chrisnewton

Hi John. i think the difference between you not hearing the buzz on headphones plugged directly into the camera and hearing a buzz through your snake, may be that that the direct phones are at the same ground potential as the camera. At your mixer end, because you have different ground potential between the cameras, you get the problem. I've experienced your problem too, and it's vexing. It's also common. All the advice in this thread has been valuable. Keep up the vigilance.

Interesting about that cable causing problems. I use G2s/G3s for utility links (second camera/extra feeds etc.). cabling has been my number 1 problem with these units. have troubles using some cables on the G3 that work fine with the G2. There have been several threads about this here. Eric Toline?

I have a couple of the grey bands and 1 red band (in white, which i bought for a particularly loud chef). It's 10db less sensitive than the grey band version. I've never noticed it to have noticeably more self noise with an SM tx than the grey bands even though I have to boost the input. For most situations the grey band version works fine, but there doesn't seem to be a downside to the less sensitive red band noise wise in real world situations. I also use COS-11s, EMWs and a VT400 i picked up used. The VT400looks pretty much like the B6, but the one I have seems to have a slightly higher self noise than the B6 (not sure about the wiring on it, but I'm not keen to open it up to have a look). different tools for different jobs. I actually like the sound of the lav that came with my lectros (M152?) but not great for hiding.

great idea that stereo bar! i'll be stealing that one. thanks.

good thing you were at craft. you might have been decapitated!

hi David. +16 for the limiter is what I use too. are you using 2 xlr cables to feed the camera from your 442, or do you have a multipin snake cable? Highly recommend the "snake" route. It has 2 channels send and a return feed from the camera's headphone output. trew audio has some listed on it's site for you to look at (under "cables"). in Oz I'm sure there are plenty of places to buy one. The 442 is an excellent piece of equipment. you won't regret buying it. vey versatile.

Thanks guys. That's what I figured. Sometimes the range of my Comteks amazes me. I have noticed in several pictures on this site lately where people are using those external antennas. I use a small bag style cart for some productions and I usually just elevate the Comtek TX on a mast of some sort. If it ain't broke....

Comtek Mighty-mite and Phase right antennas: real world differences and effectiveness. I'm presently using the rubber ducky antenna on my 216 option 7 transmitter and it works great for most of what I do. Any comments from users of the other antennas re: performance or problems, or comparisons between the systems? Chris

I've had pretty good luck with the Shure large foam windscreen, designed for the SM81 and SM57. I've used it in a pinch in light winds and inside cars. it's two layers of foam. it's a bit big, but fits my Schoeps well. I use a 19mm rubber o-ring around the mic at the capsule to keep the windshield on snug.

Hey james. sorry you still had issues with the Phonaks. I just finished 2 days on a commercial with Phonak and Comtek BST25/16 transmitter on narrow band setting. You had me worried because of all your problems, but fortunately the RF gods shone on me. I used the Comtek Phase-Rite antenna, SM58 with switch for director. rigged wireless link to BST25 via Lectro 201 RX. We were on location in a museum first day and outdoors the second day (cold,cold,cold). had few complaints from talent besides the usual: not all that comfortable to wear for a long day. I kept my lightweight cart as close as possible to the action to hedge my RF bets. There was a ton of RF floating around: 2 Boxx wireless SDI video links (often problematic) at 5.4ish Gig TX. plus a terradek. amazingly I had zero RF problems, except for other Comtek feeds to the agency folks in the RV, (bless all 12 of 'em). Backed up with a little speaker set up in the RV patched in to the embedded SDI feed from the Boxx. meh. the Phonak was a rental unit (had a backup earwig too). Seriously considering getting the Comtek neckloop/earwig system. Phonak was too much of a nail biter for me. i was lucky this time, but next time....

Just a note re: 4 SDI outputs on interface module. the four SDI ports are not redundant streams but signal is split for full 4K monitoring/recording. as I understand it, standard SDI stream will not provide full 4K signal.

Hi James. I will be using an Invisty earwig next week. sorry to hear about your problems. you are using an SNA-600 for the BST-25 transmitter, have you tried the system with the Comtek whip antenna? I will be using the Comtek Phasright antenna with this rental system. Any comments from other users about the various antennas?

The only thing I fully agree with is that it is the crew's job to make the process as smooth and as helpful to the performers as possible. We've all been on sets where the actors are treated as merely meat puppets, and 3d objects that reflect and absorb light. Having said that, I don't agree with his attitude about treatment of the rest of the team. It should be a collaborative experience for all. I've been lucky to have worked on nice, calm sets where everybody's on the same page and we are finished at a reasonable time. not lately though. Can't we all just get along? Better sign off before the Valium wears off.

thanks Mark. the timebase document was very clear and well written. my head is still spinning, but at +/- .01%.

Pardon the off topic question, but: is anyone using the Focal Professional headphones? Look good, kind of expensive though.

the rode ntg (1and 2) are good mics, but not rf condensers. only sennheiser mics are rf condensers. there was a recent post on this board about this topic (thread is called mkh 50.) the NTG 1 is phantom only, the NGT 2 can run on an internal battery. the NTG2 is longer, this could be an issue for camera mounting as it could get in shot with wider lenses. both mics are very robust and a good value. very light weight also.

with used 744T recorders now going for under $3K on trewaudio's consignment page, this may also be a wild card option. It really is a suberb machine. maybe more than you need with the timecode and all, but may be worth a look.

Merkin Muffley was the name of the American president in Dr. Strangelove.

my G3 receiver has, by far, caused me the most interface problems of all my gear. i generally use it as a utility hop for RED, DSLRs etc. the balanced/unbalanced output cabling issue has flummoxed me many times. Wiser posters to this group (Mr. Toline in particular) have been really helpful in sorting these connection problems. I have a shit load of different cables for the thing, but it's always a crap shoot. Note: I rarely have issues with my G2 (ins and outs) for the same uses. I feel your pain cinetj. Eric, help!

I used a parabolic mic years ago for a wildlife series. I was never all that happy with it, but it did the job it was intended for. This unit actually looks and sounds really good (check out the video). nice design and if the audio samples are, as they seem to be, unprocessed (ie: no Izotope etc.) it is an impressive unit. Specialist purpose stuff, but looks like a quality product. they list it for around $700.

did a shoot once with two presenters: one for english, one for french. no problem with the english presenter, big problem with rf on the french guy. same tx, basically same placement. always figured it was a language thing, now you tell me it's a salt water thing? Mon Dieu!

good tip BWilson. when we were kids we all had mitts with strings attached. the string ran up one sleeve and down the other in a loop so we couldn't lose them. may revisit that old trick this winter.

nice find Marc. I'm gonna try it.

I see Frezzolini makes a 1 bay Lion NP1 travel charger. anybody use this unit?

thanks Dominique. I wasn't aware of that potential problem.