Derek H

What else can there be?

- A 4 channel transmitter.. to go with the QRX.. Maybe something along the lines of a new STA for the 900AA that has two AES inputs.

- An IFB/transmitter ZaxNET control system for ENG rigs to use sans Deva/Fusion

Just my wish list... 

I just received about 20 of the REAN TA3's from Markertek, I'll post back here with my results at some point.

Tom - Are you referring to the Rean TA3 when you say cheap Chinese version?

Can it be used as a two channel camera hop

That's the first thing I thought because of it being much more compact but..

-No DC input

-No Balanced line input. 

Though it could be an excellent option for using as a stereo feed from a PA on certain jobs.  I wonder how much more it will cost..

Personally, I don't see much benefit in putting two lavs on one person just for a stereo perspective.. for redundancy maybe, but loosing an additional input makes it a no go for the ENG rigs I use.

A question regarding the connector though..  The photos show a 3 pin connector, I'm guessing this is a mistake?  Also, in the wireless user manual (old from 2009) Zaxcom advises against using the threaded-locking type connectors and recommends the push pull type Lemo.. Why then, in all the product photos does Zaxcom show the screw-on type in use?  I would prefer the screw-on as the push-pull sticks out much longer.. posing a bending risk. 

Senator, I know what you're going to say..  And I'll get to asking Zaxcom eventually but I'm just thinking out loud.. and hoping others who have used both types may have commentary.

Jan - Love the bit about bringing "dummy" cases to look the part!

I only own enough gear to do the "bag" jobs and sometimes it seems that the less you can bring and still be effective the more the producers are impressed.  Also, I've found that on a lot of the documentary type work I do if I have a large bag or pelican with backup stuff in it it won't do me any good unless I drag it everywhere we go all day.. which is often not an option; so a smaller bag with the bare minimum is a much better route. 

For example on my current job I can carry everything I need by myself in one trip. 

- 1 mixer rig. (302 rig in a petrol 302 bag: 2x radios with transmitters and lavs/clips/tape, comtek Tx, and Zax Tx)

- 1 small utility bag

- 1 boom pole.

This way it can all easily go into the trunk of any vehicle even if the trunk is already mostly full.

Inside the small utility bag I have a single lectro leather pouch that carries all my backup stuff that I normally never need to open.

- Spare transmitters

- A breakaway cable  (serves as backup for the camera hops)

- A few short XLRs of different types: coily, cloth, etc..

- Spare Antennas

The idea being that I have just enough to get me through the day if any cable or component in the mixer rig fails (well.. except the mixer itself I guess, but I've come to trust the 302 I have)

Looks even smaller than the battery bud.. nice work!

What size hammond box is that?

I would guess not too many of us here are brave enough to venture into Lemo territory when it comes to DIY cable making..

I took apart a lemo 3pin from a busted lav once (like the zax 900 uses, and high-end sennheisers)..  I was appalled at the microscopic scale of that connector.  We're talking about solder terminals thar are barely bigger than the 30awg wire they're designed to accept.  Also they are spaced sooo close together that a schmintz too much solder will bridge all three pins together and leave the connector a tiny, ugly, $20 mistake.

If you make a go of it please report in on how it went and what you learned.  I'm guessing you'll need a sedative or two to steady your hand enough.

Best of luck!

-d

Monitoring on earbuds too by the looks of that cable

While the Oktava setup would be similar in price to one of these single point mics I think for ease of use on location I've decided to go for a single point mic.  Makes mounting and wind protection compatible with my current mics. 

As for the emesser I don't usually use a full zeppelin and I imagine trying to mount an emesser on a mic using a rycote softie would be some sort of compromise or another..

Thanks Oleg,

Wouldn't be using for dialog.  Just SFX now and then. 

Hi,

I know this topic has been beaten up on previous posts, but nowhere on this board is any mention of the Sony 680S (maybe because it's a relatively new model).  Every once and awhile I get the itch to add an MS mic to my kit for the documentary stuff but never so eager to drop $2k+ for the css5, neumann, or dual mic setups.

These two, the Audio Technica BP4029 and the Sony ECM 680S, have near identical feature sets and are priced to be competitive to each other.  Hoping someone here has used one or both of these models enough to have developed some feedback regarding their usefulness for sub-$1000 stereo recording.

Differences in specs I have noticed:

- Sony is about 30mm longer

- Sony can only output coded LR or Mono signals.. no pure M/S

- Sony is stated to be an electret condenser

- AT is stated to be a "Fixed-Charged Back Plate Permanently Polarized Condenser" - my guess is that this is tech jargon meaning electret condenser..

- AT offers wide and narrow matrix output as well as non-matrixed M/S.

Love that their stuff is backward compatible as well.  My rough plan is to upgrade my hops at some point to a QRX & TRX900/sta150 and keep the old model on the same block to use as a second receiver for a B cam and keep the older stereoline transmitter in to use for 4 channel sends if I ever need it.

I also think the QRX will be great in the bag as a talent receiver.  In a similar setup to those of you that are using SR's in the bag to reduce the number of Rx needed over the shoulder.  In that scenario it could also replace your comtek/ifb without having to buy an IFB100(if you buy into the ERX system)

I found that even the older generation of Zaxcom gear works well.. just a few more kinks to work out.

don't know about thinner coily than what K-tek has but you really need to secure the cable to something solid at the male connector side so that you create a strain relief..

The solder joints themselves will never be strong enough to hold through all the twisting and pulling.  Even if you weren't having the bunching up problem on the thin section you would still have breakage problems if you're just soldering the cable with no other mechanical connection.

Ambient QX line of poles can be internally cabled, an email to them may shed some light.

Hey Dan, if getting 7.5V to the Boss model is all that's stopping you I would suggest looking in to building a voltage regulating power cable..  Would be easy enough with a few things from radioshack, or your fav electronics vendor.  I did this for an mp3 recorder so I could power it off my bag dc system.

good question Tom,

I'm still waiting for zax to release an updated wireless manual so we can all get a better idea of how the QRX works.

P.S.  Zaxcom, please consider making unit-specific user manuals like most other manufacturers do.  I really do not enjoy having one big manual with your entire RF product line up to have to skim through.

P.S.S Anyone using the new LT transmitters regularly?  Would love to hear feedback on those as well.

Until there is a major incident I don't think it will happen.. 

The airlines can't afford to tell people that they have to leave their laptops, cellphones, cameras, etc at home..  As far as I know checking the devices would be the greater of two evils because if a fire starts in the hold you can't really access it in-flight to do anything about it. 

When I recently flew with gear the TSA security staff didn't even peek at my NP batteries to determine chemistry.  I wouldn't worry too much about it.. yet  

I personally use one vertical and one horizontal.  I read somewhere that in addition to putting more space between the antennas it may also be beneficial in receiving indirect or reflected signals which may not be vertically polarized by the time it hits the receiver.

Haven't done any serious testing but like Glenn said it has never caused a problem.  As I use my Zaxcom for hops only I rarely have any dropout issues as the distance between Tx and Rx is usually minimal.

I also run into this problem since I use a Zaxcom system.. Even weaker line level than the lectro models.. 

Recently I've been working on shoots that use the Sony z7u camera (HDV) and find that I just can't hit -20 even with the camera levels controls all the way up..  I've come up with a few solutions:

1) Go in mic level..  This is the easy fix and to my ears doesn't sound much different, at least on the z7u, but could conceivably cause more problems (inducted noise, self noise, bad pre-amps, etc)

2) Go line level in to the camera set to mic level..  This one I'm not as comfortable with even though it seems to work.  On the Sony z7u when set to mic level in you can specify "trim" for each channel via the menu(the choices are -18, -12, 0, +12, +18).  I set the trim to -12 and then on the physical control I find I only need to use about 1/4 of the pot's travel to get the level up to -20dBFS.  My thinking here is that by going in so hot to a padded mic input the noise problems that might otherwise crop up with mic level becomes insignificant.  Would love to hear feedback from you folks on this one..

I do check the above method with full-scale tone to make sure my peaks will sound clean.  I regularly use full-scale tone to calibrate things.. from Comteks, transmitters to camera, and camera inputs.  I'm pretty confident in the results.

Also, a question for Rob Lewis:  Which Zaxcom transmitter do you use?  Older black case or newer TRX?  I have the older model and have also chosen to disable the limiter.  The transmitter and receiver still indicate that limiting is occurring even though it's not which bugs me..  (3 dots on transmitter, checkerboard on receiver)  Do you have the same issue?

I recently (2 weeks ago) flew with gear and can report what worked for me.

First off I think it helps to keep things stripped down.  Have enough back up items to cover your ass but don't be excessive.  For example I packed my breakaway cable in case I had a problem with my hops, instead of bringing a second set of hops..

I highly recommend carrying-on essential equipment.  Every airline will misplace luggage now and then, and in my experience overweight/size items seem to have more problems than regular luggage.  I carried on everything I would need for a few days of shooting except the boom pole (have not tried carrying-on a boom pole, assuming TSA won't allow it, could be wrong).  I accomplished this by carrying-on my over the shoulder rig completely built (becomes your personal bag) and by putting the rest of what I determined essential in a Pelican 1510 case (designed to be the max size that still fits in the overhead bins, and it does.. ). 

This combo seems to get through security fairly easily and is a breeze to lug around.  Usually TSA will open up the pelican for a look and to swab for explosive residue and put it through the analyzer.  Occasionally they've asked me to remove a few items so that the X-Ray will produce a clearer image.    I have not been questioned about anything beyond that, though the expression on the face of the person monitoring the x-ray screen is priceless and is not to be missed! 

Some notes on the process:

- I remove all antennas and avoid talk about radio or wireless gear (as per a suggestion from an older thread on this forum that advised to just refer to everything as a microphone..), though I have not been asked specifics about any of the gear.

- Make sure to put all your tweakers and multi-tools in your check luggage, they will not pass.

- When boarding the plane various airline staff will try to persuade you into checking the pelican 1510 case just before you board because they don't believe it will fit in the overhead.. don't listen to them, it fits like a glove.  Even on small planes.

- If you don't have a boompole case you can usually find room inside the tripod case for a pole or two.

- I don't think lithium batteries become an issue unless you have very high capacity units.  Like dionic 160s.  I'm still using NiMH NP's but I don't think they ever looked at them close enough to determine anything about them.  The only comment regarding batteries I ever heard was that its a good idea to remove them from the bag/case before sending it through the x-ray because the x-ray can't penetrate them sometimes.. potentially concealing whatever is under it.  That said I don't start dismantling anything until they ask and usually they don't.

Airports I've been through recently with the above method:  Chicago - O'hare,  Seattle -SEATAC, Portland - PDX, Austin TX

Good luck!

Question for Eric,

How would you terminate the mixer end of the starquad?  Split up the shield and use shrink to make a Y or would you bring both channels into an XLR and then patch in another piece of cable inside the XLR shell?

Vin - I have not noticed any significant bleed with the remote audio set cans I own.  You would really have to be close to the mics and have it up full blast I would imagine.

welcome to the club!  Do your new friend a favor and go down to home depot with a $5 bill in hand and buy one of these bad boys:

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/72/72088507-9cda-4807-960a-3b3d27e893c4_300.jpg

With the change you can still get a hot dog on the way out!

Best storage container ever for this little guy.  It will get crushed eventually without something like this.

That's a good question.. why are they out of phase?  Interesting that two sounds out of phase but isolated in each ear has phase issues.. too bad the auditory nerve doesn't have a polarity reverse switch!

My personal fave cheapie headset:  Sony MDR-210LP : http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/428245-REG/Sony_MDR210LP_MDR_210LP_Ultra_Lightweight_Stereo.html#accessories

$7 at B&H!!  Also commonly found at big box stores (bestbuy, target, etc.. for about 9.99).  Good minimalist look, nice flexible headband, high quality feel overall, comfy ear cups and foam, and a cable that exits one side instead of both.  Only con is that they have the usual stereo plug at the end.  But mono pins are cheap so you could retrofit them if needed.

I still think a momentary button would be easier to use (and more fun?)