Any shockmounts that won't break the bank?

[Steelflight]

I'm getting quite a bit of static when i leave my me66/k6 outside propped up on a towel... its a bit windy and lightly raining. i have the mzw wind guard. anything else i can do? like buy a shockmount or something? there are moments where it is crystal clear nad i can hear the rain drops... other times it gets really 'staticky.'

any suggestions?

[Steelflight]

and what the heck is that red swtich on the K6 module? on the left side it is a straight line ( _ ) and on the right side it is like a straight line with a bend at the end. which one do i want it on?

[ermine]

I'm getting quite a bit of static when i leave my me66/k6 outside propped up on a towel... its a bit windy and lightly raining.

It's RAINING and you have the mic outside - bring it in, PDQ!!!!

Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow. Rain and recording don't go together. Listen on the TV next time they interview someone outside in the rain, and you'll hear the pitter plosh plosh of the rain there too. You can bet they got a full Rycote zeppelin system with extra long fur and the sound guy is still cursing the heavens!

electret mics don't like rain and damp because of the very high impedance of the mic circuit. They're okay when they dry out (not forced-air like a hairdryer, not on a radiator just inside in a warm room). Too much damp and you get a spurious sputtering crackling sound. That goes after about 12 hours in the dry.

Shockmounts -

DIY variants on this theme work well

http://enete.org/drumstuff/MicrophoneShockMount.html

AT made some commercial shockmounts at about $60-70 ish.

A shockmount only helps you with vibration transmitted into the mic from the support. Make that support a tripod and you don't usually need a shockmount, and your arms don't ache.
If you get a wind protection system, some sort of shockmount is usually part of that.

mzw wind guard

a foam rubber popshield alone against the wind and rain - you are pushing your luck here.... Choose a better day. I live in rainy and windy old England - there's still enough good days in the year so I don't need to trash my gear in the rain!

The red switch is the high-pass filter. With the bend at the end it is reducing low frequencies below about 300Hz which can help a little with traffic noise and wind noise (only a little) To quote sennheiser

Switchable bass roll-off filter protects against rumble, handling, pop and wind noise

In your current situation you probably want it towards the end with the bend in the end (filter active). Most birdsong is well about 300Hz, with the exception of some owls and corvids.