sarcanon

I'm a newbie here as well, but in the couple of weeks since I've discovered it, I've already learned so many valuable things, certainly compared to the meager $25 I just donated. Thank you, Mr. Wexler, for creating and maintaining such a brilliant resource.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but rental of personal property (such as sound equipment) should not be reported on Schedule E. Schedule E is for rental of real property only (or, in some circumstances, personal property that is rented along with real property). So, while the production company accountant may be being stubborn, technically it makes no difference which box he reports your rental income in--that income can only be claimed on Schedule C no matter what box it's reported to you in. And consequently it will be subject to Self-Employment tax. If you make enough in rental income each year to justify the effort, it may be worth forming a pass-through entity (such as an LLC or S corporation) and rent all your gear through that entity. If you structure things right, after depreciation of your gear and other operating expenses, you might be able to significantly reduce your Self-Employment tax, or eliminate it altogether. Of course, you would have some other taxes and reporting requirements to contend with. But, like I said, if your earnings in gear rental are substantial enough, it might pencil out in your favor. Ask your accountant for his/her advice about creating a pass-through entity. P.S. I'm not a tax CPA, nor do I play one on television, so please don't consider this professional advice. Just speaking from my own personal experience.

Dear Jack, Jon and John: Thanks so much for your responses. I greatly appreciate the feedback. If Stuart Torrance's prices are within my budget, I'll use him. Otherwise, I will take up John's suggestion and re-wire myself. Cheers.

My apologies if this is a silly question or has been asked and answered before. I made a cursory search of the archives and did not find anything on-topic. I currently own a pair of Sanken COS-11D mics, wired with locking 1/8-inch mini plugs for Sennheiser G3 wireless packs. I will soon be adding a pair of new packs to my kit and am looking at at an Lectronics L-series combo. That acquisition will exhaust my equipment budget for a few months. Consequently, I would rather not have to buy new COS-11Ds simply because of the change in connector type (from 1/8-inch to TA5F). I intend to keep my G3s, and ideally, would like to have the flexibility be able to use the COS-11Ds with either wireless pack set. So, my question is, is it possible (or even advisable) to insert an in-line break-away connection of some sort at the Tx end of mic cable, that would allow the ability to swap out a different connector, depending on which wireless pack I want to use? It seems rather silly that Sanken does not offer this sort of functionality as an option, rather than just offering hard-wired SKUs for each connector type. (I know there is a bare pig-tail version, but this assumes the owner will attach a hard-wired connector). What sort of break away connector would be appropriate? Switchcraft have a series of inline jacks and compatible locking plugs. http://www.switchcraft.com/Category.aspx?Parent=990. Would these be suitable? Are there any drawbacks to this solution that I should consider? Many thanks in advance. - Scott