thelza30

I responded about this on another post and changing the batteries is really the only cure for it that I have discovered short of sending it into Lectro for repair. The clicking noise would happen to me on a SMQa that I bought in 2008. I have a similar SMQa that I purchased at the same time that does not have the clicking noise problem. I think their serial numbers are subsequent with each other. I first discovered the problem two years ago and sent a recording of the clicking noise to Lectro whose answer to me was that I didn't have the transmitter gained up enough. I knew this wasn't the problem and I decided to just put up with it and always leave the batteries out when not in use. The clicking would occur fairly infrequently, maybe once in 25 powerups so it wasn't a big deal. This last week it has started to happen once of every 5 powerups and is starting to affect me on pivotal scenes where luckily I could just swap out the transmitter. It's been hard to replicate when I am not working and the gear is sitting at home, so if anyone else has had this problem and had it properly diagnosed so I know what to tell Lectro, it would be much appreciated. I'm sure Kriky would agree. Ben

Sorry, damn iPad. The fix was going into the Lecnet 2 command terminal and checking which block range the venue was operating within. You do this by simply typing: block? The response was 257. Not sure what that means but it wasn't correct. To switch the venue to Wideband mid i typed: block=1 It should respond "ok." To check that it worked type: block? The terminal should respond "ok 1." All of this is in the command terminals help section. Hopefully no one else has this problem but here it is for the forum. Of course, being patient and talking to someone @ Lectro helps too. Ben

Thanks for the reply Scott. I spoke to Dean at Lectro this morning. The problem was a corruption during the update. The Venue did not know which blocks it should be operating. That is why on the splash screen it did not say it was a Wideband Mid. The fix for this

Hi All, This could wait until tomorrow when Lectro is open, but would love to get it sorted out tonight if possible. I have two venues, one is a rental and one is my personal, both 21-29. I installed version 5.2 firmware on the rental venue successfully. I then installed it on mine. It installs successfully but when I detect receivers, the venue claims that there are none detected when indeed I have four VRTs installed. The rental detected all VRTs installed just fine. I am using the vrwb v5_2.hex update file. One difference is on the startup. The rental's startup says VR Receiver Version 5.2 Wideband Mid. My personal venue does not say Wideband Mid. Am I using the wrong firmware update? Anyone else have this problem? Thanks in advance, Ben Lazard

My utility added an extra lyre u-clip on the suspension mount. Seems to hold the Ball gag, fur, and mic just fine now. Looks a little silly though...

I've had this problem with my SMQs. Low noise floor clicking. Sent the tracks to Lectro and was told to make the same adjustments as Larry recommended. This did not fix the clicking. What seems to help is not keeping batteries in the transmitters too long. I just keep the AAs out of the tx after wrap and no more clicking. Maybe that will help? Had the same problems with another Mixers SMQs and SMAs but different sound. We called it the clamshell effect. Sent the tx to lectro and were never able to duplicate the sound. Could've been the humidity and heat working in the summer. Very frustrating problem on a mostly wireless show but taking out the batteries always fixed it. Ben Lazard - Austin, Tx.

I am considering looping through my UMCWB into my Wideband Venue. A ALP620 > A Venue In < A Venue Out < A UMCWB In B ALP620 > B Venue In < B Venue Out < B UMCWB In If it works, I've just added 4 more wireless to my system, which is a positive or negative depending on who you ask Has anyone had any real world experience with this setup? From my garage, it worked ok, having my friend roam the street with a UM400 transmitter on his belt, as I watched the meters from my cart. Signal drop out came a little earlier than I would have hoped, but it could have been the frequency I was using on his transmitter. The other kicker is that I am only using two of the UMCWB channels instead of all four. Any potential risk of not having the unused ends terminated? Ben Lazard

We shoot on Arri SR3s. 3 cameras, all of the time, 6 cameras for second unit. Good times! Ben

As the boom operator on Friday Night Lights, I can not express more happiness that a product that we in Texas work so hard on is getting another chance. Myself, sound mixer Mack Melson, and Jason Mazano, our utility (previously done by Shawn Harper), are one of the hardest working crews around, and I can't wait to get started for another season, or two, should I get the chance. My work on the show started on season 1 as a fill in boom op. Sometimes I would come in for playback, as an additional boom, or as a replacement first unit boom. For season 1, there were 24 episodes. At season 2, I came on full time. It was a great experience for me, being 26 at the time and getting to work on a network show. Alas, the season was cut short by the writer's strike at episode 15, which may have help set the precedent for season 3's shorter run. The show is done with 3 SR3s, all handheld. The actors do no rehearsal, have no marks, and are encouraged to imrov. The lighting for this style is done in zones, with lots of source lighting. Days are about 8-10 hours, which paves the way for plenty of drinking time afterwards at the Long Branch and a good night's sleep before tomorrow's shoot day. There are all sorts of sound difficulties we have to overcome with these givens, but I think for the most part we do a damn good job getting it done right. A funny story about the shaky camera work. During season 2, the producers decided to have a viewing party of the first two episodes at the IMAX theater in Austin. Watching it was worse than being on a tugboat in a tsunami, with these tight camera angles and herky jerky movement projected, I don't know, a thousand times larger than a decent sized home TV. More than one person had to worship the porcelain gods during the screening. Production has been extremely slow in Texas these days and I know a lot of crew members are hurting from the hard times. Austin hasn't seen a picture over a million bucks since Friday The Thirteenth wrapped last year and may not ever if we don't see some more incentives passed. The show is a real boon to our local economy and local set of filmmakers who make a living doing this stuff professionally. Without sounding hokey, working on the show's almost a way of life and the film community really thrives with it going on in Austin. Yeah it sucks that episodic TV budgets are shrinking, I feel for you guys who do the big shows to find them cancelled for lack of better leadership at the executive level. But, we've developed a loyal audience but staying true to a formula, for better or worse: fast, cheap, and out of control. Damnnit, I love this job. Thanks, Ben Lazard

In the world of low budget, the crew is of utmost importance, and not just the sound guys. The camera guys who I ask to barney the loud BL4, the locations department who I ask to shut off the fridges in whatever dive bar in Texas you're shooting in, the PAs who have to lock down traffic, the ADs who always seem to forget wild lines and room tone in their schedules, and of course the beloved boom op without whom their would be only pain on my back. My crew in Austin is very friendly to sound once in a while, I'd just like them to understand how important to the film shutting off an A/C can be... As for gear, it's my mixer that is most important to me. Being able to provide the correct track assignments for a given scene, having limiters that can cushion, provide the correct powering for my T-powered Schoeps or my 48ph MKH-60, forgiving faders, nice pre-amps... Most pro-mics sound nice, it's getting their sound to right place that's important. But I see what you guys are saying... I feel a little out of my element on RAMPS being a newbie soundmixer. Hopefully y'all would appreciate some new blood in your mix on this new forum. Ben Lazard