Derek H

I have an older black receiver and it has the switchcraft. I've thought about asking if it could be done.

Hi fieldmixer, Did you have Zaxcom modify your ENG receiver to use a Hirose plug for DC rather than the Switchcraft? If so how much did it cost?

Order it from one of the location sound vendors to make sure.. Or be prepared to do a lot of homework looking through Lemo's well-organized, but massive product directory and catalog of data sheets. Oh fine, here are my notes from the last time I did it myself: Lemo Part for TC: FGG.0B.305.CLADxx CLADxx designates: C: Shell material - Chrome plated brass (L - Anodized Al) L: Insulator material - Plastic (T - teflon) A: Termination - solder Dxx: Size of collet. D52 = 4.1mm-5mm cable OD

If this were a fast moving gig I might be tempted to stick a 57 on the camera to channels 3&4, set the mic gain low in the menu. Keep my shotgun in my control for the interviews but might be just the trick for what you see in the photo where the camera op is grabbing that close shot of the tire burning rubber. -- just a thought. Of course then you would never know what it sounded like.

It looks great! Glad to see that it's even a little smaller than the Rycote #4 kit. Rycote must be pissed... It's good there is a new competitor though. Durability is my number one question, I'm sure it's great sonically.

I bet with about $15 additional hardware they could have added AES digital inputs on a locking miniature connector in the main body of the camera. A shame more cameras don't have digital inputs these days... It is 2012 isn't it?

My biggest hang up with using Lectros for hops is the mismatched gain structure required to avoid the Tx limiter. Requires you to under-modulate the transmitter and also deal with mic level input on the camera most of the time. I know people do it every day with good results but it always bugs me.

Any word on how the recording sounds? Is the headphone amp decent? Also, are the XLR inputs switchable between mic and line level? Thanks, looks like I may be working with this camera myself sooner than later.

I'd like to see a pic showing how you mount two SNA600s in a bag.

I agree with Jan here. Use your Mic of choice and learn to hide the cable.

I agree with the 1-2% of total value approach but what about 3-day weeks? For me, this is where it gets confusing, but it seems that all the major rental shops play this game. I do think it's a good way to give a discount for long duration rentals while maintaining a higher day rate for the gear, it also makes it all too easy for the producer to say "but last time i got a 2 day week from Joe's Rental Shack, why are you asking for more?" Where JonG stated that most reality production offers 150 per day for kit this actually seems correct if you consider this number is probably based on the 3 day week scenario that these producers are accustomed to getting (many reality shows being outfitted by large rental houses, actually 150 is probably a 2-day week rate...). Still, that represents a base rate for a set package of gear and you can't just give them everything for that rate, multi channel, dozen ifb etc.. At some point you have to call bullshit on those tactics. The worst rental rate (on top quality gear) I ever saw was from one of the "usual suspects" who gave the production basically a four day month... Duration of rental was a factor in this but jeez, pretty rough to compete with for an owner operator. Personally I charge a flat rate per day that includes labor and my basic kit which is a 2 RF, boom, and hops to camera package and then add on ala carte for everything after that. Works pretty well. Keeps things simple for the client most of the time and then clearly spells out the extra charges when their shoot gets more complicated. I also say use whatever gear you want for the shoot but don't forget to charge for what you actually end up needing. So sure, a nomad can be a 302 if that's the machine you prefer to use but it can't be a Nomad for a 302 rate... If that makes any sense! ;p

My main interest in this thread lies in how well the QRX performs in dual mode, receiving two separate transmitters that are worn by real people moving around and doing the usual. I often see red LED flashes on my QRX indicating a receive error in one of the two receivers. In Single mode this is not a problem but I'm concerned that in dual mode this would always mean a drop out. I currently use the QRX for a camera hop and it has been flawless (after a few rounds through Zaxcom service , but that's all in single mode. I want to know how it fares in dual mode. As far as I'm concerned there are several UI tweaks that should be done at the software level to allow for a single QRX to act more like an IFB100 and send remote commands to an indefinite number of transmitters instead of just two. The way they have it set up right now it is largely dedicated to one or two transmitters at a time and dealing with 3,4,5+ transmitters is very cumbersome. This is a situation where I feel Zaxcom should follow Lectrosonics excellent example and provide some sort of group tuning mode and better access to remote control features if they want to do it right.. Currently there is no group tuning.

Nice work Simon, Quick question.. Why bother connecting the cold lead to the switch?

I hope Zaxcom someday updates the TRX line with a new transmitter designed just to be a bag to camera link.. Solve all these design problems the right way: Proper shielding, built in filter antenna, diversity IFB antennas, allow simultaneous IFB signal and timecode to be output, variable RF output power, built-in line input and AES, better form-factor for bag use: LED indicators on top, connections on bottom. No side connections. Especially now that they have the improved LT series for on-talent transmitters I think it would be better to have a dedicated unit in the bag. Anyway, don't mean to be a drag. Hope the bracket helps, but I'm not keen to drill into my STA.. the idea of aluminum fragments rattling around inside of it afterwards seems too risky.

What is a DMX cable?

Tom, thank you for posting this with the photos, very helpful. I emailed Trew audio about this bag when it was first announced. I'm often in the situation where the PEGZ1 (601) is often just a bit too large. This looks like the perfect bag for my 552 and 4 radios. The pegz1 is always too deep so I'm glad there is a new option.

I've experienced the same thing with my ifb return channel from qrx to sta150. Weird over-modulated type audio. I'd like to know if the input gain and output gain menu settings effect the internal qrx ifb mix or if that is just a trim for what is passing through the physical connectors on the qrx. Also... While I'm at it, why isn't the ifb output connector on the sta a TRS jack and allow for both timecode and ifb audio output? I'd like to have both signals available but instead you have to pick one or the other. The ERX can do it why not the STA?

You will have a real treat trying to stuff 16ga into a Hirose... The solder cups are really designed for something closer to 26ga.

Is this coming to Android as well?

How do you know if the lav has fallen off mid-take or if there is any clothing noise. Bad advice...

Looks like a Neutrik part to me.

My guess is that Glenn is referring to the special frequency hopping feature that was announced a few months ago.. I'm forgetting what their moniker for it was... Whiteout? Anyway from what I remember it works in conjunction with the QRX, using one of the internal UHF receivers to be constantly scanning for clear frequencies and moving the transmitted audio to a better freq whenever necessary, seamlessly. A great feature but at the penalty of losing the ability to receive two transmitters with your QRX. Glenn, correct me if I have it wrong. You could argue that Zaxcom gear is somewhat more drop out proof in that you won't hear any distortion of the audio signal until a total loss of reception occurs for a certain period of time. This seems to be the case with my camera hop system, I almost never hear a report of loss of audio, even in tough RF locations. With FM modulated radios you will hear artifacts leading up to the full drop out. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I'd look at BEC Groups product list and see if you could make something work. Their hotshot adapter with a little Velcro might work.

Be warned, I have a Cabelas fly rod tube case that I've been using for a few years (light use) and recently the bottom cap popped out and the pole fell. Not designed to hold the weight of the pole obviously. Something to watch out for.

I have mixed feelings about the file name situation. On one hand I do understand wanting the file name to match the scene/take info, it makes file management somewhat more straightforward. And with sound devices created files being so prevalent in post i can understand why some editors and AEs would be thrown off by a change in file naming scheme. On the other hand I believe that eliminating the chance of delivering duplicate filenames with different audio content is important. Removing human error where possible is a good practice as far as I'm concerned. I also feel that maybe the better solution is to promote more proficient use of audio metadata in post. For example, I'm not aware of any camera system that allows you to name the video clips in-camera and post doesn't seem to mind and the data is managed without issue, why should audio be different? Perhaps in the case of the Nomad Zaxcom would consider an optional function whereby the files on the fat 32 secondary flash card are automatically named by the scene take meta data so that the delivery media is named as expected while maintaining the unique named files on the primary MARF flash card. That would seem like a good compromise to me.