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Zaxcom QRX100 - Questions For Glenn


RPSharman

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Justin,

What has your typical IFB range? Are you using the IFB for on camera wireless audio and TC?

Eric, at the moment, I've only got a 3dBi antenna on there (standard Linksys router one - male sma) and I can get about 15m at best. I'm using it for remote control of the TX's and timecode send (ERXTCD), and I tried using it as director IFB but the range wouldn't reach him at the split...20m away.

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Funny! Maybe you can hat a hat mount, its only 2 feet. Careful through the doorways though...

Eric

I actually considered doing that with one of those big antennas - but to the shoulder strap of my bag. I figured the cable loss would negate the antenna gain anyway, and I wasn't too keen on having a transmitting antenna that close to my head...

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I am also considering a QRX100 also because of the IFB board. But 15m??? I wanna adjust gain on all the talents tx from the cart (with a Fusion). 15m will not be enough thats for sure. Is that really what I have to expect?

Matthias

If you're on a cart, you have the option of bigger antennas, as well as RF amps. The small range reported by myself and Eric is because we're working out of a bag and don't have those options. It's akin to using the provided whips on a cart, when you could be using sharkfins. Billy Sarokin and others have got their IFB range equal or greater than the UHF range... Check the 2.4ghz amp troubleshooting thread

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Interesting. Just did another range test. It's late at night here, so seeing if the cooler temps make a noticeable difference. With the QRX on the floor of my office, I got out to the road outside before it started to break up, then I when turned around (not blocking the transmission with my body, it was good for another 4-5m. Still only got 20m max, but the 'through-walls, down-stairs' kind :)

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IFB range is a very variable thing. Indoors definitely works better than outdoors. If you are using the IFB functionality on a big film/television production, a 1 watt amp and directional antenna is the way to go offering range comparable or better than existing systems.

  All other configurations will have less range. The 1 Watt amp doubles the range as does the directional antenna. With both the range is 4 times the whip antenna that comes with the IFB100. Many customers are using the Zaxnet IFB with great success. If the range is limited it is due to Interference, antennas, RF power and environment. 

The best receiver we have is the ERX1. It has 2 full diversity receivers with 4 antennas. This receiver will get the best range.

For best range results use a receiver to scan the band and pick a clear frequency. Wireless data routers can interfere and reduce the operating range.

Glenn

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Would it be possible to find a better antenna we bag users could use ? I noticed that the Nomad had a bigger one; would the performance of the IFB100 be better with this one ?

soundslikejustin:

did you actually use the one you mentionned in the previous post ? Maybe hooking it across the front of the bag would be an option... even with a cable and being at 90 degrees probably would be benefit ?

In fact, what would be nice is to have the possibility to increease the power of the IFB100 via the menu (as opposed to extended menu) so we could just push it to the max to shut the mics off (or change freqs for example) then go back to 4-5 and put it back in the bag without having the noise issue with receivers.

Even better: an automatic function that makes it when you send these commands: gain, freqs change and power off.

Being able to scan with the RX900s would be nice too, not just with the ERXs. Since I'm learning now that it makes such a difference for the IFB range...

Well, I really like my system and I may sound like criticizing sometimes but, again, for bag users, the system's not the same overall in terms of options as for the cart pilots  :-)

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"The best receiver we have is the ERX1. It has 2 full diversity receivers with 4 antennas. This receiver will get the best range."Do you mean the ERX1TCD has less range than the ERX1

I think Glenn was referring to all the ERX1's (ERX1 and ERX1TCD).

Both of these units have the same diversity receivers with the 4 antennas.

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did you actually use the one you mentionned in the previous post ? Maybe hooking it across the front of the bag would be an option... even with a cable and being at 90 degrees probably would be benefit ?

No, the one I put in the post was a joke, I have one of those but I think it would be impractical to have in the bag. I was still using the 3dBi antenna I was before (small, rubber, linksys router one) which is why I was surprised about the 'extended' range.

I'm not sure how wifi antennas are polarized, but I assume they need to be vertical? Antenna gurus?

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No, the one I put in the post was a joke, I have one of those but I think it would be impractical to have in the bag. I was still using the 3dBi antenna I was before (small, rubber, linksys router one) which is why I was surprised about the 'extended' range.

I'm not sure how wifi antennas are polarized, but I assume they need to be vertical? Antenna gurus?

billy mentioned in an earlier thread using a consumer 2.4GHz antenna and stumbling across the fact that there was no connection being made, which accounted for his poor results.

ao

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billy mentioned in an earlier thread using a consumer 2.4GHz antenna and stumbling across the fact that there was no connection being made, which accounted for his poor results.

I realized this too, when I first got the unit, i stuck the first wifi antenna I could find on there, off my netgear router. Range was 3 feet. I then bought the linksys one, which has the correct polarity connector and the range is what I reported last night, 15-25m through walls to outside. I am using a 3dBi antenna, but I'm going to find a 7-9dBi one (like what was attached to the Nomad in the NAB video I saw) which I think is a good trade-off between power and size.

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  • 1 month later...

I haven't been able to find a definitive answer on this, and I might have just missed it, but with the QRX and a TRX/STA, is it possible to receive both IFB audio and timecode from the QRX? I know you can do these things individually, but it would be pretty sweet to be able to do both of these things at the same time.  Being a 552 user, it would be great to be able to timecode stamp files and have a confidence return.

And if this is possible, how would one rig this up?

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yes it is. make sure your trx900 is set to ifb audio - high and the same frequency as the qrx and turn on the ifb drop-out compensator

and set it to receive timecode form ifb

set the timecode output to off on the 900

set the ifb output on the 900 to ifb only so you dont get a mix of what you are sending as well. if you dont see this page in the menus, you will need to get the audio over ifb enabled at your dealer

plug the camera's timecode out into the qrx timecode in

plug the cameras audio output into the qrx ifb in and choose what combination you want it to send in mono back to you.

good luck

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