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Rode NTG-3 strange distortion?


SeanStiller

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Hi guys

I've had a strange problem with my NTG-3 for the past few days that has thus far gone away but not sure if it'll come back.

I was on a shoot a few days ago and as soon as I put my headphones on I could tell the sound was way off. There was a fair bit of noise for one, almost like I had it plugged into a super crappy pre-amp and had cranked the recording volume too high. There was also some crackling and even points where the volume/recording level would temporarily become low and then bump back up, kind of like when a wireless transmitter is out of range or on a bad frequency.

I unplugged everything, tried it out on my Zoom H5 (worked no problem) and then plugged everything back into my C100 and for now it seems to be ok.

Has anyone had a problem like this before at all?

The only thing I know of that has changed is my deadcat/windshield. I was filming a little too close to a camp fire a week ago and the material melted slightly, resulting in some slightly tough/burnt areas vs. hairlike texture. Could that be somehow causing these issues?

Thanks

Sean

 

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30 minutes ago, jozzafunk said:

Sounds like moisture in the connection

 

The XLR cable do you mean, or something with the mic internally?

40 minutes ago, Rick Reineke said:

Could be a intermittent mic cable issue, which also feeds Phantom Power, in which, if voltage drops below the minimum so will the output, static and crackle and pops are also common to a compromised cable feeding power... as is moisture.

Are you referring the microphone itself, or the XLR cable? If it's moisture (to pick up on jozzafunk's point) can that be remedied simply by keeping the mic in a dry location long enough to dry off? I was filming/camping outdoors for a week recently so this is a definite possibility

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12 hours ago, jozzafunk said:

Sounds like moisture in the connection

 

I'm with Jozzafunk on this one. Probably cable M or F connectors  or mic male XLR pins with moisture. Sometimes it can be in the solder side of connectors as well. Open them all up and dry them - hair dryer, maybe, or just air dry overnight in a not humid place.

Doesn't happen much to me anymore since we have been wireless, (fewer connectors in the line, and we keep connections out of the rain)

 

Jim Rillie

PSM

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  • 3 weeks later...

I had a similar problem with my Rode NTG-3 last winter. Sometimes I thought it was RF interference and sometimes XLR or connector issues. It happened sparingly at first - at the end of a long day and then weeks later in the freezing cold. I tried to replicate the issue at home but couldn't.

When it happened often enough, I sent it into Rode under warranty and they fixed it up.

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