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PR: Lectrosonics Introduces the IFB-VHF Wireless System


Jim Feeley

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On 12/1/2015, 2:46:49, afewmoreyears said:

    I said it before and I will say it again.... At the end of each day, as long as I am finding the units on the ground, in the Pass vans, in the gutter, behind bushes and mis-cared for in every way.... The Comteks they shall have!!!!   PERIOD!!!   

For the same reasons,  I use Lectrosonics. 

 

On 12/1/2015, 3:00:18, Tom Duffy said:

Has anybody used "Tile" like locators on their gear to track them on/off the set at the end of the day?  Transmitters stuck to transmitters might be asking for interference trouble though...

I use an "invoicing" method which I find to be pretty effective. 

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On ‎12‎/‎1‎/‎2015‎ ‎12‎:‎00‎:‎18‎, Tom Duffy said:

Has anybody used "Tile" like locators on their gear to track them on/off the set at the end of the day?  Transmitters stuck to transmitters might be asking for interference trouble though...

I have a tyle like device inside my OneUnit.

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3 hours ago, mulluysavage said:

For the same reasons,  I use Lectrosonics. 

 

I use an "invoicing" method which I find to be pretty effective. 

 These new units look really nice, I like them a lot... I also like the color..

   Now, nobody loves Lectrosonics gear more than me.... but, at a substantial cost difference and being a little more sensitive to being thrown around and stomped on...I will continue to use the older PR-72s.... The  (Lectrosonic IFBs) are way too nice for these (Folks).

   I won't even use the 216s for these people.... They simply torture the units.. Whats the point to spending so much more, for people that treat them like Sh*t....?

  Not one person, in decades, has ever complained about the audio quality...  I won't even mention the headsets, which are also stomped on regularly... sat on and smashed on a regular basis.

These people simply do not deserve a better option.... If one or two are deployed for a caring and responsible director..OK,  until the take does not go as planned...  LOL,  then we're back to that director being on the 72s..

 

    If these Letros are to be used by Boom ops or other people that understand that they are bits of a cared about gear package... than I say no problem... but... everyone else???  No way..  at least on my crew...

 

By the way, you could always properly prep the bezels and paint them with a high quality paint... not a big deal... done right, they may do ok...

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I'm just glad I'm not the only one that has problems with producers etc. treating IFB's as though they are worth $5.  Seems to be a universal problem!  I label mine one through eight and keep track of who has which one so that I can hunt down them more easily at the end of the day (although I still find producers who I'll ask for theirs back and they go "Oh, I put it down somewhere....").  One producer on the show I'm on right now jokingly said, "Oh, I'm only your fourth favorite? (referring to having IFB #4)."  So for the next day, I relabeled his to being #3,756 just to mess with him / keep him in line ;-)

Gotta keep above the line on their toes some times!

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32 minutes ago, codyman said:

I'm just glad I'm not the only one that has problems with producers etc. treating IFB's as though they are worth $5.  Seems to be a universal problem!  I label mine one through eight and keep track of who has which one so that I can hunt down them more easily at the end of the day (although I still find producers who I'll ask for theirs back and they go "Oh, I put it down somewhere....").  One producer on the show I'm on right now jokingly said, "Oh, I'm only your fourth favorite? (referring to having IFB #4)."  So for the next day, I relabeled his to being #3,756 just to mess with him / keep him in line ;-)

Gotta keep above the line on their toes some times!

Problem with assigning them is they usually get thrown on floor or a table when were lucky... then they are picked up by someone else... your system is toast... this may happen 10 times in one day... they seldom hold on to theirs the whole day... There goes the assign system... 

I simply keep track of how many are out... we sometimes have 22 or more out... It's often the biggest pain in our ass each production day....especially if you have multiple location moves... I hate it...

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10 minutes ago, afewmoreyears said:

I simply keep track of how many are out... we sometimes have 22 or more out... It's often the biggest pain in our ass each production day....especially if you have multiple location moves... I hate it...

Thankfully I only have 8 to worry about so like you mentioned, I just take note of roughly who has what and how many are actually deployed.  I can imagine having to worry about 20+ of them is a whole different ball game though...

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Like AFMY's I hate comteks and the villager's who abuse them. After decades of never loosing any comteks, last year 7 od mine were lost. Four the year before that. Not sure I'm seeing a trend or just my bad luck but it is our greatest frustration on most shoot days. Especially with multiple locations and moves. As for the new Lectro unit, I want to see/hear it.

CrewC

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The 175mhz band (173.8 - 175) is liscense free ( international I think) and is what I have my comtek pr72b's on here in the UK. Never had any problems always scanned ok - I have also used them in Paris and Nyon ( Switzerland) with no problems. I've got 22 of them and they sound just right for the clients so I'm not planning on changing but I applaud lectrosonics for making these in this VHF frequency range. I think it's an obvious move not sure why comtek haven't done this, they would sell many more units internationally. 

Lisala 

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My trouble with Comtek is the constant phone interference when not in a 3G area. As soon as someone's phone switches over to an older network, there's terrible bleed into the Comtek. Lectros seem to have a better build quality with better shielding.

I'm also annoyed OFCOM won't give me a license for a frequency that is clearly not in use anywhere I have scanned. Currently my only option is operating with good intentions :-)

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5 hours ago, dolo72 said:

The 175mhz band (173.8 - 175) is liscense free ( international I think) and is what I have my comtek pr72b's on here in the UK. Never had any problems always scanned ok - I have also used them in Paris and Nyon ( Switzerland) with no problems. I've got 22 of them and they sound just right for the clients so I'm not planning on changing but I applaud lectrosonics for making these in this VHF frequency range. I think it's an obvious move not sure why comtek haven't done this, they would sell many more units internationally. 

Comtek has never quit selling VHF units.  They still offer both UHF and VHF versions.

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On 4 December 2015 13:23:14, RPSharman said:

My trouble with Comtek is the constant phone interference when not in a 3G area. As soon as someone's phone switches over to an older network, there's terrible bleed into the Comtek. Lectros seem to have a better build quality with better shielding.

I'm also annoyed OFCOM won't give me a license for a frequency that is clearly not in use anywhere I have scanned. Currently my only option is operating with good intentions :-)

I remember asking you about this range for another recordist from New York I was working with. Every scan i did was also clear and they worked fine throughout central London. 

    The comtek frequencies are earmarked for DAB but digital radio is rubbish and the take up has Reflected this. I think OFCOM are still hanging on to it to save face for what has been a very costly waste of money to the taxpayer. 

     It may be worth asking Micron about what deals they can do withtheir MR700's. They can make them in the UK legal VHF range across 24 or 32 MHz and I think they would be roughly the same price if not cheaper than the lectrosonics units. I have two on channel 70 for my boom ops because they are full frequency range and sound very transparent. They also have a much better battery life than that listed in the lectrosonics spec. Only thing is they need aerials (rats tails) so may be bulky. 

Lisala 

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On 12/3/2015, 8:15:41, afewmoreyears said:

Problem with assigning them is they usually get thrown on floor or a table when were lucky... then they are picked up by someone else... your system is toast... this may happen 10 times in one day... they seldom hold on to theirs the whole day... There goes the assign system... 

I simply keep track of how many are out... we sometimes have 22 or more out... It's often the biggest pain in our ass each production day....especially if you have multiple location moves... I hate it...

We had 35 out last week on some nutty video game spot..amazing they all came back.

certain directors/producers I never give em Lectro IFB's anymore.they've repeatedly lost em..and lost the privilege.

downgrade them to comtek 216's.

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It has the exact same form factor as the UHF version but completely different internals, Can someone clarify if these bad boys take 9V or AA? I have been moving away from 9V for a few reasons that I won't go into and it would be good to know if these are the same as all other new Lectrosonics products (AA)

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2 minutes ago, Rhys said:

Can someone clarify if these bad boys take 9V or AA? I have been moving away from 9V for a few reasons that I won't go into and it would be good to know if these are the same as all other new Lectrosonics products (AA)

Takes a single 9 volt just like the original version.  I too wish they would move away from 9 volts.  NiMh are so reliable these days and between the cost savings + environmental reasons, it's kind of a no brainer.  That being said though, maybe there's some sort of engineering reason as to why this is that I'm not knowledgable about?

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Hi Robert and Matt,

On 12/3/2015, 3:57:22, RPSharman said:

Can Lectro verify that UK licensable VHF frequencies can be tuned in on these new units?

 

IMG_9182.JPG

Unfortunately, only one frequency is a match -- 209.800 MHz maps to CC on the hex switches in our current operating parameters.  However, your question has sparked some discussions around the plant.  I have a question for you and/or Matt:  Is the 15-channel list above exhaustive regarding the UK-available frequencies, or are there others?

 

Best regards,

Wes Herron

Lectrosonics, Inc.

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That list is exactly as it reads, "Frequencies that may be used for this license type."

As ALL IFBs and radio mics must be licensed, the only way to use the new Lectro VHF legally in the UK would be to have these frequencies available. One single frequency would be very restrictive.

That said, many people often operate Lectro radio mics outside of UK Block 606 with a site specific license, but do not comply with the allowable deviation, as there is no way to swtich from US mode to UK mode on the transmitters, only the receivers.

That would be a great feature, by the way. The ability to switch deviation to comply with the country you're in.

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