jawharp

Hey guys, I'm going to start by saying that this is a very specific question and has no practical use on a film set. It's for a project I'm working on at home. The basic idea is one SMV transmitter with a lav going into it. Call the lav Source A. I need a second source of mic level audio, Source B, going into the same input jack on the transmitter. I would make an external circuit so that when there is signal present on Source B, Source A is muted and Source B is allowed to pass into the transmitter. I was planning on achieving the mic level of Source B by padding down it's regular line level by 50db with resistors. I was wondering what pins I would use for Source B's audio on the transmitter input jack. From looking at the Lectro wiring diagrams, I think it's 1 & 3, but I'm not sure. Would bias wiring matter from a padded down line level signal? I also ideally would want this to work with multiple lav wirings for Source A (different lavs). Would switching between the two different mic level wirings of Source A and B like that be bad for the transmitter in any way? I've definitely plugged and unplugged different kinds of lavs like a COS11 and B6 before and it worked fine. I'm just wondering if there's anything I'm not seeing. Thanks

Hey Guys, I was looking into a way to interact with my 788T via a tablet or PC of some kind and there appears to be no really good option anymore. The CL-Wifi didn't work that great when I had one, and the app appears to be no longer supported on the app store. The Wave Agent control mode leaves a bit to be desired and isn't really meant to be used to control the machine/arm & disarm tracks, etc. I want to write an app to control my 788T via a mac desktop and the usb port on the 788T with the 788T set to Wave Agent Control Mode. I've written some mac software before in the past, and this seems like what I'd want to do is pretty simple. Does anyone know anything about how Wave Agent communicates with the 788T over usb? Thanks

Hey Guys, Was wondering what the best blocks are for NYC nowadays. I used to have all block 26 stuff, but I hear now that it should be avoided. Thanks, Joe

Hey Guys, Just starting to research the new SMWB transmitters and I'm wondering if I'm missing something in regards to the software on the transmitter itself and updating. Is what is available at this link: https://www.lectrosonics.com/Support/category/98-smwb-smdwb.html the software running on the transmitter (the OS) or is this something more low level than that? If so, are OS updates available to do yourself or do you have to send them in? Thanks

Hey Guys, Got a bunch of COS-11's that didn't get wrapped properly last time I used them and they've been like that for a while. The cables are pretty wavy at this point. Any tips for straightening them back to the way they were? Thanks, Joe

Hey Guys, Had a TS-3 come back from camera and they said something was rattling inside. I opened the battery door and this small black plastic piece pictured here fell out of the slate. It's currently rejammed and functioning normally as far as I can tell. (It was still jammed when I got it back. I had to rejam cause I turned it off.) Anyone have any idea what this piece is? Not sure on a scale of 1-10 how dire of a problem it is if we continue to use the slate or if it should be sent for immediate repair. Thanks! Joe

Hey Guys, Thanks for the replies. The question was regarding running a mini mite with the 1/4 length antenna that's usually on the M-216, instead of using the much longer whip that comes with the mini-mite. I tried it out, and didn't notice much of a difference, though the tests I run in my apartment building rarely ever reflect real world applications. This setup was purely done as an experiment to save space/height on my cart. I'm going to try it out for a while and see how it goes range-wise. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks, Joe

Will this work? The large antenna for the Mini Mite is too big for my current setup. Being fed by a basestation. Just wanted to know if this would work better than just using the small whip by itself. Thanks, Joe

Thanks for the reply. Good to know about the PCB change. That noise was the only finicky thing I heard about the 8xxx series and I'm glad they fixed it. Just to confirm: does the MZG swivel both ways, or only in one direction?

Hey Guys, Trying to find some info on the Sennheiser MZG 8000 swivel module for the 8xxx series of microphones. Anyone have/used one before? I've been looking for a Schoeps gvc/41 replacement for a while and was thinking the 8050 with this swivel might be a good option. I was mainly wondering about it's range of swivel compared to a GVC, as well as the overall reliability of the 8xxx series. Thanks, Joe

Local 52 is accepting applications this week starting September 14th for 5 days. I highly encourage any non-union boom operators to put an application in. There is currently a big shortage in available competent boom operators in the NY area.

Yeah, I can see how the importance of the actual dialogue is almost impossible to quantify and needs to be taken into account on a case by case basis. This poll was more about the person's usual plan for micing any scene going into it, regrdless of how the scene would have to be mic'd after seeing a blocking rehearsal. It was to refer to the way people work rather than the micing of particular scenes. A better way to phrase my question is probably: do you always assume you will be micing the off camera, regardless of the timing/blocking of an actual scene?

I've worked for many mixers. Most (myself included) focus on on-camera dialogue and do not concern themselves with the off camera. This has always made more sense to me because the off camera actors are generally not acting at 100%, and 2 booms out means twice as many possibilities for boom shadows/reflections/unnecessary set clutter. There is also no weirder look to get than the one given by someone staring at you, wondering why you're booming someone who's not in the close up their currently shooting. I have worked for some mixers who swear by always double booming for off camera dialogue. The most common excuse for this that I've heard from them is "It's so they can cut it in case there are overlaps." This has never made sense to me. It doesn't remove the overlap problem from the on-camera mic, and limits the choice of which take editors can use for the off camera. I would rather just tell them not to over lap. Obviously, this is not going to be the same situation job to job. There may be reasons to boom the off-camera like the director liking the performance better when they do overlap, editors requesting you get everything whenever possible, an actor you can't tell not to overlap cause they'll flip out, etc. I was wondering today how many people get off-camera regularly, and how many people don't. That's why I made this poll.

Quick update: I had initially changed the frequency, but it didn't get rid of the whining sound I was getting. In a final act of desperation this evening, I set the frequency to one of the highest possible on the transmitter, in this case 690.000, and the sound went away. This is by no means a permanent fix, and I'm still going to send it in, but I'm glad I have something I can work with tomorrow. If it fails, I have my audio ltd as a backup. So to anyone experiencing this problem on set and needs a quick fix, this might work temporarily. I'll keep you guys posted, Joe

Hey Guys, Was going through my gear today for an upcoming job, and plugged my p48 416 into my Lectro butt plug. It started emitting a high pitched whining noise in addition to the sound coming from the mic. I disconnected the mic and noticed the sound was still there with nothing plugged into it. When the transmitter moves or I touch it in a different spot the pitch of the sound changes. Changed the batteries, but that didn't change anything. I've never had any issues with it before today. Anyone know what could be going on? Thanks, Joe