cjh

Hey Tony, yeah nice pic, like the headlamp, very handy on the night shoots.

C.

Hey Justin, thanks for your reply, reach is indeed hard thing to quantify. I have always been pretty happy with my 60's outdoor, indoor hardly ever, mostly 50's and schoeps/41 etc.

I will probably be selling one of my 60's soon, or maybe the 70, or maybe both, will advertise them on JW when I do.

Regards,

Chris.

Just about to get a cmit also, anyone want to sell ;-) ?

Also how would those who have used it for a while describe it's reach compared to say an mkh60 which is what it will replace, (would like to ditch my mkh70 also as I hardly ever use it).

Regards,

Chris.

For some reason when I was looking for a VOG / PTT mic there seemed to be limited options and I ended up getting the classic Shure 522, it's in use every day, works well and if you like retro it's a bonus. If I was buying now I'd prob go for the Trew option though.

C.

Thanks Eric, the jumper cable rings a bell, will report back once I've had another play.

Chris.

Hi all,

I need to wire a PTT comms type mic to a TA5F so it will work with a UM200C Tx, I have done this before so know it works but the mic broke and the connector has gone awol and of course I never wrote down the wiring configuration!

The mic is from a standard onset RT and has 3 wires, red, green and copper. Has anyone else has done this (and written down the wiring info!)

last time I did it I'm pretty sure I didn't use any resistors but it maybe had 1 capacitor in the mix somewhere but maybe not...

Thanks!

Chris.

I always build two boom rigs. The primary is hardwired, the second boom is wireless. When the hardwire can't be used for one reason of the other, the wireless ready to go. Or, when the hardwire is used, and we suddenly need a 2nd boom, the wireless rig can be quickly put on the set.

I prefer the hardwire boom whenever able because of dynamic range (no worries about the transmitter overload or limiter action) and two-way private communication.

gt

I think Glens set up above is a very good one, I did the same and it got me out of a lot of trouble on fast paced sets. I also use a spare wireless channel for return boom comms so have PL with my main boom op even when he's at the craft table.

C.

I used a cable for a longtime, never a duplex though, always had wireless boom IFB etc, I've also had a Lectro wireless plug on Tx for a while which was used when a cable wasn't practical, my boom op loved it but I still preferred a cable. That was until recently when I moved to a zaxcom system which works via the zaxnet system, cable quality, remotely adjustable Tx level + onboard recorder, haven't used a cable since. I use the TRX900LT with the french areitec pico48 so the whole rig is at the mic end of the pole so I have the same flexibility as using a plug on Tx and the boom can be left live onset inbetween setups.

Chris.

Congrats indeed Jeff, this collective of sharing sound people is an amazing resource, I have no idea how you managed all the hrs it would have taken to set up (and you continue to put in) but it is great for us all that you found them somewhere!

Continuing thanks to you.

Regards,

Chris.

Finding the right Push To Talk Mic has been an adventure for me without much success, so far. What I'm interested in now is the mic that our AD friends use often referred to as a Surveillance Mic (picture below). Not interested in the ear piece aspect obviously.

If I put a TAF5 on the end of this and plugged it into a Lectro xmitter would it work?

Anyone have a cannibalized one laying around to try?

Yep it will work as I have done that exact thing, the mic's are pretty cheap to buy, check with your AD dept too as they might just give you one if they have a few spares.

It works well apart from a slight "click" when activated, there are ways to minimise this or the lectro switch which eliminates it completely but I got used to it. I have that channel of my mix 12 routed to my headphone only and have it at a much lower level than the mix.

I can't remember the configuration off hand but wasn't to hard to sort it with a good soldering ion.

Regards,

Chris.

I have recently got the mix 12 along with a Fusion 12, didn't consider the mix 8 really as it's doesn't have a few key features like talk 1 and 2 comms, remote roll, EQ, good channel input level meters and variable level outputs for playback etc. Also the extra 4 sliders have proved very useful on larger set ups. I think for the price the mix 8 is a great piece of kit and I may even get one of those for remote jobs but the mix 12 will future proof you and is still well priced considering the cheapest good analogue board is about double the cost. One thing I would say re the mix 12 is that the keyboard is relatively useless, buttons are to small to provide any real advantage over using the very good touch screen, it's still useful but not as much as it could be...

Regards,

Chris.

I've been looking over past discussions on the topic of antennas and active and passive combiners but still feel a bit in the dark and am hoping for some more discussion.

What I am looking at for the cart I am building is a stand alone unit that will distribute 2 Dipoles or LPDAs to 4-6 Lectro 411's

I often need to take receivers out for bag work so am looking at these 4 options:

A) 2 x PSC RF Multis (1 per Antenna)

Lectro UMC16BL Rack mount ADA

C) Audio Technica half rack unit ATW-DA49

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/accessories/b2f1e766e2abec42/index.html

D) 2 x Mini Circuit 4 way passive splitters

I am quite intrigued by the Audio Technica unit, they seem to go for around $400 but am not sure if the Lectro equivalent UMC16B is better or not, hoping some users can comment!

I recently redid my whole antenna set up and got the shure equivalent of the above audio tech unit, I got the whole kit including 2 x active sharkfins from BH Photo for about $1000. In practice the rig works very well and I would happily recommend it, I currently use it to feed 2 x Zaxcom QRX's and a Lectro venue. The only bad thing I'd say is the shure sharkfin antenna are quite flimsy and thin, they have a high wind rating but I'm yet to test that as to date all their use has been studio based.

Through a bit of a communication error I did end up importing 2 complete systems so have one for sale if anyone local (NZ or Aussie) is reading, if you're in the US got to BH, they have the best price.

Regards,

Chris.

For the record I agree 100% with Jeff and am glad he has the means to control this site. I do like the term potty mouth though, I think I suffer from that a little myself, just not online...

Regards,

Chris.

oh the comedy of online posts, I just spent the last half hr writing a reply to this thread only for it all to vanish when I had to re-login to publish it :-)

In brief:

95% of my playback needs are covered with the use of a small system that is part of my standard kit, a macbook running Audacity (free online) and 2 x Acoustic Research "Powered Partners" which are small wedge shaped active spkrs that run off 12V. I get about 2 days worth of run time from one 65Whr v-lock battery, for their size and portability they sound the best I have heard from anything similar and they are very solidly built. I use them daily for onset Dir comms, dialogue and music playback, running them from a IFB Rx means no cables to worry about and repo'ing is very easy. The only time I need a bigger system is on very large stages or outdoors when there is high BG noise, wind etc and then prod just hires a bigger active spkr for those days. There is a valid point for having a bit more oomph available when doing playback for singing if the actor is a less confident vocalist as it helps them a lot, I tend to be doing the opposite for now which is running the playback low or using earpieces and recording clean enough tracks to be mixed into the prerecorded stuff, well that's how it's supposed to work!

The only time I hire in big rigs is for bands or night club type scenes and then my first call is to talk to the art dept as they often need something for visual use and with a little prep communication you can kill 2 birds.

The AR Partners are pretty hard to find (AR stopped making then in the 80's) but do come up second hand, you'll most likely need to re-cone them which I did to mine, easy enough and parts available online with a bit of google searching. Also try looking for "Advent AV570's" which I think are copies still being made and also pretty good though I've never heard them.

Great post from RVD, I've never used a thumper but it would def be good for BG dance/dialogue scenes.

Regards,

Chris.

Original design included rug slot but that made work surface to small (as pointed out by Sam). I said lets build it and see and once framed up I agreed. Rugs not forgotten though, we will make a small (detachable?) addition to the end to carry 4 rugs and the other 2 will go long ways between the wheels as there is a lot of unused space there. Main space is about to be filled by a 6 draw set among other things. I wanted to keep the overall design smallish as I often work in small locations and also only have a 2 person team on many jobs, plus it will fit in the van with the main cart with room to spare so will be easy to load in and out. Well that's the plan anyway!

C.

and a new use for your mic stand...

A work in progress but the bones of my first follow cart, although largely unfinished I used it on set last week and loved it, don't know why it took me this long to get one! Big thanks to all those who have helped getting it this far and especially to my boom op Sam Spicer for the build quality and telling me my original design was no good before it was to late! Will post a few more photos when finished in a few weeks. Many thanks also to those who have posted on this thread before, very good research tool!

Chris.

Anyone using or used this shure antenna kit? Comments..?

Thanks & regards,

Chris.

does such a thing exist..?

Interested to know what dual Lectro / Zax wireless users are doing in regard to Tx input connection compatibility..?

Is it just a case of buying more lavs and have them wired for each Tx?

Thanks,

Chris.

Anyone using one, comments, thoughts etc? Looks like a good alternative until Zax bring out the TRX700 replacement (?) that has zaxnet control.

You can find it here:

http://www.areitec.fr/areitec-pico48-phantom-power-adaptor-zaxcom-wireless-produit-395.html

Thanks,

Chris.

I have started a new "back up" topic on the work flow page.

My last comment re the CL9 is that it is very light and portable, along with the 788 you could easily run a drama kit out of a bag and still have full mixer functionality if you were tramping into the bush etc. You can do this with the Zax (or any other combo too of course) but the smallest lightest footprint is def the SD set up and for it size provides a lot of power and rec options.

Zaxnet and recording Tx's are the key difference with Zax gear.

Regards,

Chris.

This is a continuation of the CL9 thread that was started in the equipment topic.

Glenn, can you explain more about the digital outputs still allowing signal pass through in the event of a processor (machine lock up etc) in a Deva/Fusion, does this still mean the attached Mix8/12 would still operate to some degree? Personally I would only ever back up my mono mix track so ideally would use something like the small zax rec that does one track + TC or is this analogue input only?

I am of the opinion that both the SD and Zax digital board / rec combo's are very reliable but good to know what all the back up options are.

Also when recording to both CF cards and an ext drive in mirror mode from a Fusion does all metadata editing cover all media, no need to input metadata twice etc. Presume so, this was a big pain in the SD 744 set up.

I would most likely run the above workflow with the ext drive and be happy with that, if the whole lots packed a sad and we lost part of a take then we would go have to go again as we normally do, happens very rarely in my experience.

The 788 does offer very good multiple drive and track allocation rec options, as does the Deva, the Fusion seems a great rec for the price too and only lacks an int HD which is very good for keeping the whole shoots rushes immediately accessible. (very handy on my last job as we had lots of short notice dialogue playback requirements and it was very easy to find the audio rec weeks early and dub it off). This can be easily overcome with the Fusion by adding an ext HD, please correct me Glenn if I am wrong in any of my assumptions.

Regards and hopefully still continuing happy holidays to all.

Chris.

Thanks for your reply re the digital output information Glenn, interesting to know. As pointed out this thread is going off topic a little so I will start a new "back up" one in the right arena.

Regarding the CL9/788 combo I think it is a great value package and you can do a lot with them for the price.

Chris.

I have had a 788 for a few years just used a CL9 on a 6 week feature shoot to give it a good try out. Overall I liked it, the biggest gripe I have is the faders themselves, they are to brutal for my liking, although they are 100mm the sweet spot for mixing is pretty narrow and I found it harder to do smooth mixing. This is something I got more used to as I went on and could be fine once I've retrained my brain to them a bit more. Also the mechanical build of the sliders is not great either, I would much rather pay a little more and have P&G's. You have 3 options of different fader ratios in the menu but they all were just as bad in the sweet spot mix area.

It has great comms options, I used an ext slate mic via input 8 and never found it a problem and enjoyed having access to tracks 9-12 (with analogue inputs I only ever had . Arming tracks and adjusting the main input parameters is pretty easy and fast. It never crashed on me, did a few weird things every now and then but nothing major and nothing a quick reboot didn't fix.

The combined system could do with another EQ channel, have more info (channel gain, EQ settings etc) on the control page when using in conjunction with wav agent (very useful and much improved over previous version) and yes more outputs would be great but 6 isn't bad and as said you can split them pretty easily. Would be good to have a corse/fine trim option in the trim pots too, (for both input level & EQ), there is one depending on how fast you adjust them but it's pretty variable, would be much better to assign it to one of the user assignable buttons, would be perfect for the foot switch option.

It's a valid point though about having no backup, well you can still have a back but if fed by the o/p of the 788 or the Fusion/Deva (with mix 8/12) and the machine locks up your backup track stops there too. At some stage though you have to trust the gear, digital boards are definitely going to play a big part in our future, feature rich panels at half the weight and cost of a good analogue board, and with regards to both the 788 and Zax rec's they unlock many other options in the recorders. Not sure about the CL9/788 combo but I know there are a few Mix12/Deva/Fusion users out there on some big productions and all is well.

Regards,

Chris.

Looking at some of the figures I've found online, I'm wondering if the figure quoted should be more in the neighborhood of .3dB and I simply missed a period.

(I will entertain all jokes that aren't too obvious.)

John B., CAS

Hi John, hopefully that is more in the ballpark! Thanks for mentioning your use of a BNC patch panel also, it is the "real world" use that is always more reliable than the company spec. I imagine quite a few rack based carts must use this system, certainly a lot easier and faster when round the back. I've already have a XLR and power panel and have all the bits to do the BNC one so will play around with it all over the next few weeks after I track down some of that LMR cable.

Regards,

Chris.