DanieldH

This is interesting to me or anyone thinking about what RFExplorer version to buy. I'd be curious the setup in detail. Version of the unit/module and firmware, antennas/filters used, settings, etc.

Is it a feature or a bug?

Not sure if this is the case in other sound professions with "No Behringer" Have you seen something like "No Røde" before?

Why?

Put the SD in some linux system, make an image with dd or ddrescue. Make sure, the SDcard is not automounted. This will look somehow like this: umount /dev/mmcblk0 dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=sdcard.image bs=512 Then run testdisk on the image testdisk sdcard.image Alternatively, PhotoRec might find the file. (a sister project of testdisk) If all else fails, in theory, search with some hex editor for any continuous sequences that are not zeros. However, I have not yet done such a thing and this is pure theory. Be sure to understand what the commands you issue do (especially with the "if" "of" options of dd) read the manual and sufficiently current howtos. Work with the image and copies of it. A lot of data is frequently destroyed by rescue approaches. Do not fumble around with the original media, like: BTW which?

As this discussion seems to turn already into a flamewar, here's some funfact: In Germany and possibly a lot of other non North American places, outside the sounddepartment(, and sometimes for simplicity within the sound dep,) a "Comtek" is a common noun derived from a brand name. Funnily, 99% of the time the RX will be some generation of an EK 300 and most people asking for a comtek have never even seem or gave out one before (or any ERX).

True, not sure though if the RFE Signal Generator might be of use.

These situations when a RF-Explorer is useful...

I guess you are being ironic or did I miss some vintage redux from Beyerdynamic?

Surprisingly... it depends. The best HP is the one you're used to and learned to judge with. Best thing to start is to walk into some store that provides professional lines from Beyerdynamic, Sony, Sennheiser and Ultrasone and ultimate ears and compare them with you ears. However you may not find such a store, so order some models with the option of returning them and do a listening test. And ask yourself: For what application doing "location sound"? Booming, mixing? ENG, narrative or documentary? Bag or cart? How important is shielding from the environment for you? Will you be close to the action or close to combo village? Also, there is no such thing as "on location". An airport apron is highly different than a small flat. Tropical weather is different to some winterwonderland. My 2 ct: Most people coming from ENG/bagwork prefer the HD-25 (or derrivates). It was made for disk jockeys. But was one of the few or the only option for location sound if you wanted something lighter than the DT-48. Both became somewhat an industry standard first because of a lack of alternatives, then because everybody else used. If I'm on a cart or at least, if I don't boom, I highly prefer (and advise) something around the ear instead of on the ear. I've been quite happy with the DT-100, DT150, Custom Studio, DT-770 from Beyerdynamic, all come with pros and cons, like any other model. When booming I use cheap ear hooked plugs that regularly die in the laundry.

Show hosts, SNG reporters, anchormen, remote guests frequently wear some RX/TX setup. Zaxcom just made a Wisycom RPU300 for belt applications.

Standard http://www.schoeps.de/en/products/w140 as mentioned in Posts #67 and #91. It works well and as expected on this suspension: http://rycote.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/041118_INV7HG-MKIII-trans.png. It works also well, if you mount the mic to the back of the Inv-lite with the non-angled XLR between the lyres (this brings up other issues though and is just a quick workaround). This is nothing intuitive. My best guess is some aerodynamic oddity with the lyres in combination of the W140. Who knows... Just don't buy/use the Inv-lite21 for a MiniCMIT for a bit fast moving boom operations. Rather try the K-tek thing or an inv6/7 or wait until Cinela comes up with something. Happy for you though that the inv-lite 19 with the 4017c does not have this issue.

Yes

After a week of testing out, I can confirm that the suspension mentioned is highly susceptible to the swoosh when doing larger swings. The unit has a sticker that says "Inv-lite 21". This effect is much worse than this setup with the standard foam: This is not a very elegant solution though, as you loose some "shortness". It may be a great mount, depending on the application. It is not on a swinging boom. My best guess: Its due to the fact, that the turbulences at the lyres are so close to the slot array.

Met the Mini today on a shoot I will be booming the next couple of days. This thing seems very susceptible to wind noise. And I mean a lot(!). The (indoor) setup was a Rycote Inv as pictured in with the standard foam (yes, fully applied covering all interference slits). I've handled the 5U for some time, but this felt like it was naked/no foam at all. There is no way to pick up a dialogue with talents being a meter apart and moving the boom is highly impaired. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it due to some funny aerodynamics from the TX/Phantom mounts or a faulty unit?

+1

A beltworn TX while booming is nothing I like to work with. - Cable handling is annoying - You have to unplug yourself from the unit whenever you want to put it aside - Putting a TX to a bag of water (aka the boom op) instead of a 2m high boom does not really increase range But after all... it depends

For reference Besides the Ambient, Denecke and Mozgear boxes worth mentioning are: - Areitec used to make the Pico48 (optimised for Zaxcoms beltworn TRX, but likely to works with other brands). Unfortunately its discontinued due to the appearance of the ZMT3Phantom. It is a lighter system especially with the build in mounting concept, but the latter is not designed for plug on style TX, so some sort of tinkering might be necessary. - Audio Wireless has the "AW P48 Wireless Boom" - the historic Sennheiser MZA14 - also historic the AKG B18E Then there are system specific solutions. The smallest/lightest I've came across was an active cable for Schoeps' CCMs to Audio LTD2040 (or 2020?) followed by the "Wurst" for the 2020. Both hardly advertised on the internet. Wisycom provides the rather small box called PHA48

Dry condoms + cable ties worked well for me in water risky situations on transmitters. When I experimented with tools back in the days, I've tried one over a 416, but the sound was rather poor above water. The test was mainly to improvise hydrophonic applications, that worked more or less. If you want to go the condom-on-mics-road, for shorter mics, you might try finger stalls instead of condoms. Ask for "Fingerlinge" in you local pharmacy or cut some rubber glove. This will obviously only protect the top of the mic, not the XLR. I've boomed for a sound mixer who pulled out a shower cap (Duschhaube) he got from some hotel room that went over the fur of a WS4. It worked well and was very transparent in light to medium rain (without wind) and did not crackle. Regarding (north sea) beaches, apart from wind and water noises being the biggest enemies, once the prop department had a rake around, that helped making an actors path through crackling shells. Will you be in the mudflat aka Watt?

I just stumbled over this, didn't know where to post it: http://www.listeningearth.com/blog/the-pibo-an-experimental-diy-soundscape-microphone-array

On the CMIT5U+OSIX (and various other Mics + indoor mount) I've used for low wind situations some cheap noname fur sock over the given foam. For mid/high winds I've unhappily used WS4 (including active low-cut, that is AFAIK "hard-coded" into the CMITmini) as (I believe size4 and maybe some other) Rycote WS have a grumbling-noise self-resonacence issue(that exceeds the usual mics of our trades build in low-cut capabilities or physics laws). For mid/high wind situations, I'd compare a weeks experience with rentalware and buying price between pianissimo and whatever size is recommended on the cyclone side.

My initial thought on keeping stuff dry: Silica gel works but is expensive/not widely available. Keep a small bag of cat litter in your vehicle. Put your sensitive equipment in a dust-tight but air transmissive bag (thick cotton/GoreTex? I'd guess you could throw money at Kortwich or your local taylor, but I'd go the DIYroad) and this inside the cat litter. Side effect: Any burglar will ignore the cat litter and what's buried inside. To prevent your "drybag" from continiously soaking humidity every dewing morning use some plastic garbage/shopping bag. Some cheap laundry box is also an option and makes digging more comfortable but might cause "interesting" situations at border crossings. Monitor the situation with some cheap hygrometer.

Ambient should have an Eumel for Microdot and probably for whatever might be hard-soldered to fit your other TX. But would a simple resistor, DIYstyle do?

I dug around on Ebay.com and Amazon for Prestik. Nobody seems to ship to North America. Even bostik.com/us does not advertise this product.

Absolutely agreed. I was referencing the application putty has, not that it is the same substance or of similar properties. Btw I have Blu-Tack on my cars dashboard to hold my mobile phone since half a year. It becomes brittle after a wile and looses its doughy property either due to heat/air/UV. I am not sure if I understand your VHB statement in this kontext. This might be similar to joey's sticky stuff but different to Prestik/BluTack. I use the stuff pictured in #6 (Bostik "Original"/Prestik) if a stronger hold is expedient and the surface is not susceptible to to stain (E.g. a condenser mic on some varnished furniture). To plant a lav on wallpaper, I'd use Blu Tack. Bostik ("Original"/Prestik) does leave a funny film/smell on your hands and I wash my hands after use if possible.