Bob Marts

Is there any advantage to using different types of antennas for diversity radio mic systems? For instance, a log to A and a dipole to B or some other combination (a yagi, ground plane, whip etc. I've seen that some mixers use a shark fin/SNA600 combination. Bob

Thanks to all who responded to my mystery antenna question. I have a new question regarding antennas which I think I will post on a new thread.

Check out Photos From The Field: http://www.professionalwireless.com/fieldphotos.aspx and article here: http://www.studiodaily.com/filmandvideo/currentissue/How-Helical-Antennas-Make-a-Safer-Set_10573.html

Among my favorite things that happen around this time of year is... The movie screeners are starting to arrive! Bob

Thanks for all your replies - anybody want them? (free). Bob Marts

I've had these antennas for so long that I can't even remember where they came from. Anybody know what they're good for? Bob

I put the tones on my cellphone a while back, too - a convenient way to put your actor's SM's to sleep for lunch.

My approach to a low profile rig is to use a Schoeps with a Shure doughnut (A53 mount) and a GVC swivel. The microphone is mounted parallel and to the side of the boom.

I've been using my DVD-RAM drive powered by a 744T through the SD firewire filter. It's been on my cart for the last year and a half. I've done 3 movies with it as well as a number of commercials. I only burn a single production mix track to it as I record (using Panasonic 3X dics) so it's not handling a lot of multitrack data (for movies, I record the ISO's to my 788T and those tracks are delivered to post whenever they need them - sometimes not until production wrap, and then it all goes onto a portable HD). I've had to restart the 744 a few times for it to be recognized be the recorder and once it stopped during record. Considering all the discs I've burned through it (usually 2 each day to make film breaks) I've been happy with it. My only complaints are the noise it makes and the somewhat slow write speed. It's also handy to use sometimes with my driveless netbook, in which case I have to power it separately.

I did a movie where I found I had to kill the Comteks between takes so that the director couldn't hear what the actors were saying about him. I built a box with a switch that disconnected the Comtek feed and flashed a blinking red led while the feed was off. Having an open mike of the general set sound is a good idea though and wouldn't work with my box. Maybe "On Hold" musak would be good :-) I worked with a director who kept his Comtek headphones cranked up pretty high and he would always go right up to the actors with his phones down around his neck and if the actors' radio mic was still up we'd get a big feedback squeel from the lavs and his phones. Anyway, as we have learned, it's probably a good idea to only send that feed when we're actually rolling. (Mixer discrestion is advised)

Don't confuse the artist with the art.

Thanks Jeff, I'll try that next time. Bob

On this forum, how do you insert just a link shortcut as apposed to inserting the entire address as the hyperlink? Such as : "link here" instead of "http//:etc.com" Thanks

Saw a nice looking sound cart on eBay. From Hungary. http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-sound-or-video-assist-lightweight-cart-shock-mounts_W0QQitemZ220432930039QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3352d394f7&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

Years ago, I figured out a way to make a film set very quiet, but I never actually put it in practice. Here's the way: Take a recording of silence and play it back on the set through a very powerful amplifier/speaker system. The silence would be so loud that it would drown out the noise ;-)

Steve Joachim - Thanks for sending me a package of your new sound reports (for free!) Bob

Not long after the PSC universal mounts came out, I made a hybrid version using my old Rycote mounts and the PSC O-rings secured by small cable ties. This arrangement works very well for me and it accommodates the foam windscreens which actually keep the mic centered better in the mount. I can also use the same mounts in a zeppelin. Works for a Schoeps, too. Bob

I came across this at a hardware store the other day and bought it to hang from my mixer bag. It makes a good headphone or cable hook for the on-the-go sound mixer. It swings very neatly to the side to get out of the way. Bigg Lugg 1 http://www.amazon.com/Bigg-Lugg-Power-Tool-Holder/dp/B0000224SD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1242777208&sr=1-1

I put a TA5F plug on one of those walkie surveillance push-to-talk type mics that everyone uses and it works great plugged into a Lectro IFB. Many scriptys and directors have used it to cue talent with an earplug. Bob

I used a clothes hanger and needle-nosed pliers to make it. Push the hook up through the knot, hook the mic and pull back down. Bob

While there are exceptions, I've found that the Sanken in the tie knot works pretty well most of the time. I made a tool which works like an old fashioned button hook to help make threading the mic down through the top of the knot easier on the actor and the sound crew. Bob

On the subject of kids watching movies, I have a little unsolicited tip for parents of young children. When our kids were young, they mostly watched PBS and the original Disney Channel on TV. To introduce them to movies, we started renting classic Silent Movies especially those of Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. We read the subtitles aloud and the kids followed the stories easily. We even went to a few showings in a movie theater with a pipe organ. There was some violence, some prejudice, some sexism and passion but it wasn't that hard to discuss in those settings. Anyway, it was fun, educational (learning to read) and it set the stage for them as moviegoers when they got a little older. They were also the only kids in thier class who knew who Lillian Gish, Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks were ;-)

Very nice Mackie for sale w/ 12 volt mod by Forrest Forbes http://www.jwsound.net/SMF/index.php?topic=3770.0 Bob

Ron, Is the PSC RF Booster the same thing? I bought this probably 15 years ago for a Comtek M72 transmitter but didn't use it much. Powered by 2 9 volts that snap on to the side of the box. It's nice and small, I'll give it that. Bob

Scrounging around through my old gear, I found my "Castanet Slate". I made this little slate in 1980 for documentary work. I made a little holster for it that attached to my Nagra shoulder strap. It was definitely low-tech.