Lectrosonics SSM Info

[pvanstry]

Very curious about getting some information about the SSM transmitter. Here are my points

Heat dissipation. Does the transmitter become ferry warm like the SMV

Sweat resistance

Battery life

How rugged is the connector

Overall feel and experience

Thanks guys

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Glen Deakin]

Have only tried it a while back but the unit feels very well built.. The connector being 3 pin lemo is very solid. Same connector used on zaxcom, sennheiser, wysycom. Can't say anything for sweat resistance but did feel warm after use. 

[Constantin]

It does get warm, but nowhere near like an SMV, I think. I have never measured battery life, but it must be very close to the advertised 6 hours.

Overall I am very pleased with it, I am actually considering to replace all my tx with SSMs.

I even feel like, and I may totally imagine it, that it actually sounds better than my other Lectro tx. Mine came with the belt clip for antenna down orientation, and I didn't remember to order the other clip, too, that's the only thing I'm unhappy about, I would have preferred the other clip to be included, but, arguably, that's my own fault

[LarryF]

Hi Pascal and Constantin,
Some answers to your questions:
1. The unit is sealed everywhere but the battery contacts. These are gold plated and will resist sweat for extended periods and they are isolated from the innards of the SSM. The Lemo connector itself is waterproof and the programming port has a rubber plug seal. The idea was that the unit would survive long periods of use on perspiring actors in stage environments buried deep under hot costumes. The unit is not submersible for extended periods of time like an MM transmitter. Splashes and sweat should be a piece of cake. I would wipe the battery contacts down with a clean cloth if moisture is forced into the battery compartment.

2. The unit doesn't get as warm, though smaller, since it has less power consumed in the RF output compared to the SMv, even when both are running at 50 mW. The difference is even greater when the SMv is at 100 or 250 mW.

3. Battery life is as claimed (6+) only when using batteries from Lectro. These are made by Panasonic specifically for us, are CE certified, internally protected and meet their claimed capacity. Everything else on the market, in that same form factor, is either crap or total crap. I personally tested about 20 different types, some of which claimed outrageous capacity. I couldn't find a decent one. They had from 25% to 60% of claimed capacity and the CE mark on these batteries was a joke, as we couldn't find the required public paperwork that legally has to be filed with the EU. One battery, that had 85% of claimed capacity, was from a smaller camera manufacturer that couldn't produce the CE paperwork when we asked for it. The SSM project was damn near dead in the water when we found that Panasonic was very easy to deal with and we could get a safe, full capacity battery. We don't want to be in the battery business, don't like the fact that it is sole source, and make no profit on the battery; but it allowed us to go forward with the SSM. Manufacturing is fun. Sometimes it is easier to make millions of units rather than hundreds.

4. As far as sound, the SSM should be identical to the other Digital Hybrid transmitters. The newer units will always be equal to or better than older designs but the component values and signal paths are as identical as we can make them. There are always tiny tweaks but I would bet (moderate) money that double blind tests would show little preference for new over old. There is nothing like a nice new shiny transmitter to improve your sonic outlook on life. (I am now on the sales department's black list.)

Best Regards,
Old Lead Ears

[Sound Intuition]

Pascal:

 I am very pleased with the SSM. The overall construction is good. My only concern is with the little rubber stopper on the interior side of the door to make a tight seal when the battery door closes. That stopper can fall out. The battery life is awesome. I can load it in the morning and run until lunch at 50mw. That combined with the size of the unit has gone over very well with #1 on the call sheet. My show is a studio show so I have not had much experience in the enviroment with it. All the batteries that came with mine were actually tamped "Fuji"

The feature I think is very cool is when you hold the up arrow and the power button and turn it on. Then go to audio and you can scroll between what mic you are using. It really brings the individual mic's to life. Maybe "Old Lead Ears" could explain more. I agree with Constantin,
the SSM does sound better than my older SMV's and when I turn on say the DPA setting with the SSM it makes a world of difference. I will be turning over my SMV's for newer SSM's.

Bill

 

[LarryF]

Hi Bill,
For some of us, the ear's tympanic membrane is more properly called the tinpanic membrane. I will never argue (much) with people who do high quality listening for a living.

The Fuji battery was used in the first hundred or so units and was made by Panasonic. In fact, that's how we got in touch with Panasonic. The batteries now are labeled Lectrosonics and typically run about 45 minutes longer than the Fuji labeled ones. Whether the Lectro labeled batteries are just fresher or the "ouch" price we are paying has something to do with it, I don't know. YMMV. Lectro also "owns" the CE mark and safety certification. 

The rubber bumper is a fiddly piece and not entirely satisfactory. It is just an anti-rattle bumper and also makes the door pop up a little for easier opening. The cavity it goes into is a blind hole so even if it is missing, the internals are still sealed away from the sweaty world. If you lose one, a toll free call will get you an envelope with some spares.

The various mic settings are pretty much the same as our recommended servo mic wiring with variable loads, voltages and phase settings. 

Best,
Ol' Tin Ear

[Stillweii]

Great tool.

 

 

used it on a 8 mile run documentary. Runner loved it in the running pocket and was sweating purfusely.

used it in a car visor held in with fashion tape. No bulk to create a visual cue something is up there.

The battery life is awesome. Minimal heat, if say "warmth" at max if on someone tightly for a bit.

One note is when the older series of battery got close to the 6 hour mark, audio quality did drop for me. Popped a fresh one in and everything was a go. (First version of batteries) 

they are now my go to transmitters and if there is any need beyond its normal use for me transmitter wise,  I pack additional according to the job .

[ProSound]

Just for clarity with the Lectrosonics Branded batteries what is the battery life at 50mw 

[LarryF]

Six hours plus. Karl W. at Lectro said yesterday that his most current double check was 5:45  with a Fuji labeled battery and 6:30 with a Lectro labeled battery.  Off brands and counterfeits run 3:00 to 4:30 and can lead to skin rash and permanent hair loss.  Consider that they are built by the same fly-by-night outfits  that brought you flaming hover boards. And that UL and CE are just four letters in the Western alphabet.

Best, Larry F

[Ze Frias]

1 hour ago, LarryF said:

Six hours plus. Karl W. at Lectro said yesterday that his most current double check was 5:45  with a Fuji labeled battery and 6:30 with a Lectro labeled battery.  Off brands and counterfeits run 3:00 to 4:30 and can lead to skin rash and permanent hair loss.  Consider that they are built by the same fly-by-night outfits  that brought you flaming hover boards. And that UL and CE are just four letters in the Western alphabet.

Best, Larry F

LOTD

[ProSound]

16 hours ago, LarryF said:

Six hours plus. Karl W. at Lectro said yesterday that his most current double check was 5:45  with a Fuji labeled battery and 6:30 with a Lectro labeled battery.  Off brands and counterfeits run 3:00 to 4:30 and can lead to skin rash and permanent hair loss.  Consider that they are built by the same fly-by-night outfits  that brought you flaming hover boards. And that UL and CE are just four letters in the Western alphabet.

Best, Larry F

Thank You Larry and Glad to hear of the great run time. I hope your enjoying your retirement alittle bit. We do appreciate you sticking around to help us and your humor is always welcomed here 

[Phil D]

I have picked up an extra charger off the net. On first use, I notice it topped up a battery that was indicating fully charged on your supplied charger. Do you think it is safe to use the unbranded charger, or is there a danger of damaging the Fuji batteries?

[LarryF]

Hi Phil,
I can't speak to all available chargers but I did try about 8 different types from Amazon, Fuji, Lenmar and others and they all seemed to work about the same. Typically, if you take a battery off a charger, a different charger will see a little lower voltage in the brief time it takes to move the battery from one charger to another. The second charger will show a slight charge until the high charging voltage is restored. Even pulling a battery off a charger and putting it back on after a minute or so will typically show several minutes of charging.

The Fuji battery and the Lectro batteries for the SSM have protection circuits built in to protect against over discharge, over charge, over current (shorts ) and over temperature. I think of the charger and battery as a belt and suspender setup; the charger should safely charge the batteries on its own and the protection circuit in the battery should do the same. That's why it is important to use Lectro labeled batteries, though we shipped Fuji's early on. Both are made by Panasonic. We are depending on a name brand manufacturer with a reputation for quality to give us a safe battery with built in protection. 

I will say this, when charging batteries of any kind, keep the charger and the battery uncovered, out in the open and away from gunpowder or nitrocellulose.

Best Regards,
Larry F 

[Phil D]

Thanks Larry,

that is the reassurance I was hoping for. All my batteries come from you guys. It is good to know that they have built in protection, as I had a horrible thought that I might be overcharging them. It is a few days since they had been charged on the Lectro supplied unit.The beauty of the new one I got is that it doesn't require an adapter for our power sockets, and also comes with a 12V car adapter. It is good to know that I should be safe to continue using it.

[rodpaul]

Just bought one and used it with a DPA slim. Sounded and worked great. I just need to figure how to lower the LED gain headlights - the backlight control doesn't seem to apply to the LED status lights - they're bright enough to shine through clothes.. SSM looks like a toy - the challenge will be not losing them. Mine came with both up and down belt clips and some extra rubber stops for the battery compartment.

[Sound Intuition]

Try this.

UP and DOWN Arrow Buttons
The Up and Down arrow buttons are used to select the
values on the various setup screens and to lock out
the control panel. Press and hold both buttons until a
countdown is completed to lock the keypad. Remove
the battery to unlock the keypad.
These arrow keys also turn the LEDs on and off. With
no other button pressed, the UP arrow turns the LEDs
on and the DOWN arrow turns them off. When the LEDs
are tuned off, the LCD with display a reminder every
few seconds.
 

 

[LarryF]

We need to put the LED off function in the manual. Kinda dumb not to. LEF

[Sound Intuition]

It is the manual. Page six.

 

[LarryF]

5 minutes ago, Sound Intuition said:

It is the manual. Page six.

 

You are absolutely correct. I went back to the website a second time and finally found it under the arrow key listing. Not very obvious since the usual suspect would be looking under "LEDs, off" or some such listing. Istill wouldn't have found it except for your page 6 location.

Best, LEF

Gordon said they would make that function easier to find in the manual. 

[Gordonmoore1]

More accurately - buried in the manual.  As in ... "shot then unceremoniously buried in an unmarked grave" in the manual.  We are making it more obvious now.  

[rodpaul]

Works perfectly - thanks - those are some very powerful LEDS. Now can we maybe get a dimming option... had to ask.