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stef

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Everything posted by stef

  1. I meant that you have to consider the additional heat inside the blanket. So, yeah, you can't wrap it in a blanket at 90F and expect it to stay below the operating temp. Or in a car visor in the hot sun. We're on the same page here.
  2. I'd be surprised if it took damage over 38C, but that's still part of the specification. We're talking about ambient temperature, but besides that, battery-operated devices absolutely do have the ability to heat up. Anyone who has installed heat shields on 250mw SM transmitters knows what I'm talking about... battery devices can reach far over 40C. I've welded with AA batteries before; they can drop a lot of amps at once. We're talking about ambient "operating temperature". That would include being wrapped in a blanket, as the operating temp will rise. But outdoors, it is regularly over 38C, as the map I posted demonstrates. The A20 looks like the best boom transmitter on the market today, which is not worn and regularly in the sun, so considering it too hot to wear is just trying to sidestep a potential real issue. That said, I could see it being a minor issue, such as timecode no longer specced at 0.2ppm when it goes above 38C, or batteries wearing out faster or something. Or maybe that's all they certified it for with the FCC... who knows. But not knowing is part of the problem. It might very well simply shut down at 40C, and that could be a problem. I might become an early adopter, and would be happy to post my experiences.
  3. I think, due to marketing, the Go is more expensive than its big brother if there's any chance whatsoever you'd go to 8 channels. The Go is a little lighter than the Nexus Sr., but loses a ton of capability and doesn't make that up in price at all. It has half the RF hardware inside it. But SD priced it such that a fully-populated 8 channels is nearly the same price as the base Nexus, which has far more capability, and far more potential capability. Consider the cost of 16 channels: 2x Nexus Go @8 channels = $27,000. Nexus Sr = $19,500. In other words if you ever expect to expand this past 4 channels, I think it's a loss. This is solely due to SD's obvious goal of trying to make 8 channels cost "almost as much" as buying a nexus sr so that their existing customers don't get angry. I suspect they were so worried about cannibalizing their own Nexus users that they priced this thing questionably. Instead, they should view the expanded channel licenses as ways to sell more of their $2500 transmitters at virtually no extra cost. Channel expansion costs are arbitrary. You already purchased the hardware, and the only cost is shipping a piece of paper with a key on it. Am I the only one bugged by the much higher cost for expansion? I thought the Nexus Sr. expansion prices were legit. I don't think the Go prices are legit at twice the cost per expanded channel. Heck, charge $2500 for all 4 channels, and everyone will expand it, and that means they will eventually buy another $10k in additional transmitters and be locked into the SD system. And the fully-populated Go would then cost $11,000 + $20,000 in transmitters, and would sell well for bag rigs. But people would still buy the nexus because you can not only expand it, but productions can "rent" additional channels, and going cart based, they'll definitely want a nexus sr with Dante. It's like worrying the 888 is going to cut into sales of Scorpio. The 888 handles 90%+ of everything, but people still are buying scorpio for the potential expandability and would do the same with Nexus.
  4. Producers don't really care as long as OSHA doesn't come down on them and nobody passes out. Here's your water, get back to work. But 38°C is literally only ~100°F and here in the SW desert, we regularly work in such temps. Last week's heat map of the US is below. These numbers are in shade, not direct sunlight, too. In Arizona, people have been going to the ER for extreme burns because they fell down on the asphalt, so it can easily be hotter than 38°C in sunlight, even when ambient temp is lower. I think it might be an issue. If they had even gotten that number 5 degrees higher, it would've been a much safer number. If it breaks and it's 101F out, will they say it's not warranted?
  5. I used to get 3h+ or so with Lipo on A10 Tx at low power. If it can get 12h on 3 AA batts, that's amazing. I'd really just want to see 7h consistently, so that you can simply swap at lunch.
  6. Based on initial specs, it sounds pretty good... The recording has -130EIN noise, so the preamps should be decent (assuming they also sound good). Apparently, there are 3 preamps ganged to deal with a full-range signal for 32-bit float. We'll see what the range looks like, but this also is has a fairly high-power mode of 100mw, which is a lot for digital. The signal suffers a little as it hits the DAC on the receiver, which pushes it back into the top of analog dynamic range territory.
  7. It's certainly easier if your boompole fits in a bag, but no guarantee it'll be allowed. Some things are allowed to be carried on as an extra, like an umbrella. I just carried on a larger boom pole (QP480) in a soft case. Keep the mic separate and packed in a bag. You want the TSA person to think "fly fishing rod" and not "baseball bat". Tell him it's a boom pole, sometimes called a fish pole (and it is), and the closest thing to it in the TSA lists are fishing pole. You can also compare it to an umbrella, which it's about the size of, if size is an issue. Fishing poles and umbrellas are allowed. Just make sure it doesn't "feel" like a baseball bat. (Actually, maybe you do want the mic attached, but remove it and pack in bag before getting on plane.) Also, make sure you don't have any loose batteries. All terminals should be covered, and max 100Wh LI-ion batteries. Don't forget a charger. So if you don't check bags, what are you going to wear? Equipment in a pelican for overhead, recorder in a bag for under seat... are you able to get your recorder into the overhead with all your equipment?
  8. Just to add some new information, there's a new model out. It works well. It's the $120 tinysa ultra, and has a 4" screen. The waterfall function is amazing, you can see all the TV channels and get immediate information of low-level or spurious transmissions. I have mine set to the show the lectro blocks I use, and it's far faster than a scan, although you have to use frequency numbers instead of hexadecimal. Basically, it's like the poor man's version of the front panel of the Nexus. I held off posting this until I had a chance to test it out, and I'm really impressed at how cool it is. Just for debugging in the future, I got an adapter for using directional antennas, in case I'm trying to track down a rogue transmitter.
  9. I'm pretty sure they use a locking 2.1mm pin on the DC connector. Talentcells work fine with them, so it might be an issue of having the right barrel connector. It might not power up with power, you may need to turn it on from the front panel of the SRb.
  10. I've been using one of these for about a year now on the end of a boom pole with multiple movies and a couple tv show units. tldr: no issues at all While doing some major maintenance on my pole and replacing knuckles, I had to cut/desolder/resolder the connector. This pole has been through a lot in the past year, and the RA connector held up well and didn't have too much crud inside. Particular concerns were the lightweight/plastic build quality and lack of a good strain relief, but in this use I don't need to worry about someone tripping or stepping on it. Since RA connectors aren't usually on the ground, this isn't a huge deal for being stepped on, but I'm sure a small ziptie inside the cap will provide adequate strain relief. Pin connectors held up for maybe a thousand connects/disconnects so far. No issues with RF at the cap. Only issue I had was when the entire block was getting blasted with RF, and that went away when cabled directly to the mixer.
  11. I'm sure it could work, Vincent. If you put some hot glue over contacts 2 and 3 to insulate them, you could probably simply use foil and make sure it contacts the outer shield. If I run into any issues, I'll try that.
  12. It works, but not great. The plastic cap was too small for 6mm and I had to ream it out a touch, so the cable is in there really snug. I don't feel like it'll transfer excess pressure to the solder joints, but that said, it'll have problems sooner if it's really yanked hard compared to, say, Neutrik clamped to a 6mm cable. As far as regular back/forth movement of the wire across the connector, I don't think it's well suited for that, either. In that case, I'd build up some heat shrink to increase the angle of any turning. If concerned, I suspect a tiny zip tie inside would do the trick. I'm not worried, as I'd be more concerned about my mic if it got pulled hard. This connector is solid and lightweight, but nowhere near as solid as the big metal switchcraft AAA-series angle connectors or the neutrik versions, but it's very lightweight and quiet. Not swinging around a large heavy connector is a huge bonus, plus some big metal RA versions tend to rattle. BUT, I personally think it inexpensively fills a niche that I've been searching for. Besides the low-profile boom connector, I'm going to use these for patch cables in a small bag, and they should prove perfect for that use. I have very minor concerns about RF interference since it's not shielded the entire way, but it's only a very small section since the exposed wire is so short, and certainly no worse than a DIY neutrik epoxy connector. I'm going to rewire my booms with some 5mm quad-star shortly, and we'll see how that goes.
  13. Been using one on the end of a pole for a week now. Much lighter and lower profile than the connector it replaced. Haven't noticed any issues I can trace to the connector, which seems pretty legit. Ran into one issue with humidity, but I believe that was the mic as other mics were fine. It was a little tedious to solder as you have to strip only very short lengths, then muscle the cap on. There's not a lot of wiggle room for mistakes. Also, I had some trouble getting thicker mic cable into the housing. I had to ream out the hole a little bit, but that was straightforward.
  14. Dammit! Searched and didn't see that, and your link is $2 cheaper per connector! I'll still try them out and see how that goes. Need to rewire my boomstick anyway and one of these will be perfect.
  15. Looks like Switchcraft entered the low profile XLR market this month, with inexpensive (~$8) pro-level connectors. They look lightweight and repairable, but not as low profile as filling a neutrik connector with epoxy. I ordered some and will report back after testing them out. product bulletin: http://www.switchcraft.com/Documents/switchcraft_npb_652_low_profile_xlrs.pdf
  16. I just saw this on slashdot. A list of Prum's videogames is huge.
  17. I've been doing some boom work, and it started out on no-budget short films. And I wasn't particularly good (it's pretty subtle work!), but I showed up when asked. There definitely is a shortage of boom ops, it seems. But from these films, I started getting calls for paid work. And I can listen a whole lot better... I can't believe the things I hear now, that I never heard before, just from active listening. So, that's how I have been getting work as I move into the movie making business. I know I'm green, but I take every opportunity to learn more and make connections with others.
  18. That still doesn't solve the issue... he'll still be "green" when he knows the ropes but hasn't yet mixed on his own and can't demand the higher rates due to inexperience. This is one of those catch-22's that happens a lot in any job. Can't get a job without experience, can't get experience without a job. Only this is can't get a job without undercutting, can't undercut without garnering complaints from pros. I have experience with this issue as a professional photographer. I get undercut all the time. The only time I am annoyed by it is if the person undercutting misrepresents their skill, which happens a lot. My solution is to undercut, but don't lie about your skill level. They know what they're buying. Once your skill level has improved, raise your prices to match and continue to not misrepresent your skills. But don't work for slave wages. You should do a cost of doing business, and stick to it. That includes amortizing all your equipment and fees, your time, your mileage, your insurance, and so on. (When I see someone shooting a wedding for $300, I laugh....)
  19. stef

    First Boom?

    I hear it regularly called a fishpole. I've definitely heard boom used in sailing, but to direct the sail.
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