As I made plans for a year of vodcasting, I thought a wireless lavalier microphone would be nice to have. I could stand at my IWB and narrate my lesson as well as write more clearly than I can with my slate. How hard could it be to find one? Every news station, church, band, and presenter in the world uses a lapel mic. As with many of my simple plans, this one turned out to be more difficult than I had imagined.
I found out the microphone was actually fine, it just wouldn’t work with a laptop. Oh, and by the way, this is after an entire day – eight hours of phone calls, internet searches, tech support, and talks with a guy that’s in a band and operates the sound system at his church. No one seemed to know what to do.
So, I punt and decide to call a local business that sells sound systems. Good idea, huh? No – think again. I discover sound systems are an entirely different critter than sound input into a laptop. They were no help.
I decided to call a couple of friends who are classroom technology education consultants. Their response is either, “er um, I don’t know” or they advise I purchase the $1,500 - $3,000 classroom sound solution manufactured by the people that made my IWB. That won’t work for me. My school, like every other, is broke. I’ll be buying this microphone with my money so $1,500 is out of the question. My goal is less than $150.
After literally talking to almost a dozen people, I end up with a very nice salesman from B&H Photo and Video in New York. He fixed me up with a nice little transmitter and receiver for $129.00. I will have it in a couple of days.
So – what’s my point? My point is that I have had many opportunities over the last couple of days to throw in the towel and quit. I have discovered that to be someone that embraces an idea that isn’t in the mainstream requires tenacity. I made up my mind that I was going to find an answer – and I finally did. It just took more effort than I had imagined.
So for anyone that is trying something new; be tenacious. Don’t take no for an answer. When you get frustrated, hang in there and have faith that your efforts will be worthwhile. Remember to share what you have learned.
To that end, here is a link to the product I bought from B&H: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=aupro88wr35&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma