Jim Rillie

Being old school myself, I go with the tried and true, option #1. If it ain't broke, why try to fix it ? The fewer calls from post , the better. RF is always at the mercy of the elements, and time code is the last thing we want to be monitoring, when we are trying to wrangle all the RF audio feeds we deal with already. Jim Rillie

+1 for Keens from an old guy

Question for the New Endian... I live in Halifax, NS, Canada. Out of range for any TV channels to or from the US. I have one local broadcast digital TV channel on a Lectro block I use in my area - Ch 39 in Lectro block 24 at 620MHz to 626MHz. I can see it in any 411 scan. Could there be a way for a user to enter Diigital TV channels he/she knows of in their region to FreqFinder, and could the program then take this into account when making its intermod calculations? I am just setting up the program on gen4 iPod Touch with my system this week. as part of the annual house keeping/gear checking process. Just thinking aloud... Regards, Jim Rillie Production Sound Mixer

Shamed me into it, afewmoreyears. Starting Monday PM after my local 849 department heads Meeting. Regards, Jim Rillie

Isn't that how we test 9 volts? Jim Rillie

Hate to sound like a fanboy (I'm too old) My Cantar has been providing excellent sound reports for years now. When I talk to post, they are always very happy with the depth of meta data I'm able to give them. I enter (on the fly or pre roll, all the info about the shot and take I can. After take , I can still make comments regarding problems in the take, or was it good for a certain line etc, thru aDell X51v PDA on Bluetooth. The only thing I miss from hand written sound reports is the "circled take" thing, which the Cantar software doesn't have a simple way to do. I work TV and movie drama. Regards, Jim Rillie

Just chiming in here, In my experience, the iPowers(520mAh version) charge to from 8.1 - 8.3 volts, and shut off around 6.5. I've been using iPowers exclusively for my 9v applications (Comteks, UM and UH transmitters) for about 3 or 4 years now, and will never go back to alkalines. Regards, Jim Rillie

No issues with Cantar TC and Denecke TS2sb, TS3, TSC, GR1, etc either. Regards, Jim Rillie

Agreed On my HP send , it is always at a standard reference level for me. (-30 Cantar Ph with Senn HP25 phones) I monitor as if I were in the room participating in the conversation - not really loud. The only time I crank the phones is for determining what that noise I want to eliminate if possible really is, then back down. So, I have one low level for mixing dialogue without paranoia about BG noise, and one to check for bad stuff. Regards, Jim Rillie

Yes, it is elegant. Jim Rillie

Hey Christian, I think there are lots of us out there who use MM400's for our "go to" body mic TX in most situations. The MM400 from "a" to "c" versions is a very rugged TX. As long as you have a tech who can work the connector system. (Rugged as well and waterproof - just different). The battery life is best on MM400c ver in my experience. They are always ready for immersion, but don't expect a signal if the TX is under water. And keep note of the O rings. Always be ready for salt water, if you are blessed to live near it. I think the senator might be with me on this one. Regards, Jim Rillie

Yes Mike, But remember how long between battery changes on a Nagra? I'm quite used to alternating batteries twice a day on the Cantar, but even the power hungry 4sTC lasted for a week or three IIRC. Regards, Jim Rillie

+1 on the Lav Bullet Using it after the old coat hanger/curtain rod methods and the Bullet rocks Hint: It threads to MM400 mic connectors as well as TA3 (my experience) Regards from Jim Rillie, who lives in a world where all actors must be wired plus booming as per usual. and loves what he's doing for some reason.

Hello fellow soundos, Has anyone noticed how nasty these lights sound? Here in Canada, just recently WFW has purchased a bunch of these and no longer carry Arris or anything civilized in an HMI above 1.2K. I find this trend alarming,what with the noisy Reds we already live with. The Moles seem to radiate a huge amount of square wave activity. It's not RF, but noise in the audio frequencies. Silent mode makes little or no difference. These heads whine louder than we can! It's especially annoying when they are used on interiors. Has anyone heard if there is a fix to quiet down these lights? I have tried to attach a sample from room tone. Regards, Jim Rillie SN9904_7.WAV

"Is it a problem to have filenames without the slate/scene/take info? " I'm with Jeff on this one. Have never had a whine from anyone in the post chain, in fact to avoid duplicates on a series the unique filename is a good thing, The posties often request iso tracks or reprints of stuff by the unique Cantar filename. Also, you should tell that editor to read the sound reports. It should all be there. Yours in Curmudgeondom, Jim Rillie

Never saw an Arrivox, but used the single system Arri sound mixer/module cabled to camera in the day with the camera guy using a 16 BL for news. It was very susceptible to EMF? interference from radar. Did use the Uher for wild sound occasionally before I got my hands on a Nagra III with pilot tone cable to the BL for real sync. Jim Rillie

A bit late, I know, just getting caught up. In my experience, carpets on gravel don't do much for the boom - I find the crunches are just changed into an unnatural sounding distraction. They do reduce foot noise on the gravel a bit - maybe 1 or 2 dB, but I always go with the body mics in that situation. And Crew's suggestion of going from below frame helps a bit. Just my 2cents Jim Rillie

My Lav bullett does the MM400 connector in it's stock form, and I think they both look to do the same job with maybe a point or two going to the Rod for tighter than tight jeans... Regards, Jim Rillie

Hi Robert, I must agree with you, and here are my reasons. Yes, the Sony MDR 210's are the thing for comteks. A bit bass heavy, but the producers don't care. Seriously more durable than the Trew Audio versions. or the sennheisers or the comtek phones which I must admit sound the best. (The Remote audio phones sound a bit better but only last a day til someone breaks the band) I have MDR 210's that I bought 2 years ago still working today. Beats the durability test by miles, and that's all we're looking for for Comteks in use day after day. Anybody who cares about the sound will show up with their own phones anyway. Foam pads, shoam pads - my pro sound supplier (Audio Services Canada) always has replacement pads of one sort or another available (they all fit OK) Regards, Jim Rillie

Hi Michael, Just finished day one with A and B cam using the Modulus 5000 TX's. Worked out very well with One cam on ch 33 and one cam on ch 55. I was leery of the ch 33 one, since my booms and plant mics are on Block 22 (ch 28 to 32?), but all was good (nothing too demanding in terms of range or camera placement). The transmitted image was vastly improved over the Modulus 3000 as well. We'll see as things move along, but I think maybe they have tightened up their RF with the new model... The body mics on Block 24 (38 to 42 Mhz) seemed to not be affected by the new Video TX's. That's my take for now.. Jim Rillie

Yes, Phil, if a Modulus 3000 was within a gap of less than 3 or 4 TV UHF channels, it would definitely cause interference ion our wireless systems. Your mention of boom mics near the Modulus was usually handled to our satisfaction with attenuators on the Modulus antenna. Regards, Jim Rillie Jim rillie

Hi all, My next TV project "Call me Fitz", the Camera Dept A focus puller has notified me that they are using the new Modulus 5000. Anyone had issues with this video transmitter? We have had issues with the huge RF splash from the Modulus 3000's(attenuators on TX antennae helped big time). Have they corrected this RF distortion with the new model? or what? FYI we are recording on Cantar and TC is by Denecke sync boxes to the Reds, TC only, no audio to cam (unnecessary in my opinion) 23.976, 24/48. We will be doing tests on Tuesday. Will relate anything alarming if it detected. Regards, Jim Rillie

What's the problem? Never ridden one? I guess so. Jim Rillie earplugs always

It was a nice little video showing what a boom op does on set, focused well on his work. The fact that the boom op is not wearing headphones is not odd in Europe. I had a great boom op years ago in Ireland, Noel Quinn, who never used headphones. Listening to his work, never had boomshake, handling noise, and he was always on the mark. (BTW, his CV blew mine away) The training in the UK, Ireland, Europe and I suspect many other places in the world includes mic patterns, handling practices, etc and when folks upgrade to boom they have a firm grasp on those things. I think focus on the whole world out there for a boom op on a set is enhanced without headphones in some ways. knowing where the extraneous noises come from, and what's up next is clearer when open-eared. What we miss as North American sound crew is the two way communication aspect. It is still handled, but not as instantaneously. I am comfortable working either way with my boom ops, but it just isn't an issue here in NA, as all boom ops like using phones. And yes, of course it goes without saying rehearsal, knowledge of the script for cues is universal. Jim Rillie