Glen Trew

Sometimes it's intermittent, sometimes it isn't. -G. Trew

Recently heard (by me) from an over-anxious director: Go! Go! Go! Go!.... Go Back! gt

The complaint is consistent with wireless user reportings in general, and is certainly not limited to Zaxcom in particular. I have dealt with countless mysterious wireless reports that involve all of the major brands, nearly all of which have been solved. Low range is not a particular problem of the Zaxcom system. Glen Trew

Hello Dan, I don’t know yet what is causing the short range you are experiencing, but it is not due to the 50mW output. There is no standard output level. True, Lectro gets 100mW from most of their transmitters in North America, but other respected brands (Sennheiser and Sony, for two) do not. The maximum legal output level in much of Europe is 30mW. A major reason for 100mW on some transmitters is strictly for the psychological affect of the number, not because of increased RF performance. The decision by manufacturers is often between reduced battery consumption and psychological affect, and the winner is usually the latter. I use a 250mW transmitter for my wireless boom, but it is mostly for my psychological well-being: It general runs out of range at about the same distance as the others. Heat: Part of the reason for the transmitter heat is due to the small size of the transmitter. The smaller the transmitter, the less heat-sink is available, the more concentrated the heat will be. The tiny Lectro SM transmitters have this issue too (but maybe to a slightly lesser degree) while the larger Lectro UM transmitters do not. This is also why Lectro recently came out with a thin peel-and-stick foam pad for the SM transmitters. Another way to reduce the heat problem is to use the transmitters inside the thin SpanDex pouches (http://www.trewaudio.com/store/product.php?productid=652&cat=73&page=1). (The small pouch shown for the Lectro SM transmitters also works on the TRX900AA). Anyway, enough people now are using the Zaxcom transmitters successfully to lead me to believe there is a solvable issue with your system. Glen Trew

In my tests also noticed that the MicroCats can make rustling noise when under clothes, which is why I was surprised to hear from so many mixers using them under clothes successfully. But the reason is that, when the wind is high enough to need MicroCats, the noise of the wind against the clothes and the trees and everything else is often enough to mask the relatively small amount of rustle. Glen Trew

Success. The most sure-fire car rig I've found. There was an issue with the CUB when used with the Lectro MM (waterproof) transmitter, but my CUBs work with my UM400 and SMA transmitters just fine. Glen Trew

Thanks Jeff, but I think I'm exactly the type that would have problems with a computer, but I don't and I think most others don't either. I have to suspect that the thought of one system being more or less fallible than the other is a hold over from another time when the differences were much more distinct. They are so much alike now that most people will never notice a difference in performance and reliability, much less appreciate the advantages that both have. It's become more like Ford vs. Chevy, or Mercedes vs. BMW (in my opinion). Of course there are exceptions, but to declare one is absolutely better than the other these days would be difficult to justify (also in my opinion). gt

I have over 50 PCs and 4 Macs, most of which are used hard every day. All of them work very well. None of them are messed up. Glen Trew

I only recall modifying one RM-1, which is the one I still use on my cart (the general layout can be seen in a 4-year old photo here: http://www.trewaudio.com/mixer/200301/jerseyalbum/jerseycart.htm). The RM-2 looks like it would work just as well. However, I'm wondering about the need to have digital inputs in a cart speaker. I believe these speakers were designed for machine room and control room use, and never intended for sound mixer's portable rigs. The digital converters may draw power wether they are used or not. Anyway, the DC mod for the RM-1 involves removing part of the original power supply and installing a 12VDC powered supply that creates plus and minus 15VDC, applying it to the rails at the right place. You have to also retain the portion of the internal supply that creates 5V for the logic switching circuit. The best thing about this Fostex speakers is that it takes up only 1 rack space in my enclosed cart. I use in mostly for when I want to take my headphones off and occasionally to playback takes for director and script. The input is the same as my headphones, so I can also hear the boom op's talkback mic if they are trying to reach me when my phones are off. It's position in my cart puts it at eye level (and also ear level). It works very well in this situation, but if I had a open type cart such as those based on the Magliner dolly I would prefer the Remote Audio Speak Easy. In addition to the Fostex's good points there are a few drawbacks: 1) it is power hungry (over 1 Amp at 12V). 2) There is no power switch on the front, so it always draws 1 Amp whether you need it or not. I recall there is no good place to install a power switch on the front. 3) The oblong speakers make good volume from a narrow chassis, as well as stereo, but would not be considered high fidelity (not nearly bright enough) and such a design must have a lot of phasing distortion. With these things in mind, and considering the effort and expense involved to make the RM-2 12V compatible, for a while now I have been sketching such a system to be built by Remote Audio. Ideas and opinions about features and layout are welcome. Glen Trew

Here's what I used in my news kit then: Shure M267 mixer, ECM-50, Senn 415, Vega wireless, DT-48 or Koss Pro-4AA, Gitzo aluminum pole. I did not use a Portabrace bag then, but the camera operators did. Glen Trew

Jeff, shouldn't that go in the Society, Politics, and Religion section of the forum? I use Audacity for all playback I've done in the last three years, including voice, SFX, music, and on-set editing. It is basically a limited version of ProTools but it seems like it was made specifially for production sound mixers. It has pull-up, pull-down abilty, off-speed with normal EQ abiilty, and can be used to make a decent thumper track, just to name a few features. Plus, it works well on both a Mac and - the Devil's Own - the PC. On a commercial recently I had four 60 second music tracks with 4 versions each (English, Spanish, normal speed, and double speed. That's 16 tracks total. The director would call for them at random, and I could roll any of them instantly. Glen Trew

Hello Jeff! With all due (which is considerable) respect... As in most religious discussions, this one may never reach an agreed conclusion. However, I assure you that I approach the gospels of Mac and PC as a complete agnostic. “…is a testament to just how great the Mac platform is (and all of that from the computer which most PC users used to refer to as a toy).” -jw Then you can’t stop there… It’s also a testament to how great Windows XP and Parallels are too; wouldn’t you agree? Come on now… a bolt of lightening may have your name on it. “...most PC users used to refer to the Mac as a toy?” Never heard that one before, Jeff. But I do hear the "cooler" comment regularly, which is no wonder considering the marketing: Cool Mac Guy vs Doofus PC Guy. No talk about benchmarks there, because so few people care at all. The goal was to show what the cool people prefer, and it worked, just like Joe Camel. It’s funny to see how many kids working in the Apple stores now even have Mac Guy hair. Pretty funny considering that it looks very much like my ’70’s my high school annuals. And they say TV content doesn't adversely affect society. "Almost every single in depth article I have read…determined that feature for feature there is virtually NO difference in cost between comparable Macs and PC's." -jw Explain that to Wall Street: There is no industry in the world more dollar-driven and than the financial industry, in which PCs hold an enormous majority of the market. Explain it to the VP of Trew Audio: Their is no person in the world... (you get the idea). Anyway, we own about 50 Windows-based PC computers, but since I am less dollar-driven we have a few Macs too. But buying Macs to do what we need those PCs to do would cost considerably more, even with the reseller's discount. I also have to say that running all those PCs fairly hard in an international network while administering each of them remotely goes without a hitch. “Again, I must just be lucky (for the last 20 years or so) that I have just not had any crashes with any of the Macs I've had.” -jw Or maybe they haven’t been pushed hard enough. I regularly keep open Word, Photoshop, AutoCad, Outlook, Firefox (and now also Safari), and Audacity (plus some others sometimes), working on large files at the same time on two different monitors while uploading, downloading and printing. Every now and then, trying to do too much in a particular sequence will cause even the MacBook Pro to lock up, and just like a PC, holding down the power button for 5 seconds is the only choice. All in all, the Mac is still very impressive but the last several Dells I had were no less reliable. “and don't get me started on all the anti-virus, spyware B.S.) and I have not had to do any of those things, ever, with the Mac” –jw Since the goal of virus and hacker scum-bags is to affect as many people as possible, they write for the computer type that the vast majority of people have: PCs. As the current trend continues in favor of Macs, their day will come too. Considering the security enhancement upgrades I’ve been getting lately for Mac OS, looks like there’s been some success, too. Have you not installed the security upgrades for your Mac, Jeff? Anyway, when products like Macs (available pretty much from only one manufacturer) and PCs (available from a vast choice of manufacturers) try to be the best, good things happen. Try them both and you’ll probably realize that they are both amazing good. Glen Trew

There's no doubt that Macs are good computers, but I believe their increase in market share is due to a combination of marketing and the human instinct to eventually want something different; i.e. to see the establishment topple. Ask most people why they have a Mac or why they want a Mac and the answer is usually, "Because it's cooler". The same reason so many 20-30 year olds smoke Camels and wear bowling shoes. But from my experience with Macs and PCs, one has not been more reliable or easier to use than the other. For over a year now, the MacBook Pro has been my primary computer for two reasons: 1) Two of our industry's recording programs are Mac-only (Metacorder and Boom Recorder), and 2) It has the ability to run Mac OS and Windows OS at the same time. On the set this means I can use Boom Recorder and monitor my Lectro Venue while running BWF Widget on the same screen. At the office it means I can test audio files for Trew Audio's customers on Mac OS and Windows OS while also running our Windows office management software while also designing the Meon on Windows based AutoCAD, all with a single computer. Lastly, sitting at the airport bar with bowling shoes and a MacBook Pro seems to always attract an the company of pharmaceutical salespersons. So, for my needs, for those reasons, the double price is justified. However, I must say that the Mac crashes just as often as the Dell it replaced (not very often), it's at least as quirky ("USB port not available..."), and it is noticeably slower. A small price to pay for being cool. Glen Trew

Yes, I forgot to mention the K-Tek boom cradle. I agree it is the ultimate for being easy on the pole and being easy to get the pole on and off the pole, and typical high-quality K-Tek metal work. Glen Trew

I didn't see the teflon tape posting. I agree that would not be a good idea. But Loctite should be OK. Keep in mind you can get a weaker version of loctite that is not difficult to remove, but is still very unlikely to back out on its own. GT gt

Here we go again... It is not the same as sold at Bass Pro or WalMart or the other fishing departments. It is made by the same metal shop in the same jig but with differences specifically for Remote Audio for clamping into a C-stand knuckle. Like Scott, I also prefer the BoomMate, but mostly because it is easier to get the boom pole on and off without first adjusting the C-stand. But for easy of travel and compactness, the BoomBoy wins. Glen Trew

Actually, tests I've done show that when locktite is used in a tightened connection, there is negligible conduction loss. The the surfaces of the thread that are pushing against each other are essentially still metal-to-metal. The locktite is squeezed to the microgaps in the low pressure side of the threads and sets with the absense of oxygen. Glen Trew ,

US$5570 is the retail price in the US. Glen Trew

Of course there are now much more capable and sophisticated solutions, but it's true that there are simple ways to build inexpensive powering methods. In a pinch it can be as simple as a $20 motorcycle battery and a $15 charger (with the addition of a Remote Audio Hot Box distribution box). I ran for two weeks like this once in San Juan after forgetting to pack my power supply (Thank goodness Western Auto stores still exist in Puerto Rico). When I got home I put the battery in my motorcycle. Glen Trew

A good example of the best use for the MM-1 is for the parabolic mic operator at a football game (either type). It allows the operator to hear what it being picked up, and it boosts the mic to a high quality line level through a beefy transformer capable of mile-long runs to the truck. Personally, for boom op normal operation, I don't see the advantage of a bridging headphone amp and would prefer to always send the boom op their monitoring signal from me. While the argument could be made that listening to the mic directly could aid in trouble shooting, in my opinion this advantage is out-weighed by possible confusion. For example, if the boom op can only hear what is being sent by the recordist, if they hear their microphone, they know their mic is being received. Glen Trew

OK... I ran into Jim Malloy's son (my high school friend David Malloy, now a successful writer/producer as well) the other day at the gym. He says his dad is still around and doing well in retirement. A google search about Jim Malloy will turn up some interesting stories that include Elvis, Chet, Johnny, and a bunch of others (Just be sure to filter out the race car driver also named Jim Mallloy). Seems like a worthy topic for a verbal history recording. Glen Trew Glen Trew

Hello Ron, and All… Ron’s points are well received and appreciated. My sentiments for him are the same, and I also look forward to that beer. My comments were not intended to criticize the Powermax, but to illustrate that the previous comparison being made was not necessarily accurate. In doing so, if I misrepresented the abilities of the Powermax, I apologize and am eager to be corrected. At least we will all learn more from a detailed discussion. There is however, still some confusion, possibly on my part, that Ron can clarify… If the Powermax is powering a cart that uses, what is the total time needed to charge two 33A/hr batteries? Charge time: The Powermax has a total of 30A available for charging and/or powering. The specs for battery-charging current says it is limited to 15A (which would be considered about the safe maximum for a 33A/hr battery). It’s not clear if this is 15A per battery (total of 30A) or a total of 15A for both batteries. A 33A/hr lead acid battery will need about 13A to charge in 2.5 hours. Charging two batteries in 2.5 hours would use 26A, leaving only 4A to operate the cart. If I miss-spoke about the charge time needed for two batteries it is because I assumed the charging current was limited to 15A total so that the remaining 15A would be available for the cart. But if this is, indeed the case, it can only mean that charging two batteries will take twice as long as it takes to charge one, or about 5 hours. Power available to the cart while charging: Using similar math: If 15A is being used to charge a Powermax battery, then only 15A remains for the cart, which is less than the Meon always provides to the cart when charging its battery: 30A-15A=15A compared to 18A-0A=18A. No? If the Powermax always favors the outputs to the cart and provides the remaining current for battery charging, then charge time will increase when cart power goes over 15A. Or, in the case of charging two batteries with 15A each, whenever any current at all is being used for the cart. No? Anyway, one scenario or the other must be true, unless I am missing something (always a good possibility) Filters on the DC outlets is another topic worth discussing, as is the inclusion of three different voltages. But in the interest of reasonable length, I’ll defer until another thread. For now, suffice it to say that including these features or not, was an intentional choice of both designs. The philosophy behind the choices made for the Meon is described on the Remote Audio site. Now, to answer Steve J.’s quibble about the amount of current typically used by a sound cart: Power requirements are certainly on the increase, and Steve, I’ll be happy if you are correct, but I’ll stand by my comment that the vast majority of sound carts use less than 10A. Also, it was my understanding that the need to replace the earlier Powermax was because, while 14A (the original spec, I believe, was 11A) was sufficient to power a typical cart, it was not enough current to also charge a 33A/hr battery at reasonable speed. Of course, some carts do use more than 10A, but in my observation it is the unusual exception. In fact, I’ll give US$100 to the first person that, in the next 24 hours after this posting is made, can provide a list of just 10 production Sound Mixers anywhere in the world who use more than 18A for their carts in their normal configuration. Looking forward to learning more, Glen Trew

Like Steve J. said, the Powermax and Meon, though somewhat similar, offer some different features for different priorities, and Trew Audio has sold both types to happy customers. In a nutshell, if someone needs 66A/hr of capacity on a daily basis, then the Powermax is for them. But if that much capacity is not always needed, then dealing with the fans, extra bulk, weight and performance limitations of external lead acid batteries is not necessary. For the daily on-set situations that I encounter with a sound cart on movies and commercials, many will prefer the Meon. Knowing which is best for you is not nearly as simple as one having more capacity than the other, so, just to make sure all the comparisons are out there and understood: The Powermax can deliver up to 30A continuous to a cart, but this assumes the batteries are either fully charged or disconnected and that the fans are running. Likewise, the charge time of 2.5 hours per battery becomes 5 hours with both batteries, and assumes that the nothing on the cart is being powered. As power is used for the cart, the recharge time increases. The Meon’s AC-DC supply is never used for charging the battery, so the Meon will deliver its full capacity of 18A to the cart, even while a fully drained battery is being charged, with no fans running. The full capacity of the charger is always available for the battery, which charges in 6 hours or less. So, in actuality, the difference in capacity and charge time between the Meon and Powermax is not what the numbers suggest at first glance. In fact, when a battery is being charged, the Powermax can have less power available for the cart than the Meon. Likewise, when providing 18A to a cart, the Meon will recharge faster than the Powermax. The Meon is 2 rack spaces. The Powermax is 2 rack spaces. The Meon is self-contained, including the battery. The Powermax requires a user-supplied external lead acid battery or two, of 33 amps minimum each (a smaller lead acid battery would be damaged by the internal charger). The SLA batteries must be put somewhere else on the cart, attached with Speakon connectors.. The vast majority of sound carts pull less than 10 amps, so the Meon’s internal 29A/hr NiMH battery (up from last year’s 27A/hr version) will keep most carts going for at least three hours. Since AC power is usually available except for occasional interruptions, additional battery capacity may never be needed. However, if a longer period without AC is expected, external lead acid batteries of any size can be plugged into the Meon’s 13A outlets. The Meon will float-charge and properly maintain an external lead acid battery at 13.8VDC when AC is available. The Powermax is limited to 4A for each 12V outlet, which (for example) cannot power DC-AC inverters of the size needed to power the Yamaha 01V mixer that requires more than 6A at 12V. It also means that multiple cables must be used from the Powermax to supply power to even low current consumption sound carts. Of the 12 outlets on the Meon, 4 have a capacity of 13 amps, allowing a single output cable to power most sound carts if desired, and to power DC-AC inverters for large devices (like the Yamaha O1V). The remaining 8 outlets are capable of 6 amps each. The Meon is completely quiet because it does not use any fans. The Powermax uses fans for cooling. The Powermax relies on lead acid batteries that weigh, amp per amp, much more than the Meon’s Nickel Metal Hydride battery. NMH batteries also deliver high current more efficiently than SLA batteries, meaning that a 29A/hr NMH battery will last longer in high current draws (10 amps or more) than a typical 33A/hr SLA battery. The Meon weighs a total of 25 pounds, including the internal 29A/hr NMHi battery. The Powermax in a similar configuration (with 33A/hr battery attached) weighs 42 pounds (12 pounds plus another 30 pounds for a typical 33A/hr SLA Pelican style battery). The Meon has a volt meter, an amp meter, a fuel gauge, and a charge progress indicator. The Amp meter is particularly useful in knowing exactly how much current each device in your cart requires and how much your entire cart is drawing at any given moment. I hope these additional details make the difference/similarities and pros/cons more clear. More info is available at these two sites: http://www.professionalsound.com/Catalog/Powermax%20Ultra.htm and http://remoteaudio.com/meon.htm Glen Trew

I want to emphasize here that a PD-6 will run correctly with 12 volts. It should not need a Juicer (regulated power cable) unless the external power (such as from a draining battery) drops much below 12V or ground isolation is needed. I think the problem is voltage drop in the cable or connectors. Problems like this could seem to go away by increasing the voltage, but the proper fix is definately to reduce the amount of voltage drop between the source and the machine. There is the outside chance that the problem is due to a faulty internal DC-DC converter, but this is so unlikely that it would be best to rule out voltage drop before looking elsewhere. Glen Trew