Not a stompbox issue, but a problem with a fuzzy microphone :/

[ghostsauce]

So, at my church they use a Shure Beta 58a mic and it tends to fuzz out at times.  We thought it was random but we're starting to think it might be overheating from someone holding it too long. We're still looking into it, and I think we'll probably get it replaced but I wanted to pick your brains about it. It has a (I guess you'd call it) limiter inside that lets you cut the amount of sound down, but that doesn't seem to have any effect on the problem. We've tried different batteries, different radio channels, everything I can think of.  My first thought was maybe it had some transistors that were heating up from the heat transferred from the person's hand.. but I mean, I would think that Shure would have thought of that. /shrug



That's a shot of what you see when you take the head off the mic. (it's not a pic of our mic, just one I found online.)  You can see the limiter thingie. Also, I should mention we're out in the country so there isn't much around by way of radio interference out our way. I figured if anybody can figure this out, you guys can. I couldn't figure out how to take the mic apart anymore than to see that part of the pcb in the image. For a preacher, it's really comfortable to use a wireless mic so we really don't want to have to go back to wired. Please help. ._.

[John Lyons]

What do you mean by "fuzz out"?
Do you mean that the mics cuts out or looses signal?
Heat does not have anything to do with the problem I do not think.
There are many thousands of these mics in use with no problems.

[sixstringphil]

When you say fuzzy, is it similar to the way it sounds when the batteries are going out? We had one act that way. Shure has a flat fee to repair all there stuff that I remeber being pretty reasonable. Something about the transmitter and some crystals? Works great now.

[ghostsauce]

When you say fuzzy, is it similar to the way it sounds when the batteries are going out? We had one act that way. Shure has a flat fee to repair all there stuff that I remeber being pretty reasonable. Something about the transmitter and some crystals? Works great now.

Sorry for not being clear, but yeah sounds like Phil had the same problem. It sounds like the batteries are dying and you get that distorted sound that just isn't usable. An issue with the crystals and transmitter?  Heh, over my head I guess. I wouldn't know where to start. I didn't even know it had crystals in it

[John Lyons]

You bet, here's a pic from inside.

[ghostsauce]

WOW!  Dude, does it come with the cute little spelunker guy?  Also, he looks like he's about to fondle that crystal in a way that I am glad it's not a vid.  haha

[therecordingart]

What model wireless (not the mic capsule model)? What zip code is it being used in?

[ghostsauce]

I'm in Canada, and not beside the mic but i'll find out tonight.  Where would I find the wireless model, on the base maybe?

[therecordingart]

I'm in Canada, and not beside the mic but i'll find out tonight.  Where would I find the wireless model, on the base maybe?

Where about in Canada is it being used? The model number should be on a sticker in the battery compartment...something like...."xx2/BETA58-xx" is what you should see.

I'm just trying to figure out if this is frequency agile UHF or a fixed frequency system and what interference you have in your area. It could be a number of issues, but interference would be my first guess.

How far is the transmitter from the receiver (or receive antenna)?

[ghostsauce]

Oh, gotcha. I'm in New Brunswick.  Postal code for this area is E4Z 2W7.  (we're close to Petitcodiac).  The mic is never more than 30ft away, but it's operated usually around 25ft or so from the receiver. We have the base near the sound board, so on the other end of the room. I think anyways.. now i'm not so sure. Maybe they do have it up behind the pulpit. I'll check that tonight too. Our sound guys are really good, but we're all figuring this out as we go.  It's not something that just started happening, it's been going on for a few months now. Started about 3 months after we got the mic, but nothing really changed that we can think of. Same people using it, same conditions. Weather maybe.