Fred Salles

Hello I just wrapped the first feature with my new combo SD888+SL2 +wisycom MCR54x2. it was a great setup to work with. Only one thing was quite annoying: I had antenna cables made with SMA on one end and BNC on the other one. is it just me or really the position of the 2 SMA connectors on the SL2 was not designed with efficiency in mind ? The ergonomic is terrible and it is a real pain to screw and unscrew the SMAs from the SL2. The MCR54 are quite high above the level where the connectors are and that makes access to the connectors very narrow, especially once in the bag which is always for me (Ktek smallX stingray.) I have to find a solution for a more efficient way to change antenna cables. Basically I regularly need to switch from short cables with the Betso bow tie on the bag to 2m cables on the cart (for dpla Sharky betso) or longer ones for higher antenna position. Is there any of you using SMA to BNC female adaptors? there might be a bit of db loss but I hope it is not much. I am hesitating between a hard one block adaptor or a mini cable adaptor. Then of course turn all my 50ohm cables back to BNC-BNC 🤣 Suggestion welcomed. thanks Fred

Hi, just a little note after the end of the shoot about power consumption: (with the enelooop pro but with others too) the battery meter can stay at 10% for quite a long time and then it shows 0% and still you have time for the end of the take and change them.

I use Eneloop pro (new ones) and I need to change them in the course of the day, but I never actually pushed to the point the tx goes off. Nor did I have time to test. The battery telemetry is not yet accurate and can be quite misleading. Sometimes back from lunch break it can read 70% so I do not change them , then just after half an hour it is down to 10%; So I would say 4 to 5 hours continuously on with 20mW and 3 to 4 hours with 50mW tx. Again because I wanna be safe and changing as soon as they display 10%. I have not use recording. Adding the PH60+ schoeps cmc6+mk41 last more around 3 hours in 50mW. Indoor or outdoor and no obstacle the 20mW is working good (antennas Betso active, MCR54rx and SL2).

Hello, I am replying to myself after my first week and a half shoot with the MTP60+MCR54 and the PHA60 I used the wireless boom much less than colleagues in the usa but when we did use the mtp60+ PHA60 with a Schoeps CMC6 mk41 or minicmit, we both, my assistant and I were very pleased. Sound is pretty decent, actually good. No problem whatsoever occurred and mikes seemed to be powered seamlessly. the overall weight can be a turnoff for sound people used to Zaxcom ZMT4 or even audio ltd A10, but unlike with the lastest, It worked like a charm indoor from distant rooms as well as outdoor. the battery telemetry of the mtp60 is still behaving weirdly so we changed batteries more often than probably necessary, but no sudden shutdown. I did not tried the recording option yet. The Bluetooth control of the tx is such a breeze! No more bothering actors for gain or frequencies changes, I love it!

Thanks Rich. I did not know the COS11 could take 12v. I have an adapter for lav from XLR 48v I was gonna try but if I can plug a COS11 directly even better.

Hello, I am not familiar with headset (headphone+mike combine) and their TA5 socket/plug. I actually use a separate mike (usually dynamic) for slate and com and my HD25. So I want to make myself a cable to plug to my 888 TA5 headset socket and get out a headphone plug and a XLR mike input. Now after searching around it seems the standard is not to use common ground for HP and mike as in a headset the mike seems to be unbalanced electret. But Sound Devices gives this pinout for their socket: TA5 jack Headphone and slate microphone connections [pin-1 = HP right, pin-2 = HP left, pin-3 = ground, pin-4 = Mic -, pin-5 = Mic+] It seems to suggest to use common ground for HP and balanced mike. I think it should be fine but I am a bit hesitant (and it is late here my eyes are getting tired) so I figured I should discuss first 😉 Any opinion before I start soldering? Thanks Fred

Hello, just a late chiming in as I have received my antennas cables from an Italian manufacturer that I did not know about and is not listed in this thread. I still have to test them in the field but already the feel is very good and if they achieve what is on paper then they are close competitors even ahead of Times Microwaves 50ohms cables. They are called Messi&Paoloni: https://messi.it/en/catalogue/50-ohm-rf-coaxial-cable.htm They exist since the 50s. Don't be put off by the slightly tacky graphic design of the website and try their calculator with their different models of cable. I choose the Hyperflex 5 cause I did not need long length (2.5m) but easy to store and light but not much loss cable. It feels very nice not too hard nor too heavy. I will edit a report after a testing period on shoot.

Hey when I found myself in the USA, I would really love to have a visit at your recorders collection, but please don't take me anywhere near that dentist room !! 😂

Hi Anyone has tested the PHA60 with the MTP60 for a wireless boom? Very curious to know how it handles power hungry mikes as the PHA48 was quite bad in that regard. Specs gives: Phantom power 41 ± 2V @ 5 mA That is just 1mA more than the PHA48 but now should be ok for a Schoeps CMIT5 (4.4mA). At least the design is much more interesting and at least practical for a boom. Thanks

Thanks Codyman and Constantin, so I wrote to Schoeps directly sales@schoeps.zendesk.com, and a Niklas has been very helpful although he has no other information than where and through which reseller the items were sold. At least I could check that correspond to what I was told so I am good to go. But I guess we should expect that manufacturers or other systems where you can register your serial numbers would know the name of the present owner. Not that they have to disclose it but for us to be able to signal a theft or loss on other places than forums and social medias so that the SN is known to the manufacturer to be a lost or stolen one.

Hello, Is there a way to check the serial number "owner status" for lack of a better word, somewhere? Main reason is when buying second hand gear. How do you do it? If we contact the manufacturer what shall we ask that they would accept as non intrusive? Thanks Fred

Yes I use the L-4E5C for the boom. I love it but too large for TA3 connectors. Sound Devices 8 series has many microphone inputs in TA3m (the Scorpio has even TA5). I need to make short cables TA3m-XLRf. The Belden is just perfect for that, but if I cannot find I might go for 2 conductors yes, for short cables it might not be that crucial (although it is crucial for my sanity but I guess I have to adapt 😂

Hi, my favourite mini starquad of all time, the Belden 1804A, is out of stock and unreachable in Europe these days (unless somenone has a tip to a source that has stock in EU?). I need to make a bunch of TA3 cables and I don't have enough stock so I need to look for an alternative. I do not think there is such thing as an equivalent (=excellent starquad, 2.9mm Out. diameter, stronger than my shoelaces...) But a diameter up to 3.2mm alternative could do if performances are equivalent. 3.5 max. Any suggestion welcome. Anyone has tried the german Sommercable SC-CICADA 4 ? Would love some feedback. https://shop.sommercable.com/fr/Cable/Bulk-Cable-Audio/Patch-Mikrofonkabel-SC-CICADA-4-200-0461.html#tab_media Thanks

Thanks, that is one of the recommended one on the SD list. Have you tried the 128GB of the same model that is not on the list?

Hey, here some of my understanding of it: Ohm's Law: I=U/R (I is current, U is voltage, R is resistance) The voltage of an AA nimh is 1.2v (I don't know how much a lithium AA rate I have never used any.) So 1.2 divided by 100, you have a test load of 12mA. A 2500mAh AA should last around 200 hours under this load if I am not wrong. If you want to test heavier load, lower the resistor, like a 12 ohm for a 100mA load, but the resistor must be rated for at least 2watt (here load is 1.2 watt and a single resistor will start getting hot). The load of 330ohm on a 9v battery will be 27.3mA. Happy testing

Just for future readers of this post, I have posted my scan done on location on TX Advance scan exchange platform https://www.compasseur.com/txadvance-scan-exchange-tase/ I had no RF issues during the shoot. Just be there really in advance, security check of the gear is even more thorough than in airports.

Hello, Lately looking regularly to the Sound Devices approved media list for 8 series I realized they have not changed it in a long while. There are many new brands and models on the market nowadays and I wonder if we could exchange on experiences with cards not listed there. I have been using Manfrotto pro V90 SD cards for 4k video camera (side job) for more than a year without a single hiccup. Now it is overkill for our SD recorders but I have not used them on set yet just... because they were not listed. I still have to find the time to do extensive test not on a job before writing a feedback here. Why would they not work? they are rated for a far more fast read and write speed than required by SD. Is there something I am missing? Same applies to USA brand Prograde Digital. They seems to make good v60 and v90 SD cards and are gaining good reputation in video, but I have never heard a sound colleague using them. Any feedback on successful use of SD cards not listed by Sound Devices with the 8 series could be usefull (for them as well I guess).

I just did and indeed the person was very helpful and I learned quite a lot about their naming convention. He could not confirm 100% that the plug I was interested to get would fit as he did not know the exact reference of the receptacle on the tx, which lead me to write this post here 😉 We figured it might be either XRB.00.303.NLN or some variation of ESB.00.303.CLL/ESB.00.303.NLL/ESB.00.303.NLN. He explained that all B series are push-pull connectors (the third letter used for the keying system, here 2 keys at 60°), although « The threaded coupling is a special exception that was created for a specific audio application that has since grown quite a bit. But it's all still built out of the same B series push-pull connectors... they just happen to have threaded coupling. » Hence the possibilities to use either push-pull or screw-on plugs for the Wisycom tx. What does « vaporware » mean? First time reading that word. Thanks

Hello everyone, sorry, I am sure it might be somewhere in the forum but I have been searching for hours unsuccessfully. Where can I find the reference of the female Lemo3 receptacle on the Wisycom transmitters (MPT40,41 and hopefully MPT60) ? So that if we want to search for a male plug on Lemo website we know if it will match. As we all know there are several options for the microphone male lemo3 plug , some prefer screw-on , some push-pull (FGB.00.303.CLAD35 if I am not mistaken), I want to make a list of all/several plug options. Thanks

Just a question out of curiosity: are you guys in the US paid your full day rate for a tech scout day? Or you have a specific rate for these?

Same as Vincent, I do not see any way to export bEXT nor iXML. It seems so for FCPX. Thank you Henri and Vincent for your help. Henri your link is a full insight of the implementation of the iXML protocol. It confirms iXML is indeed just a protocol, there is no such thing as iXML file. Only XML that could probably embed/convey all iXML metadata like the soft Vincent tried and demonstrated. I am installing it right now, that could be a solution. Ok unfortunately it wont run on my PC, but after reading their webpage, on paper it does seem like BWF meta edit is a solution, limited but a solution, if the editor has it on his machine too. Theoretically, after writing my sound report on Wave Agent I could export the core iXML in a XML from an audio file and the editor could import these metadata to his same file. Unfortunately it does not seem to do it in batch, so doing it one by one will take longer than upload and download the files again. Something to explore then.

Hello all, Does anyone know how to export an iXML file (if there is such a thing) from our wav files ? ( bwf file actually) An editor just told me he can import iXML file in Final Cut X and reconnect the metadata with my audio files that do not have notes yet in their metadata since he has the daily backup of a documentary (I write the notes and full sound report after the shoot on a documentary). I never heard of such a thing. Would be quite a great tool for workflow between prod and post if you could just import data like notes and track names, without changing anything else (like TC...). Thanks Fred

I never had to adjust bias settings as the renting companies were doing it for the tape they were selling us (468 most of the times -BASF- we were in CCIR norm in France) I never had to change tape type during a shoot. That might have been disturbing. I only did shorts as hod that time but as an assistant I do not recall anyone mentioned they ever did. Did you ever use different tape types for a same film? Now the 4.2 I own was set by Nagra France for the tape stock I still have (BASF SM468) so I think I will pass that challenge forever 😅

That might be a problem since the mode needed is USB host.

No it does not have to be a phone, but the device needs to have the USB connection that has both USB OTG compatibility. They not all equal at all in that regards. Install USB OTG Checker from the play store on your tablet, run it and see if both are enabled/compatible.