Ben B

I'm bumping this post. I am seriously thinking of upgrading my 688 to a scorpio but before i make the purchase i'd love to know if people have been using the scorpio - SL6 - CL12 combo and would like to report. There are still a few point that are a bit unclear to me. When using the SL6 you need to power the SL6/scorpio through the SL6 (NP1 or Hirose), correct? So that means you cannot charge the potential NPF battery plugged in the back of the scorpio through the machine? Will any USB A - USB A cable work as a connection between the scorpio and the CL12?

Ok, i'll try that when i'm done shooting in a few weeks. I'll post my results here. Thanks Constantin for your help!

Ok, so downgrading the firmware to the US version of whatever came before 6 on your HMa seemed to work but why not upgrading to the latest US firmware? I bought my SMDWB amd HMa end of 2019 so i guess they are on one of the latest firmware. Like i said i won't do it for another 6 weeks. I want to wait for the show i am on to be over before playing with this.

Thanks Constantin for your reply. I'll try to look at updating the firmware myself after i am done shooting with this show i am currently on. I dont want to mess up with this in the middle of a 12 week shoot... Like i said 90% of the time 50mW is plenty for my use but there is these 3-4 time per film where i could use the little boost in rf output power (last week for example or even the one before). Thanks again for your help and i'll keep the post up to date when i tried it with or without success!

Hi all, I own a couple SMDWB (Europe version, only up to 50mW). A colleague who owns SMDBs got them upgraded to 50, 100 and 250mW. The official importer updated the firmware and had him sign a discharge making aware it is not legal anymore. I emailed the importer and he told me it is not possible with the SMDWB. Now, i know the wide band version only go up to 100mW but i was wondering why it wouldn't be possible to upgrade it if it is possible with the single band version. I also think the importer, who did this upgrade to my colleague's units a couple years ago, might have been regretting offering it and is just telling me it isn't possible when it actually is. I have no way of knowing for sure if it is or isn't possible on the wide band version. I was wondering if anybody here had it done to their SMDWB or if they had more infos about that. 50mW covers quite a lot of the situations i find myself in but there is a few situation on every film or show i do where i could use the 100mW boost. Thanks for your help! Ben

Mine works and the serial number is HAK66.

Hey! I am using a MMP C with a Lectro HM and don't have any issue. When i first bought the MMP C it did have a lot of noise, rendering the Preamp unusable. I went to my distributor and they changed it for a newer version (see my last post on that topic) It works both on 48V and 15V. I actually tried it on 15V for the first time right now and to my ears and during a very quick test in my flat it sounds the same, if not with a little bit less noise. And same level on the output. I bought it about a year ago now and did 2 films with it since. No complains from post and i am happy as well.

I got twice this message popping up on the feature i just finished. i use a 688 and had once the CF and once the SD being too slow. i am using the Sound Devices branded card. It never happened before i switched to Sound Devices's card. The take during which the message popped up was unusable. Luckily i had the second card where the file was safe but super scary anyway... I was recording 7-9 tracks 48/24 so nothing too demanding either. It's weird this message appeared with branded (and expensive) cards... I then formatted them on my computer to make sure i can start on a clean slate. i just hope they won't fail me as much anymore...

Hi, I ran into this DPA MMP-GR/GS preamp on their website. It seems to be a preamp that'd make the d:dictate capsule family work with 5V input. I could imagine using this as plant mic with a SMQV style Tx or even on a boom. As anyone experience with this? Does it compare to their MMP-ER/ES with the XLR?

Thanks everyone for your inputs!

Thanks! What about the battery life with a NP-F? and with the 3 AA? I know it depends but you might use it with phantom power without recording like i plan to do and might have a rough answer.

I finally bought a rx200 and a trx743 and just tought about what you said, ivanovich. I read that the sound guy solution requires soldering. I do solder my own cables but i'm no expert. Did you do it yourslef? What kind of L Mount battery did you get? In an ideal world i'd like to have a battery that holds 10-12h or otherwise min 5 hours so i can swap at lunch. What are your experiences with batt life and the trx743?

Here's my setup. (don't mind the dust i'm cleaning it on the weekend... ) It's a PSC RF Multi in a Stingray Jr. front pocket and 2 Lectro SNA600a. I usually keep the top half of the antennae folded and just open them if i need a better range. I'm just finishing a 9 weeks doc with this setup and it works like a charm. The range has been considerably enhanced and i lost the antenna forest on top of my bag. The distro doesn't use too much power either. I'll be adding a Audioroot power distro in the hole on the right of the right SRb soon.

Super interesting indeed!

I can second that! Tried it with my HM and it's just unusable...

It does pass the phantom power. It works perfectly when plugged directly into the mixer. It's just really not RF resistant...

I'll go back to a normal cable for now... But strangely enough the setup MKH416/Tac!t/HM sounded great!

Ah... I see... Thanks for your reply!

Hello, I own a DPA 4017C that i use with my Lectro HM transmitter. I had some issue with the HM and the 4017C and found out that DPA fixed the issue of the compatibility with their newer C preamp and the Lectro HM Tx. DPA switched my C preamp for a new one and the problem was gone. My setup worked perfectly until today... Knowing that the C preamp doesn't have any low cut built in, i thought i would add a Rycote Tac!t cable between the Mic and the Lectro HM to cut on some of the handling and wind noise thus avoiding to overload the HM too fast. I am now facing a second problem.... When connecting my Tac!t cable with my 4017C and my HM i get a nasty mid pitched noise. When i squeeze the cable with my hand the noise disappears, like a grounding issue. All of the solders are ok. I then did the usual narrowing the problem down system and found out that, of course, the mic connected with a cable directly into the 633 sounds perfect, switching to a normal non Tac!t cable fixes the issue, switching the preamp to the B reduces the noise a little bit (on my last problem the B preamp worked when my C didn't) and switching the mic itself (MKH416 with Tac!t cable) fixes the issue as well. Now my question, does someone uses the same setup and did things differently? Does someone could help me shed some light on this? Thanks! Ben

So to follow up on my problem with my C preamp and the Lectro HM, i ended up taking contact with the distributor in my country. He contacted the DPA headquarters and they replied "Lectrosonic P48 has a different set up , but we have a fix on the MMP-C to get it work. So I need it here – the C preamp we produce today has this mod built in already". The distributor made me try a brand new preamp he had (i'm guessing with the mod) and, magic, the problem was gone! I went back home with a new working preamp and a smile on my face! Hope it will help anyone with the same problem.

That's what i thought... But i was subconsciously waiting for another answer... 😢

Naga, now that your preamp has been modified to work with 42V, what happens if you plug it with a cable supplying 48V?

Thanks a lot! i'll contact my DPA distributor and see what they can do.

Ok, thanks for your reply. I will go to where i bought in a week after i come back from a shoot. I'll bring the recordings did with me then and we will see. I keep my fingers crossed because it is a very nice setup for interior!

Yes, Like you can hear on the 3 files i attached on my first post, the problem occurs only when using the C preamp and the HM, C Preamp and cable doesn't have that noise, or B Preamp and HM no noise as well.