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Zaxcom wireless boom


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I have found a light and small solution for booming wireless with my TRX 900 and Schoeps CMIT. The 48V supply has been modified as it didn`t work with Schoeps in a previous version. Still bit more noisy than hardwired and not as open and rich like on cable but good for the moments when I have to go wireless ...

more detailed:

http://www.jwsound.net/SMF/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1295.0;attach=454

Matthias

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Why did you decide to have all the electronics out on the boom?  I know the CMIT is light, but the leverage that happens when you get the boom all the way extended.....in the wind w/ a zep 'n dog....  I think working this way would take some persuasion w/ my boomies (although the wireless aspect would certainly appeal).

Philip Perkins

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to go wireless on the boom for me (and my BoomOps!! so far) means having no cable at all running down the pole.

When the boomOp puts the pole down for a rest I still want to receive a signal. If he got the tx and 48V in a bag around his waist he would need to de-rig. Makes it rather complicated. But than again it is absolutely the BoomOps decision how to work. If he prefers it around the waist- go for it. As long as I stay connected to the floor.

The rig itself isn`t that heavy. The aluminium-plate is 20gramm, the 48V weighs like a 9V-battery but the tx got some weight - true.

Matthias

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Hi Matthias

Have you been peeping?!! But I guess there are not that many ways to skin this particular cat.

I knocked this together a couple of years ago to 'prove' if it would be practical.Since then I have never got around to making it properly! So it shows the signs of fairly heavy useage. I use the VDB phantom supply (clipped above the Tx) and with the Audio it does add some weight on a long pole with the Rycote. My boomie seems fairly happy with it,so I guess it isn't too much of a burden. 

I prefer the Tx up in the air,and not worn by the Boom Op.In the UK we are limited to 50 mW erp body-worn and 10 mW erp handheld,so this method helps a little !

Mutt n' Jeff

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I'll translate:

Delivers verifiable 48V from one 9V battery

High quality isolating transformer

Integrated mounting to boompole

Light construction in aluminum and ABS plastic

Integrated In/Out cable detachable

Tally light to indicate On/Off

LED problem alert

XLR and Neutrik EMC with RF isolation

Over 9 hours of use with a 9V Li-Po iPower battery (tested with a Schoeps CMIT5U)

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Which I guess is why I like the Loon Audio Wing which mounts at the bottom and helps balance the overall weight ratio for my plug on needs.

I agree, the weight distribution is all important. Remember that system whereby you actually ADD weight to the end of the pole which works to balance out the weight, the microphone, at the other end. Any of the methods used that put the plug-on at the end opposite the mic seem to be the best way to go.

-  Jeff Wexler

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I also think that counterbalance is important on a boompole, besides that when operating the boom the back end of it is usually not close to the operator's body but actually over the boomer's head...

why or when did guys stop using the butt plug at the end of the mic itself and start putting it on the end of there pole?

I like the idea of Mathias and samsound having the tx in the air, but guess as sergio says, the tx is still in the air but better counter balanced at the end of the pole.

later,

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Interesting thread.....

In the UK I guess we do things a little differently - no surprise there! I  have never seen anyone here,Mixer of Boomie,use a butt-plug direct onto the mic for the obvious reason of increasing the mass and the o/a size. Nor do we use a butt-plug at the foot of the boom - internally cabled booms are rare here indeed - the Panamic being the 'boom of choice' .So anything strapped or plugged at this end of the boom would be a problem a) because at rest it is near/on the ground  and therefore vulnerable B) makes it awkward to 'park' the boom and c) the need for some sort of external coiled cable to permit changes in length of pole.

I have worked with a couple of US boomies who had the (US) Tx on their belt but this is not good for us due to the lower output of our Tx's. They also always had the issue of unplugging and coiling back the cable before they had their hands free to do anything.At least with the Tx at the mic end the boom/mic/Tx becomes a single unit,can be instantly 'parked' and the Boomie is independant right away.

With all components becoming lighter mounting at the head will be less of a 'balance' problem,but I have to say that I have had no complaints from my Boom Ops. Two things in favour of 'head-mounting'-  height of the antenna and no body absorption.

Mutt n' Jeff

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Interesting thread.....

In the UK I guess we do things a little differently - no surprise there! I  have never seen anyone here,Mixer of Boomie,use a butt-plug direct onto the mic for the obvious reason of increasing the mass and the o/a size. Nor do we use a butt-plug at the foot of the boom - internally cabled booms are rare here indeed - the Panamic being the 'boom of choice' .So anything strapped or plugged at this end of the boom would be a problem a) because at rest it is near/on the ground  and therefore vulnerable B) makes it awkward to 'park' the boom and c) the need for some sort of external coiled cable to permit changes in length of pole.

I have worked with a couple of US boomies who had the (US) Tx on their belt but this is not good for us due to the lower output of our Tx's. They also always had the issue of unplugging and coiling back the cable before they had their hands free to do anything.At least with the Tx at the mic end the boom/mic/Tx becomes a single unit,can be instantly 'parked' and the Boomie is independant right away.

With all components becoming lighter mounting at the head will be less of a 'balance' problem,but I have to say that I have had no complaints from my Boom Ops. Two things in favour of 'head-mounting'-  height of the antenna and no body absorption.

Mutt n' Jeff

do the panamic boom poles have a side mounted xlr at or near the end of the pole, not directly at the bottom. I can see were that would be a problem. also, there are butt plug "protectors" for the bottom xlrs.

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do the panamic boom poles have a side mounted xlr at or near the end of the pole, not directly at the bottom. I can see were that would be a problem. also, there are butt plug "protectors" for the bottom xlrs.

I don't know exactly how it is done in the UK but everywhere else that I have seen cable OUTSIDE the pole (rather than inside as we do it here mostly in the US) it is just mic cable that is wrapped around the pole. Therefore, the connectors are on the mic cable and the pole has NO connectors.

-  Jeff Wexler

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I have had good success with putting the plug on transmitter on the operator end of the boom. This is less ideal signal-wise than putting it at the mic end of the pole, but it does make the pole lighter and more well-balanced. I do have a lectro antenna extension for use with car windows, it would be interesting to see how this would work if I were to run the xmtr antenna up the pole, and fix the screw-on antenna to the end of the zeppelin or some such...

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  How are you powering the TX-900?  I didn't know there was any other way than the AAs or those other weird camera batts.

  One thing about this rig at the end of the pole is you don't have 15 feet of cable weighing down the pole, but I bet the extra weight is something to get used to.    I bet my boom ops would LOVE the idea of never having to wrangle their own cord or deal with cable noise...  Just had a shot where the op was smashed against a wall by a dolly and the cable got caught during a swing...  This rig would take care of that for good!

  Dan Izen

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that is done by a Berlin engineer and is sold by a Berlin rental company http://www.filmtontechnik.de/ . They have sold it all over Germany and Europe a lot. As I said it is very light weigth. Without the battery it`s about 30gramm.

Matthias

don't speak german, I  like the scrolling products. is it a sennheiser product??

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  How are you powering the TX-900?  I didn't know there was any other way than the AAs or those other weird camera batts.

  One thing about this rig at the end of the pole is you don't have 15 feet of cable weighing down the pole, but I bet the extra weight is something to get used to.    I bet my boom ops would LOVE the idea of never having to wrangle their own cord or deal with cable noise...  Just had a shot where the op was smashed against a wall by a dolly and the cable got caught during a swing...  This rig would take care of that for good!

  Dan Izen

do you guys ever use internal cabled poles. w/r angle xlr on the side??

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adding a bit of weight on the bottom of the boom pole will move its center of gravity; when booming, the pole is a lever ant is supported by the fulcrum; thus adding a bit of extra weight at the back end of the pole actually makes it feel lighter at the fulcrum -it is called Hodges effect.

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