tunaman14 Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 After hearing how the Zaxcom TRX900 can record to a Micro SD for redundancy, I started wondering if there was a cheaper work-around. I have a Sound Devices MM-1 providing phantom power to my MKH-416, and the line out going to my Lectrosonics transmitter so I have a wireless boom. I want to add a recording option to that somehow so if theres any signal issues with my wireless I will have a backup. I know a splitter going into a Zoom would work, but is there a better option? Maybe something I can build to record to an SD card? All your thoughts are greatly appreciated! Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Reineke Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 The recently released Tascam DR10 series might have been an option, but it's currently not available due to legal matters .. at least in the US. Have you not been here lately ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunaman14 Posted December 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Im fairly new to the industry and this is my first day using this site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Im fairly new to the industry and this is my first day using this site Allow me to offer some free advice that is actually worth a bit more than its price might imply: #1. Learn to listen. Not only to what's coming through your headphones, but to those around you. I.e. "Mouth closed -- Ears open." As a beginner, you should never try to prove how much you know -- it will only serve to prove how much you don't know; just do your job. #2. Focus on recording good tracks, not on the bells and whistles (that, based on your previous post, seem to occupy your attention). #3. K.I.S.S. Simple and straight forward is most often the best approach -- and is especially true for someone just starting out. #4. Find opportunities to work with experienced pros. #5. Never undercut someone else's rates. A reputation as a bottom-feeder is extremely difficult to grow out of. #6. Re-Read #1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 If you are able to build a high quality recorder with a good mic pre and ADC then more power to you--it's quite an undertaking, esp. making it small enough to wear. As was mentioned Tascam has exactly a recorder like what you mention, but after a brief intro it was pulled off the market due to patent infringment issues. It may be available in Europe or Japan though. Meanwhile there are kludges you can come up with--you mentioned a Zoom which would work, I've use other Tascam pocket recorders similarly. Not pretty but they will work, esp for a one-off kind of rig. If you need to do a whole movie or series this way then today the best way to go is with the Zax setup. philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunaman14 Posted December 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Anybody have any answers to the question? Something thats not from page one of a Ric Viers book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunaman14 Posted December 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Thank you Philip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Anybody have any answers to the question? Something thats not from page one of a Ric Viers book? I apologize for offering advice -- feel free to ignore it. Good luck with your career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Anybody have any answers to the question? Something thats not from page one of a Ric Viers book? Why do I suddenly miss Senator Mike? CrewC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Senator Mike --- MIA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 He might be on vacation but I haven't seen him here for a couple of weeks. Probably recharging. Always a good idea now and again. CrewC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 I sent S.M. holiday greetings and he responded in kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 I like to think you do get what you pay for and in our case more. The beauty of the TRX742 recorder for boom pole is that the recording at the boom pole is identical to the recording at a sound cart or sound bag. Both use the same preamp and A-D at the boom pole. The preamp in the TRX742 has never clip (patented) eliminating limiter distortion. The transmission is digital eliminating analog compander distortion that is much more obvious with the better microphone on the boom pole. The single unit has no external cables or boxes to deal with so it is easier for the boom operator and it is future proof with connections for AES42 or stereo mics. If you add together all of the stuff you would need to make an equivalent product I think it might cost as much or more and not give you the audio quality ease of use and reliability of the TRX742. I always learn things from Mr Blankenship. :-) Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigF Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 The Tascam has a very slopy clock something around 3% in what I was able to get out of them at AES The Zaxcom has a profesonal .1% clock in this biz as in life you get what you pay for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Who are you sending your wireless boom to? If it's a sound mixer, then let them worry about it. Or are you the mixer, and you're wondering about your boom op's range? If it's directly to a receiver attached to camera, then it's a whole other issue. More details might help us help you. I'd start by doing a bit of research first. It'll go a long way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Without an onboard TC generator involved the post-sync for those boom op recorder files will be manual, so if the recorder clock is decent, like what most of these prosumer machines are (a few frames an hour off) it won't matter since the sync is reestablished @ every slate. We get away with concert shoots with people using very inaccurately clocked cameras etc and it all gets nudged together in the cut. The big sell on the Zax is that the boom op recorder TC is in sync with that of the main recorder, and they can wirelessly transmit a recording they've made with TC to the master recorder, no mean feat and way higher tech than the sort of rig I've done attaching a pocket recorder to an MM1 or etc. philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Senator Mike --- MIA?Maybe he has heeded your advice to post a little less and make it an early New Year's resolution? Anyway, personally I wouldn't mind for him to return - in a less frequent basis. And the tone in this forum has softened considerably in the past two weeks. But that could be the holiday season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Miramontes Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Poor mans TRX742 that I made. I wasn't able to find my 1/4" to 3.5 cable so it's not shown in the pic. I would use that cable to plug the erx into the "balanced mon in" on the MM1. This way I can feed the boom op my mix and via my Nomad hit the slate button to talk to my op. Since I already had all the Zax gear, and the MM-1, the only thing I had to do was borrow my Mom's sewing machine and whip up the TRX/ERX caddie and order the custom lemo-to-xlr cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Miramontes Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Ok, found the cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osa Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 This is brilliant!! Before i got my camera link setup i had a sort-of-similar poor mans version of a camera link setup involving an SRB and 2x G2's as return and timecode. It certainly did the job for what i needed to accomplish but at the expense of a maxed out double saddle bag on the camera and a mess of cables to keep tidy. Obviously the 742 is the classy way to go but if the OP has the gear to get creative... -Ken Poor mans TRX742 that I made. I wasn't able to find my 1/4" to 3.5 cable so it's not shown in the pic. I would use that cable to plug the erx into the "balanced mon in" on the MM1. This way I can feed the boom op my mix and via my Nomad hit the slate button to talk to my op. Since I already had all the Zax gear, and the MM-1, the only thing I had to do was borrow my Mom's sewing machine and whip up the TRX/ERX caddie and order the custom lemo-to-xlr cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg sextro Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Curious Michael, you feed a line level signal from the MM1 into a Zax Trx? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelo Waldron Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Maybe Senator is working on his New Year's Resolutions......not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Miramontes Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Curious Michael, you feed a line level signal from the MM1 into a Zax Trx? Good point. I forgot to mention the cable has a pad in it to drop it down so that I can allow the boom op to use the gain adjustment on the MM1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunaman14 Posted December 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 You guys rock! Im very glad i asked and will post a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Duffy Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 The Tascam has a very slopy clock something around 3% in what I was able to get out of them at AES The Zaxcom has a profesonal .1% clock in this biz as in life you get what you pay for 10ppm crystal in the DR-10 series. Good for 1 frame/hour. "%" isn't a unit for clock accuracy. Any guesses for how accurate the crystal in a DSLR camera is? Since these files are lined up by hand, this is not an issue for post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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