personal opinion.

Now. If you don't want to have that conversation with your higher ups or they disagree with you, one can purchase condoms that have been rewrapped and are called something like water proof sleeve. Give PNTA a call they can help you with those, tel800) 20622-7850 (toll free)

[DaveySimps]

Balloons work well too, and are cheap. Save the battle and awkward conversation with administration for something more important that you do not have any acceptable alternatives for.

~Dave

[derekleffew]

...Save the battle and awkward conversation with administration for something more important that you do not have any acceptable alternatives for.

Wise words. See also the thread wireless microphone covers. .

Something I haven't seen on any of the lists yet: packs of desiccant to keep everything dry and fresh.

[Stookeybrd]

micropore: I'm not a huge fan of how adhesive this tape is, but it is latex free so I always keep it with me.

transpore: the best tape for a heavy sweater because it is the most porous, and lets the most sweat through. It is probably the thickest of the tapes, but also my most used.

blenderm: it is a great tape for the back of the neck if the actor is wearing a suit, or collared costume. It is totally smooth and slides easily against fabric. It is not porous though so if an actor is a bad sweater, this may fall right off.

tegaderm: by far the most expensive so I use it the least, however it is the perfect fit for a few jobs. By far the best adhesive, but can be extremely difficult to apply and pull off if done incorrectly. If you have an actress with a backless dress and can't hide the wire down the edge of the dress, tegaderm is a low reflection adhesive membrane that is extremely thin and stretchy.

medical tape: this is best used to anchor a mic to an unusual place where only the body is available. I have a tapper with a mic at each foot and we just wrapped this around his ankle twice to keep the element in place under his pants.

beige paper tape: Bought for an expirement and never really liked it but keep it in the kit incase I somehow need it.

Krylon MME is an adhesive remover. GooGone(what I used to use, best out there) actually says to avoid contact with the skin, which I always did by wearing gloves when I cleaned mic wires, but the actors would come in constant contact with it along their back or neck. Some would be totally fine, but others would break out in a rash type reaction. One finally mentioned it to me and I had "doh!" moment and switched. No one has any issues with MME, so it is all I keep with me.

[steveratcliff]

How do you like your Signal Hound? Will it interface with WWB or do you export CSV files and use them in IAS? I use IAS, WWB and sometimes the Sennheiser app. Been looking at the Winradio but like the form factor and USB on the Signal Hound.

Thanks!

-Steve

[Stookeybrd]

How do you like your Signal Hound? Will it interface with WWB or do you export CSV files and use them in IAS? I use IAS, WWB and sometimes the Sennheiser app. Been looking at the Winradio but like the form factor and USB on the Signal Hound.

Thanks!

-Steve

To the best of my knowledge it doesn't easily interface with either program, but I've only had it for three months right now, so there is more exploring to do. If I have networked Shure or Sennheiser units on a gig I will always use the corresponding software because it requires so much less typing, and the scanning receiver is using the exact same antennas, cabling, and filters that will be used come showtime. If there is a mixture of gear and/or com I'll turn to IAS with the scanner running along side with a scan that lasted for at least an hour.