Steve Nelson, CAS

Richard, I did cite Mark in the last line of my post and attribute my adoption of the technology to him. He'd been talking about it for a while and I was pretty much "Yeah, right" but once I checked it out and started using it, it's hard to imagine life on set without it. It costs a few bucks to get it set up nicely (cart, power supply, the cable is cheap at least, and the units themselves aren't bad, but you need two pairs), but what a difference it makes. At least I think it did...it's been so long... ---steve/n

Sorry, that last post about the Aviom was from Steve Nelson (nelsound). (I hate unsigned posts!)

Here's another way, one that eliminates the need for long coax runs, RF line amps, and so forth: Put all your receivers on a small, light cart - I use a PSC - with its own power. Run all the outputs into an Aviom system which gives you a 16 in/16 out network that runs back to your main cart through practically as much inexpensive and rugged Cat-5 cable as you can imagine (down the street and around the corner if you need it). Also put all your transmitters there, too (Comtek, IFB, etc.). This is a more expensive option but it allows you to get your antennae AND your receivers as close to the action as possible (on the roof, in the rain, in a tiny set, upstairs, etc., etc.) while allowing the mixer to position him/herself in a more desirable location. Yo can also run any other line or mic ins and outs through it. And since the RF cart has its own power and has only one Cat-5 cable back to the mixer cart it is fast and easy to move if things suddenly change. This may add a cart to your setup and is probably not for purists, but once you get it running it ca make a huge difference in your daily functionality by eliminating most of the RF/distance issues we so often encounter. The Aviom system is transparent to my ears, consumes little power and has been completely reliable. I finally listened to Mark Ulano on this one and I've never regretted it.

It is amazing to watch a guild try to render itself irrelevant; I only hope they don't take the rest of us down with them. It is truly terrifying: the largest union in our industry, over 120,000 members --- and they're ALL ACTORS! It gets more scary: Our fate is in their hands. It "only" took the writers 100 days of an actual strike to get whatever it was they they got; half a year of this dithering since the SAG contract expired June 30 is getting pretty old. And after all this, when they finally realized that they'll never get the 75% approval necessary for the "strike authorization vote that doesn't mean there'll be a strike", they are further educating the membership that a strike would in "No way" shut down the industry. While I don't envy anyone who has to sit across the table from Nick "Spawn of Satan" Counter, especially for his last hurrah, no, I don't think SAG is really getting their money's worth from this guy. Happy New Year everybody! May it bring us fresh hope and the change we need! ----steve nelson

ZTS has meters that test under load. However, the readout is not a voltage, but expressed as a percentage, i.e., 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%. Also, the only battery chemistries it is calibrated for are NiMH and alkaline. If you are using Lithium or the rechargeable Li-Ion 9 volts you have to learn how to interpret the readout. For example, an I-Power Li-Ion comes up to 80% on the alkaline tester when fully charged; less than that is not trustworthy, we've found. Admittedly, life was simpler when all we had to worry about was 9 volt alkalines. In those days a tongue test would do it. (I only used the lip, never the tongue.) Nowadays, there are several different battery chemistries to manage, each with its own output characteristic, and a simple voltmeter is probably not sufficient. In an effort to manage and minimize our contribution to the waste stream we are using more rechargeables which seem to require closer attention. -----------steve nelson Downtown Los Angeles

Well, I’m a little late to the party, but here goes: The rig I’ve been using for process work consists of equipment found around the typical sound department, including the aforementioned Remote Audio Speak Easy – a little gem of a self-powered loudspeaker. The rest of it goes like this: The director gets a hand-held, switched SM-58 wired to my board. It is output pre-fader to the speaker in the car (so his voice stays off program) via the 4x snake carrying the audio back to me. Director is already on Comteks, so there is no additional gear required. If we need more than 3 mics in the car it is easy to run another line. The switched SM-58 is a low sensitivity mic so it is relatively quiet to the speaker. Since we’re feeding the speaker from my board it is easy to add playback or other source, and to adjust levels. As long as the director remembers to operate the switch, it works beautifully, is very fast to set up, and requires no additional equipment. -----steve nelson