A Versatile Device

Indeed, the condom is the most useful choice in certain productions (“Big Effects From Small Packages,” by Michael Mallory, June 17).

I can recall a few years back when my employer, Nelson Sound of Burbank, was hired to assist Mark Phelps and Brian Thompson of KLOS-FM on their morning show broadcasting live from the grand opening of Jurassic Park: The Ride at Universal Studios. You can easily imagine the jokes when they were handed wireless hand-held mikes wrapped in condoms. Yet, they allowed a seamless broadcast for their listeners--from the start of the ride to its thoroughly drenching conclusion.

As with special-effects coordinator Joe Viskocil, my receipts for bulk orders of condoms have raised a few eyebrows in the accounting department. But their use has been invaluable for us, especially to protect actors’ wireless body-pack transmitters from perspiration for live theater.

BRYAN BOWEN

Pasadena