Jump to content

Lectro SRc field reports?


jonathan chiles

Recommended Posts

I have been using 4 x 411A's with a UMCWB coupler for the last few years but am now finding I need higher wireless count and want to invest in multiple SRc receivers and either an Octopack or PSC Six PAck.

I have relied on my 411's for 10 years now and am still a little hesitant to replace them with the small dual channel receivers.. I want to hear reports from people in the field using SRC's.. should I have any reservations about moving to them over the 411s..?

Sorry if this is being discussed already but I didnt find anything much on searching...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why give up your 411s? Or do you mean that you might buy more 411s instead of an SRC or two?

From all accounts, I wouldn't hesitate to buy SRCs. It's on my list. The versatility, the current tech, the weight for when you need to go portable, etc. I can't imagine any minute difference in performance, if any, is anything to be concerned with. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too would like to know how the SRc is performing in the field. Mainly in a bag scenario with whip antennas. 

Are they really as good as a 411 regarding RF robustness in a multi radio mic situation. 

When I say multi, I mean like up to 30 radio mics, IFB's and camera links on big reality shows. 

411's shine in this situation and previous SR models just cant cope in that situation. 

Love to hear people's experiences with the SRc please. 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tough decision for me as I am very attached to the reliability of 411s. I am talking about a cart set up where I have 4 x 411 in a rack mount combiner (Lectro UMCWB) As most of you know, we need to have minimum 6 wires on cart setup for most scripted work. One option is to find a used Lectro Six Pack and buy 2 more 411's  But the new tech and compactness of the SRC's is appealing as long as I am not giving up anything...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been looking into the Src's too. I'm a cart guy 99% of the time so in my system I use is an Lecrto Venue w blk 21 & 22 receivers in it, and I pass the antenna  to my Sl-6 w a Srb blk 20 and a Srb blk 21 in it. Thinking of a Src with band A in it for my last slot. I've seen no difference in range in my set up, but I'm not using 411's . (I own 6 but seldom use them. My son does and likes them.)

I'd also be interested in the bag set up/whip antenna real world usage from members here.

CrewC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, jonathan chiles said:

Tough decision for me as I am very attached to the reliability of 411s. I am talking about a cart set up where I have 4 x 411 in a rack mount combiner (Lectro UMCWB) As most of you know, we need to have minimum 6 wires on cart setup for most scripted work. One option is to find a used Lectro Six Pack and buy 2 more 411's  But the new tech and compactness of the SRC's is appealing as long as I am not giving up anything...

The UMC200 shows up used a lot - I just chopped mine off and use it in my bag with my 411s (B21/22) - Perhaps just get another rack if you can find one in your blocks, and add a couple more 411s. They are selling for about $1000 used. I just sold 3 of them for about that, and am regretting it already! But plan to reinvest in a single SRC, merely because I think a little bag with 633/SRC/411 is in the cards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there a way to combine 2 x Lectro rack mount units (UMC200 or UMCWB) for use with a single pair of antennas?

Alternatively I suppose the Six Pack would be an alternative.. 

Also I have seen a few UMC16B rackmount multicouplers going.. if I can creatively mount my receivers on the cart  that would enable up to 8 x 411.. would be quite a big and chunky setup though! See Paul Graffs rig from some years back below..

And Thanks Jonathan ML for those figures on the filters!

IMG_0696.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right! No loop out on UMC. When I had mine in the rack, it was fed from my Venue.

A pretty good option would be to buy an older venue and 6 modules. Double up the modules and they perform even better than 411s. You can feed your current UMC with the antenna outputs. You then have powered antenna option, as well as the option of even more transmitters if you need more than 7 by dividing up the modules to single receivers. Even then they behave as equals to 411s. In the US, you can probably buy a venue full of VRT modules for about $3000. That would be similar in cost to 3x411s and a UMC (if you can find one).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Robert, thanks for your thoughts.. I impulsively just bought a Lectro UMC16A (block 21/22) off of the auction site. Will add 2 more 411's and stick with this for a while I think. It might be a bit bulky by modern standards but performance should be great and I keeps most of my system unchanged for now. Now to save for the PSC Solice mini!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, jonathan chiles said:

Is there a way to combine 2 x Lectro rack mount units (UMC200 or UMCWB) for use with a single pair of antennas?

Alternatively I suppose the Six Pack would be an alternative.. 

Also I have seen a few UMC16B rackmount multicouplers going.. if I can creatively mount my receivers on the cart  that would enable up to 8 x 411.. would be quite a big and chunky setup though! See Paul Graffs rig from some years back below..

And Thanks Jonathan ML for those figures on the filters!

IMG_0696.jpg

Yes you can use a single pair of antennas for more than 1 UMCWB. 

My rig is 16 x blk 26 411 in 4 x UMCWB. I use the ZFSC41 to split to the 4 racks. 

Since the photos in the thread below, I now use for each antenna (A and B ) ALP650 with Lectro ARG100 cable, BIAS T, then out of BIAS T to the ZFCS41, then split to all 4 UMCWB. The cables from the BIAS T to the ZFCS41 are all Lectro ARG2 with virtually no loss, they're so short.

This set up has been absolutely amazing with astonishing range in some locations and more than enough in major cities. 

The ALP650 has the jumper inside on the setting that provides the most gain (can't remember which) to compensate for the loss in the 100 foot ARG100 cable. 

Ultra reliable and sounds superb. 

I currently have this system fed from my RF out of my Venue system of 3 racks with 16 blk 24 for a total of 32 running off a single pair of ALP650 with the ARG100 powered from the first venue. So that's antennas into venue, in/out of 2 more then into the ZFSC41 then into the 4 UMCWB. 

This too is working perfectly. 

So, try some ZFSC41 and split your pair of antennas 4 times ( I think there's one that splits only twice) if you want. Run them close to set with long cables (don't cheap out on the cables) and you should have great results with good antenna placement on a high stand and well coordinated frequencies. 

See pic in this thread below. The UMCWB system has done at least 200 flights in that case with no issues.

 

To keep on topic, I'm interested in the SRc to compliment my block 24 and 26 for the bag style challenge days we do on my show which typically involves up to 30, sometimes more radio mics plus our links and IFB's. 

Would love to hear your findings. 

Cheers

Peter 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just did an A/B test with an SRc and a 411a. As far as RF goes there doesn't seem to be any difference as far as range goes. Maybe if you really pushed them to an extreme you might see a difference but in normal situations there doesn't seem to be any. When the SRb was released I also did a range test against a 411a with just whips and I pushed the range limits pretty hard and didn't see a difference and the SRc is supposed to be better than the SRb. Range shouldn't be a concern if thinking about switching to or buying an SRc 

We tested the audio side using a CMC4/41 through an SMV and into a Sonosax mixer. The SRc sounds great but it seems to not be equal to a 411a. It is a slight difference but the 411a seems to have a bit more punch to its sound. The difference to me and a fellow mixer isn't enough to not buy an SRc. When using it with lavaliers I'm sure the difference wouldn't even be noticed.

When at NAB this last year I talked to one of the Lectro reps and asked if the SRc was 2x 411a's and he said no. He said the RF performance was negligible.

Given the size, weight and price of an SRc I think it's a great add to any kit whether bag or cart and would stand great on its own or mixed with 411a's 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The SR series has a much broader  range of accesories making it more flexible. There are additonal accessories coming shortly. Due to better, newer RF amps, the RF performance is sneaking up on the 411.

Larry F. (who is not known for humble opinions but can fake it pretty well.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, LarryF said:

There are additonal accessories coming shortly. Due to better, newer RF amps, the RF performance is sneaking up on the 411.

Is this a hardware upgrade or external accessory?  When might this be released?  Thanks Larry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming please. 

Has anyone used the SRc with just whip antennas in a multipath situation ie lots of radio mics, big reality show style with 20-30 radio mics. 

How did they perform in this situation?

SRb doesn't handle this very well, hoping the SRc does.

Testing 1 SR against 1 411a both on the same frequency might perform similarly but doesn't indicate how it will go on a big show with many transmitters.

There must be someone who's used them in this situation?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks all for impressions.. also keen to hear more, but already being happy with the SRb for my bag jobs, I am more than confident in adding an SRc when the time comes. Would also be interested re Peters concerns about how the front end filters on the SRC will handle having having 20 transmitters at 50mW in fairly close proximity.. These seem like a good bet for reality as you can buy transmitters that are wide band (or on different blocks) and keep the channel separation better and hopefully avoid intermod problems. 

Oh yes and the AES output in the pipeline makes this an even better investment, thanks Larry for reminder

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't doubt that a single 411 vs a single SR(A,B,C) in single channel mode in a clean RF environment will have pretty similar results. I think most people who are looking into the SRC's (myself included) are especially interested in being able to just run one receiver unit for 2 channels and therefore reduce weight,space and battery draw.

I'm also interested in hearing user feedback, from people using there SRC in that particular way, (2 channel mode operating in a somewhat crowded RF environment.)  So far the 411 is the king in that situation, but I'm ready to dethrone him ! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...