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first Zaxcom purchase. Zaxcom QRX235 or QRX200 + Camera Link??


withintheflux

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Hi all!

 

Lurker. First time posting.

 

I'm a sound fella working in the bay area. I'm hoping to get the advice of you talented folks. I've been doing location sound for a few years now.. mostly very minimal corporate stuff (sit down interviews mainly). I've gotten along fairly well with Sennheiser G3's, as most of my work is stationary. I am now wanting to upgrade my wireless tools and I've decided to go with Zaxcom due to the feature set. I'm wondering if anyone is willing to chime in on my current plans. Any blind spots that you see? Any pro tips?

 

I use a Sound Devices 633 setup. I'm considering the following:

-QRX235 with QIFB upgrade

-2 ZMT3 Transmitters with Sanken Cos-11d mics.

-ERX3TCD reciever to use as a Camera hop (timecode and scratch audio)

 

My questions/concerns:

the QRX235 is not wideband. the QRX200 is ideal, but you can't add the QIFB upgrade to that unit, so I'd have to buy a dedicated Zaxnet transmitter or the Camera Link. Any of you Zaxcom users with experience...If you were me what would you do? IS the single band of the 235 too limiting for your work?

 

Which Transmitter? the ZMT3 is the newest and smallest, so I just presume it'd be the best choice. Anyone have strong opinions in the contrary?

I've heard that you can mody the ERX3TCD to have a BNC timecode out. that sounds great for my purposes. Who can do that for me and anyone suggest that I dont?

 

thanks!

 

Blake 

 

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Hello fellow lurker

I was In a similar situation as you a few years ago, although I had a Maxx instead of 633. (I have a nomad now) Some notes I have, especially if you're going with ZHD capable transmitters.

I have a 235 and a 200. I picked up the 235 with ifb once I ventured into zax wireless. I believe having the 235 in your situation, at least starting out - will be the best choice. Trx control via the qrx is a lot easier than with an ifb200 or similar, and you may be able to link qrx 200/235 for full zaxnet controls if you add a 200 in the future. The 235 is a great receiver and if you're running ZHD on whips range will be pretty solid in most situations. Throw in some erx and you've got ifb and a cam link with tc.

As far as transmitters go, I can only speak from experience with LA style transmitters. The ZMT looks great and is supposed to have a slightly lower noise floor than previous models. Has all the same features of zaxcom trx in a small footprint. Cons are they use a specific battery and will have around 5 hour batt life. You'll need to buy 1-2 per tx and also charger(s) until a dual or multi charger for those batts is available. Also no solid "clip" is available yet. Some people have been DIY with that being said.

I would consider starting with one ZMT and an LA3. Or 2 LA3s. The wideband of a 200 is great, but with ZHD you have the benefit of having a small RF footprint and will be able to fit more into our disappearing spectrum, when limited to a single block with your 235.

Cheers! Hopefully more people can chime in.




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Thanks so much, Reuben! I really appreciate that you took time to share your experience. I hadn't heard that the QRX interface was superior for zaxnet. Cool. I'm definitely leaning toward the 235 at this point. (Although Im hearing about a new 300 series version. uh oh.)

I'm still unsure about which transmitter to get. To be honest, I think I'd prefer the AA power on the LA3, despite its larger size. I'm turned off a bit by the proprietary battery on the new transmitter.

 

thanks lots.

 

blake

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If you get a QRX200 and Camera Link (TRX900CL). 

The advantages are 

  • wideband receiver which gives you the ability to use all 100 MHz vs a block specific 35 MHz section of the spectrum.
  • A ZaxNet and UHF transmitter all in 1. So if you eventually want to add a RX200 and send 2 channels of audio to a camera with TC you can. In the mean time you can just shut off the UHF transmitter on the CL and have a ZaxNet TX to control transmitters and send audio and scratch track to the ERX.
  • The CL adds a two channel backup recorder with TC in you bag. I roll my all the time - you can never have too much redundacy.

The disadvantages

  • You need to buy a QRX200 and TRX900CL vs just a QRX235 and add the QIFB
  • You need to fit two boxes in you bag vs one.

As for the transmitter that will depend on your work flow.

  • The LA's are great because AA batteries are easy to find and you will get around 7 hours of run time with a pair of lithium's. The ZMT will give you a bit over 5 hours with a NP50.
  • The ZMT will give you slightly better audio quality.
  • The ZMT is about half the size of the LA.
  • The ZMT runs virtually cold
  • The ZMT will max out at 75mW vs 100 on the LA (regardless i almost always run mine at 50mW)
  • Other than that they have the same features and functionality.

As for the BNC mod that is something that the Audio Department in Burbank CA created - but I do believe there are others that have copied.

 https://www.audiodept.com/

 

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