Derek H

Thank you!

what is a “nadir”? What are the high end choices for Ambisonics mics. Also is “ambisonics“ intellectual property of a certain company or a generic term?

How much do you think they looped?

Are you talking about the times microwave brand stuff? If so, the stuff I got, ordered from DX engineering, was a noticeable amount stiffer than Belden 9258. (RG8x) You could certainly use it for long runs but I found that sticking with RG8x was my preference. The LMR240UF definitely seems like a much better shielded cable than RG8x. I also chose to use the ultraflex for short jumpers inside my cart where god knows what kind of EM is flying around. The other nice thing about Ultra Flex and Belden 9258 is you can use the same model Amphenol BNC on either one.

I would only do LMR-240-UF for short runs. Like 15’ up the antenna mast. RG8x is the same stuff minus the foil shield so it’s more flexible and lays more flat. Better for long runs where you’re amplifying at the antenna. Belden 9258

Is the XLR shell on the 50 grounded? That solved buzzing problems around fluorescents for me with my brand new 50s.

Let me rephrase my last comment. “What’s the point” was rude and I apologize for that insensitivity towards what I’m sure were many hours of programming work and research. Glad to hear that this will be useful for someone. What I should have said and I really meant was “I’m confused about this app if it doesn’t have the core functionality of the original”.

Sorry if you took my comment as rude, your original app is great and we all use it as a standard tool now which you should be proud of. My point is that gain changes is about 90% of the useage scenario for the Remote app so without that functionality it’s hard to say how useful it will be to most of us.

If it can’t do audio level then what’s the point?

Accsoon is pretty low latency as well.

Accsoon cine eye works really quite well. Very handy s as a boom op to see what’s really going on during a take. You can even use it to record takes to your photo library on your iPhone

If it’s going on a camera just get the cheapest one of the bunch you’re considering. Seriously or even cheaper. So you’re like a one man band shooter doing your own sound?

Not a stupid question. I know I asked Ron this question years ago when he released his new life pelican and I think he said it would depend on the load you’re putting on it. The portable charger can charge it simultaneously but if you’re putting a really heavy draw on it it may not keep up. Who knows what the Remote Audio does. I know Ron at PSC can tell you exactly what to expect with a quick email or call.

Why do I like the MKH50? It sounds good, it's durable, low handling noise, low self noise. It's as close to a standard for dialog recording as it gets. It's not over-priced. All these reasons are why it would be a good place for you to start. There are scenarios where a Schoeps MK41 will sound better but if you didn't have both of them to pick from you probably wouldn't miss it. Buy one and I suspect it will become your main boom mic. Then use your rode for wide shots or outdoors or just as a backup.

Sounds good. Yes I think your assessment is correct about the wireless. The next level up of professional gear is a wide chasm in terms of price from what you have here. Yeah I hate dealing with micro USB (looking at you CL12) but if you’ve figured out something that’s working and secure then sounds like you’re good to go. All of those units can also take internal batteries so in the worst case scenario you’ve got a backup plan. Just always have spare batteries available. For now I’d spend money on a nice microphone or two and all the needed accessories. Buy a MKH50 if you don’t have one. Or a used Schoeps, that’s what I did and I still use it all the time.

“Bag is quite heavy” .. oh man try running around chasing a bunch of yahoos with a 788/cl8 and 8x 411a receivers. This does not look like a heavy bag from my perspective. My advice would be to cool your heels on any other mods or additions and simply do a bunch of work with this setup and then you will know exactly what you want to upgrade or reconfigure. Everyone is now obsessed with running an RF distro in their bag (I think mostly for the Instagram) but for most work you’re going to do with a bag it is overkill. Especially now that the days of running 3x um400s in the bag for hops and IFB is mostly over there is less interference in the bag itself to deal with and your receivers should be getting most of their useable range just on whips.

I could never find a good GUI for rtl-power that worked with my older MacBook and wired nooelec brand sdr dongle

What program are you using? And what OS? I had a hell of a time getting anything to work on Mac. Unfortunately I found that a lot of the SDR software out there is hopelessly buried in academic/programming nerd land and is pretty inaccessible without software compiling skills. Not as much for PC users though. All of the stuff for Mac I tried seemed pretty half baked and had me futzing around in the terminal doing god knows what to my old MacBook. Also - I’d be more inclined to buy an RF Explorer if the user interface was more intuitive and it had a nice modern looking screen. Sorry if that’s petty but that’s where I’m at lol.

I tested out John's suggestion above on a 302 and a 633 using a grounding plug (all 3 pins connected). Two different results. On the 302 switching between mic and line there was about a 4-7 dB difference between selections not a large shift. Line had more noise. On the 633 switching between mic and line there was also roughly the same 4-7 dB difference between the two except mic had more noise. Not sure what is to be learned here. If going by what John suggested and Larry seemed to agree with then you might conclude that Sound Devices line input design is a simple pad?

Yeah I have one. Datavideo makes the best one for us. 17” seems pretty huge! A friend calls it the IMAX. Not crazy heavy or super deep. It was about $1300. TLM-170 something or another. for me it was worth it as it allowed for more rack space for everything else in a smaller rack.

NDI sounds interesting but this is the first time I’m hearing about it (doesn’t mean much ; ) but a solid, inexpensive more analog-esque way to go is to just set up a multiview system with 4-way input 1-way output box at the video village and run a single cable back to a single (preferably larger) monitor on your cart to receive a quad split image of up to 4 cameras. Works great, lets you run a single common SDI cable a pretty long distance. With good cable 300’ should be no problem even if you’re extending with barrels to get that length. On my show we have 120’ lengths made up (Belden 1505F) and barrel them as needed. Decimator makes a good multiview box (dmon quad i think) and blackmagic also has a very cheap one and a more expensive one. The other advantage of the multiview box at village is you don’t need any additional gear on your cart just any SDI input monitor. No receivers, converter boxes, networking gak. Makes troubleshooting easier.

good luck! I don’t see that happening. Why would they pay extra for something that will happen anyway in post? Talking about most jobs and typical post workflow. Since Dugan was released on the 688 there was only one job I can think of where I convinced the producer to rent the 688 for that specific feature. I see it as a nice luxury item for the mixer to have access to. Maybe take a little pain out of those really terrible location days. ; ) Seriously though I think it could be a nice tool to at least have a sense of perspective on set regarding what noise you can work with and when it’s truly too egregious. There’s many times I can think of when a director or producer looked at me and asked is that (noise) killing us. Often I think it can probably be dealt with in post but since I spend 0 hours in post cleaning up my tracks there’s times I just don’t know.

In my opinion the Comtek madness needs to stop and productions should really consider a 100% BYOH approach. Or at the start of a show you hand out brand new headsets to every crew member that needs one and they are not to be returned. It should be the individual’s responsibility to store it and keep it for their own personal use. Obviously we’ll keep ordering more (and production keeps paying for them) for replacing the inevitable lost or forgotten headsets but being expected to manage so many headsets and be responsible for their cleaning every single time village moves?? Oof. I think for the main villagers why not do the same with the receivers too. Just supply batteries and let them handle it. The less touching and passing gear back and forth the better no?

Cool! Share a pic with the SMA in place if you manage it.

This is probably the best advice you could hope for here. When it comes to DIY knowing the ins and outs of each component is what leads to it being a success or just falling apart after one job or in the middle of a job. That usually means pouring over all the datasheets and doing the homework. I’d recommend getting away from buying cheap mystery parts and cables from alibaba etc and buy the real stuff that those factories are copying to begin with. I went down the “I think I’ll make my own BNC cables” path last year for the first time after years of soldering and it was a much more involved process than I was anticipating. Sorting out just the right cable brand and type, just the right connector that matches, how to strip the cable EXACTLY correct, should I buy a tool to do that? Is it ok to just use a knife? Cigar cutter?? just the right crimper and die, to solder the pin? Or to crimp the pin? Both??? (Discovered that particular question is the BNC equivalent of do you ground the shell?... everyone has a different opinion) what size boot for the combination of connector and cable.. lots of details to get your head around and you’re not going to find it all in one place on one sheet. PS, RG174 is typically a small diameter 50 ohm antenna cable. I can understand why that guy was confused. The link you posted is the first time I’ve seen a 75ohm version. PSS as others have pointed out impedance is meaningless for your purpose here. It’s important in video cables and RF cables and then mostly at long lengths. Good luck, Sound!