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[Ivan Beaver]

It does seem like I am not accepting anybody's advice, but the advice given so far doesn't seem coherent with the reason I originally came here. I have 2 primary objectives: to determine the mic form factor (which somebody gave input on and I will use a very similar unit from Shure) and to determine whether to use modest output weatherized speakers or to use high output weatherized speakers.

The real numbers are $5000, 90-95db on occasion, frequency response to maybe 50hz, and coverage of a triangle that is approximately 300 ft on two sides, however the vast majority of the usage will be a 90x90 square that makes up the bases.

Paging horns are out of the question because music trumps uniformity and intelligibility, but I would be open to any other suggestions that would maximize the situation on this shoestring budget.

The stands are not part of the equation as they will have great uniformity and the layout lends itself to a very controlled, easy to manage installation.

In your original post you were inquiring about a wireless mic.. At a MINIMUM the wireless would eat up 10% of the budget.

In my opinion that is not money well spent.  And if you get a "cheap" wireless-then you get for free all the problems that come with it.

"high output" weatherized speakers are simply not in your budget.

Most designers are more about even coverage and intelligibility-rather than good sound for a few and "whatever" for the rest.

But I guess you know your client and what they really expect.

I assume you have "done the math" and figured out the output capabilities needed for the specs you give.

I would double check the loudspeaker choice-for the spec you give.

Are you allowing for dynamic range or peaks-vs the continuous type SPL that you would typically measure or perceive.

I guess what I find interesting is that you are taking any of the advice given-but it seems like what you were looking for is for somebody to "OK" your equipment choices.  Which I don't see happening-sorry.

[Scott Hibbard]

Isaac,

I completed a baseball field install last weekend (see attached pic).  When considering a project iike this, depending on where the speakers are most appropriately placed, you will find the mounting hardware/materials can cost almost as much as the speakers themselves and this is NOT the place to cut corners.  Just something to keep in mind.

ScottH

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

We have been contacted to install a sound system for a HS baseball field.

Who is we?  Are you in the install business? 

[Isaac Imig]

Yes we are in the install business. Admittedly, most of our work is based on commercial, residential, and education based installations such as presentation systems, multi-room audio/video, background-foreground music, paging systems, surveillance, integration, etc however we are well equipped for this type of installation as well. We have also taken part in HOW and Auditorium installations where acoustic design was hired out but we handled everything else. We are also a division of an electrical contractor so licensing and installation methods are not a problem.

Wireless mics are obviously out of the budget at this point. ZX5s and speakers like them are in the budget however, I would consider them to be high output weatherized but maybe I am wrong there.

The calcs do not work out well given the performance criteria for the entire field, but as mentioned the real priority is the 90x90 infield where the numbers are realistic. Eventually the budget may increase (it is being funded by a generous father) and they can decide how important it is to have the same level of performance across the rest of the field.

Thanks for the note on mounting materials for the speakers. Thankfully it looks like we will get away with U-Brackets which aren't cheap but aren't terribly expensive either.

[Bill Hinds]

It is true that many people and organizations are totally disassociated from the real costs of a project. I do my best to educate but this particular "project" has no wiggle room *at this time*.

The budget although terribly slim is including all infrastructure and installation materials such as rack and wiring.

I think there is some confusion about the layout of this project. This is not a stadium. It is a High School base ball field with stands that seat maybe 50 people and cover about 40 ft of linear space behind home plate. This is the coverage area that will be covered with EVID 6.2T units. These units will be no farther than 25 ft from the farthest listeners. In addition to this there is the field which will be covered by (2) EV ZX5 which are a weatherproof 15" two-way. They have frequency response to 39hz -10db and 132db of output. Even though they are two different coverage areas the frequency response of the ZX5 units will be present in both coverage areas.

I appreciate all the warnings but I have full reason to believe this will turn out to exceed the user's expectations. Certainly will sound better than paging horns which is what they have now and have not used for 5+ years. I will get some pictures up when it materializes and maybe it will make more sense to everybody.

I would suggest that instead of those EVID 6.2T which will not get the job done for this application that you look at the Community .25  They also come in a 70V which is the .25T They work well for announcing and some playback as long as a lot of low end is not expected. I think you and everyone else will be sorely disappointed if you use the EVID 6.2t's. Just not right for this application at all in my opinion.

[Isaac Imig]

Well it's not too late to change the EVID selection. I don't necessarily like the form factor or all the performance criteria, but wanted to follow suit with speaker selection and EV has never had a strong selection of 70V box speakers that were a price sensitive (IMHO) except for the EVID. The .25 seems like it would be a good choice, I was also thinking about Control 28Ts.

[Jon Ross]

Get the Community speakers. I've done a couple HS football fields and a baseball field with them and even with the lack of low end have been very impressed. I think they make a sub version too.

[Brad Weber]

You might also want to look at http://www.onesystems.com/index.php, I believe those are what is in Scott's picture, and http://www.technomad.com/products/ for some speaker options intended specifically for outdoor use.

Also consider that the cable is likely to be direct buried, wet and/or exposed to direct sunlight.  For underground cable or cable run in conduit that could be wet I often use http://www.westpenn-wpw.com/webcatalog/BULK%20CABLES/AQUASEAL_INDOOR-OUTDOOR/SPEAKER_LEVEL_Aquaseal.pdf, they have direct burial unshielded, twisted pair up to 12AWG.

[ProSoundWeb Community]