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KenLac

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    I do this.
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  1. Holy cow, is the service fee at SD now $800?!? It was $400 for me just two years ago (Summer 2021).
  2. Bumping this up: I've been experiencing range issues with an SRc and an LT. I initially suspected the LT was the problem until I saw this thread -- because a SMQV on one side of the SRc was fine, but the LT always gives me issues, no matter whether in switched or ratio mode. Can someone steer me towards a filter that works with the SRc? Can it insert between the receiver and a standard issue whip antenna, or would I need to get into some deeper antenna accessories?
  3. Tangential question: I had been considering getting a 4060 to replace one of my Sankens. I was unaware of the 6060 until now. Obviously the 6060 would hide better, but I'm wondering about the sound. Anyone know how they compare?
  4. The problem of getting my JB-1s to play nice with Arris (of any model) has been bedeviling me for a couple of years now, and I’ve never had time in the field to try to sort it all out. Thanks to the good people at Talamas Broadcast in Boston, this week I was finally able to sit down with a couple of Arris and do a focused deep-dive into the problem. Together we made some very helpful discoveries. SHORT STORY (based on my experiences with my JB-1s…) * Arris will always pick up the right timecode numbers, but will frequently give additional error messages * Arris have three different menu settings that interact with timecode input (and Arri’s documentation is quite confusing.) * Only one of these settings is responsible for the error messages * That setting is a configuration you’d probably never want to use with a JB-1 anyway. IMMEDIATE SOLUTION: Make sure “Timecode Mode” is set for REGEN and not JAM SYNC. SLIGHTLY LONGER STORY: The three different features that interact with timecode are: “TIMECODE RUN MODE” [HOME > TC > OPTIONS > RUN MODE] “TIMECODE MODE” [HOME > TC > OPTIONS > MODE] “SYNCHRONIZATION” [SYSTEM > SENSOR > GENLOCK SYNC] We can disregard RUN MODE as a cause of the problem because we’d never use REC run with a JB-1, only FREE. That leaves four combinations of the other settings, and one of them is prohibited by the camera. See attachment below for chart. As you can see, there’s only one mode that leads to error alerts, and that’s when having TIMECODE MODE set to JAM SYNC. According to Arri’s convoluted documentation, they recommend this mode only if you were jamming timecode into the camera and then removing the timecode source. Obviously we’d almost never use a JB-1 in that fashion: the point of something like a JB-1 is to keep it connected to the camera all the time. Arri recommends REGEN when you’re keeping the timecode source connected, so in almost all JB-1 situations we can simply avoid the configuration that gives errors. Note that even in the problematic configuration, the camera will pick up the right numbers! The failure will be only in that the internal timecode circuitry in the camera gives up on synchronizing to the external source — something it doesn’t actually need to do as long as we keep the JB-1 connected. THE REST OF THE STORY: I suspect what might have happened to George (the original poster) is that one day the camera accidentally got changed from REGEN to JAM SYNC. Having Genlock Sync in TIMECODE mode will sync the image sensor to the incoming timecode. However, it has no affect on the errors from a JB-1. And how it differs operationally from syncing just the timecode reader I don’t understand. Because we’re curious types, we eventually started running some various TC devices into a scope, and that revealed the level out of the JB-1s was much lower compared to some other options. A multi-meter confirmed it. Then for yucks, we ran the JB-1 output into a mixer and kicked it up a good 10dB, and waddayaknow, the Arri eventually locked to it in Jam Sync mode. (Obviously this is not a useable solution in the field…) I think a big part of what makes it confusing is Arri’s description of the various modes. When I see documentation that says, “The camera samples the timecode value and simultaneously tunes its internal timecode clock to match the clock of the timecode source,” is it really surprising someone would think, “Well, why wouldn’t I want that, it sound great!” It also doesn’t help that Arri uses the term “regen” in a very different way than some other manufacturers. Terms like EXTERNAL and EXTERNAL-JAM would be a lot more intuitive. I’m working up a white paper on our testing, and will share it here when it’s done. I gave Denecke and call and gave them a verbal debriefing. Might try to figure out how to hook up with Arri as well.
  5. Posting this up wondering if anyone knows if this is a common problem with Sankens. I have a COS-11D that’s developed a noise issue. It still functions, but it has a very steady background roar-and-hiss. I’ve posted a spectrogram below, and there’s a recorded sample here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EQptjMDM5nR7KbdrmzqyE8lJQPcjETE8/view?usp=sharing This one is wired for Lectro, using “compatible” wiring. And for what it’s worth diagnosis-wise, it was re-cabled by Wilcox a couple of years ago. The recording and spectrogram show two segments of the bad Sanken alternating with two segments of a clean mic using the same Lectro Tx/Rx pair. The same issue shows up when going wired using an Ambient adapter (although the sound quality is slightly different). This seem familiar to anyone?
  6. I'm about to put a very long-needed Schoeps into my life. (Standard CMC641g/MK41 set). I'm seeking opinions on the CUT modules: should I go with the CUT 60, or seek out a CUT 1 on the used market? Thanks!
  7. After having a good experience with a rented 8050 for a sit-down interview in a quiet room, I rented it again for a boom/scripted situation, hoping it might be a Schoeps killer. It was NOT a Schoeps killer. Mud, lots of HVAC, no presence. Did not have a low-cut unit on it -- I suppose results could be different with that in place.
  8. I'm so old I can remember when bands weren't going to have drummers anymore. 😏
  9. a) There are no easy answers -- many times pin assignments can be a gear-to-gear situation. b) For the G4, (and assuming you are using the EK100 G4): as long as you are still going to use the Sennheiser TRS-to-XLR cable to come out of the receiver, then yes, just wire 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 for the XLR extension. c) Sennheiser pin-outs for their bodyworn/beltpack transmitters and receivers can be VERY tricky. I can't speak to the G4 series, but I know on the G3 gear, these are not balanced connectors -- it's something like the tip is mic level and the ring is line (don't trust my memory on this...) -- always consult documentation for that particular model (which, in Sennheiser's case is usually pretty poor). d) I don't think there's one right answer regarding whether a straight XLR mic cable should have the shield connected to ground. Many high-quality cables do not connect shield to ground, but some mics (for example, my Neumann TLM 103s) perform very poorly if it's not connected.
  10. Hey, everyone here replies to years-old threads, right? Did an Amira job in Feb. 2019, no boxes on the two cameras. The eyeball test said they held jam over every battery change I directly witnessed. I tend to check TC whenever I get the opportunity, and don't recall any other eyeball-visible drift or big jumps during the course of a five day shoot. Re-jammed at lunch nonetheless. Small sample size, but they looked pretty trustworthy based on it.
  11. Drop v. Non-drop: no matter which way you've got it set, if you didn't ask post you're doing it wrong. >:-D
  12. I can say this was definitely not the cause in the case I describe above -- it's one of the first things we check when TC isn't running, and we weren't overcranking at all that day, and neither had the camera hadn't gremlin'ed itself into that mode. I was definitely some kind of bug.
  13. I'll give you a bunch of answers/opinions that don't directly address your main question: * They're two very different beasts, so which one is more 'versatile' doesn't really apply. * That being said, if I'm faced with a mic/situation mismatch, I'd rather work with a interference-tube mic indoors than a super-cardiod outdoors. * I adore the sound my 8060, but I find it has too much low-end for even moderate amounts of wind. I really need to get the cut attachment. * Most of my work is either documentary or corporate, single subject or distance. Usually I have the luxury of aiming a shotgun just right when it's above a single interview subject, but it is indeed a luxury. I'd hate to have to try to split actors in-close for a cinema project with the 8060. However, for wide shots I find it has a lot of presence even at distance. * So, to answer slightly more directly: I'm always operating on a shoe-string, with a minimal kit, and I only own one boom mic, and that's the 8060. It gets me by for my low-budget close work where something like a 50 would sound marginally better. When I feel the project calls for it (a scripted commercial indoors, for example, or a doc with a decent budget) I'll rent the industry-standard Schoeps MK41. * And just for yucks I'll throw in that I tried the MKH 8050 for scripted, hoping it would be a Schoeps killer, and I was quite disappointed.
  14. Recently did a job with this exact combo of gear (664, JB-1, FX9). Yes, we did have issues. Once when I first attached the JB-1 to the cam at the start of the day, when the camera was already powered on. Then later, while the JB-1 was still running and connected, but the camera had been powered off between set-ups. Both times we were eventually able to get the FX9 to start reading the timecode, but we never figured out the cause-and-effect -- we just toggled some menu settings back and forth a few times, and eventually it started working properly. We had done a job with this very same gear a couple of weeks before and there had been no problems. I suspect firmware bugs. How do we get Sony on this? P.S. - should also mention that when we had the problem, the timecode at the FX9 did not move, neither when the menu was set to Free Run nor Preset (nor any of the other menu settings which are slipping my mind right now -- regen? rec run?). So it wasn't just that the jack and hardware wasn't seeing the incoming TC -- it just sitting there stationary on a seemingly random number, not running any TC at all. (I don't think we ever tested whether it moved upon hitting record.)
  15. It was five years ago, but back then Professional Sound Services was able to get me VdB parts. There was quite a wait, however.
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