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troubleshoot TC issue with Zaxcom rx200


Tilt Down

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Yesterday I had problems getting TC into a Cannon 300. I feed analog audio and timecode from a Maxx to a 900 Camera Link, and then to the rx200. I changed the frame rate on the Maxx to 29.97DF but it didn't change automatically on the CL or Rx, so I went into the menus of each and changed it manually. The camera was in free run, TC IN, and set to 29.97. The camera op said, "It worked fine yesterday," when he worked in another city.

Because everyone was "waiting on sound" I jammed with a BNC cable from the Maxx to the camera and TC jammed. I couldn't find anything in the manual about this. My setup worked before when I was doing 23.98 on a Sony camera. Any ideas of what I did wrong yesterday? Do you have to manually change TC on the CL and rx200 or will it read what is transmitted?

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Yes, I've heard it too. But the fact that it worked when I use a hard line BNC made me suspect he was telling the truth. Phillip, I did turn everything off and on. I'm hoping someone can tell me what happened before I meet another camera. I can't try anything until I have something to wirelessly jam to.

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I have a Maxx and a Nomad 12. But generally use the Maxx with a Camera Link for bag work. My Hops are QRX100IFBs. Wherever TC doesn't work on camera it's usually a couple of reasons. (I always have an extra ERX for TC and Scratch Audio just incase the camera can't power the QRX100IFB and helps Troubleshoot just incase)

1. The camera and the QRX100IFB TC frame rates don't match.

2. Broken/ or incorrectly wired Cable (QRX100IFB has to wired for In or Out.)

3. The cameras TC I/O is broken.

4. Both the CL900 and Maxx have to be set to the same and matching TC as the camera.

Out of curiosity, can your Maxx read the TC from the RX200 (from the CL900)?

Also, are you sure both the camera and the Maxx and CL900 were set to DF?

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11 hours ago, Tilt Down said:

Yesterday I had problems getting TC into a Cannon 300. I feed analog audio and timecode from a Maxx to a 900 Camera Link, and then to the rx200. I changed the frame rate on the Maxx to 29.97DF but it didn't change automatically on the CL or Rx, so I went into the menus of each and changed it manually. The camera was in free run, TC IN, and set to 29.97. The camera op said, "It worked fine yesterday," when he worked in another city.

Because everyone was "waiting on sound" I jammed with a BNC cable from the Maxx to the camera and TC jammed. I couldn't find anything in the manual about this. My setup worked before when I was doing 23.98 on a Sony camera. Any ideas of what I did wrong yesterday? Do you have to manually change TC on the CL and rx200 or will it read what is transmitted?

RX 200 only outputs 1.5V . THe canon might have needed a little more.

might be the center pin of the TC bnc on the camera

Edited by RadoStefanov
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Perhaps I'm reading this wrong but this sounds more like an issue with either your Maxx or CL than the camera.  The CL should receive timecode from the BNC connector on the back (or Zaxnet if you have a compatible transmitter).  You have to set the frame rate manually on the CL but it should receive the correct TC number without intervention.  The RX200 will receive timecode over the UHF link (not Zaxnet), and it will also receive the frame rate over that same channel, so you don't have to set anything there.

Once you've got the link between those three working correctly, then it's time to move onto the camera.  The RX200 has selectable TC levels of .01V, .2V, .5V, .9V and 1.5V.  Which is yours set to?

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Lancashire: it's set at 1.5volts.

Now that I'm home and of clearer mind, I don't think it was a camera problem. When I change the time code on the Maxx, it changes on the Camera Link. When I change the frame rate, it doesn't change on the CL. So either the Maxx isn't sending the Frame rate or the CL isn't reading it. I've tried two different BNC cables for TC input on the CL and same thing. Next week I'll be able to test the CL with another source to determine if it's that or the Maxx. I think the rx200 is just "repeating" what the CL is sending it.

Any other thoughts or suggestions? Thanks everyone for thinking about my problem

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I went back and checked and yes, it is in the manual on page 10, but it wasn't clear enough to me when I read it the first time.

It says "The time code frame-rate that will be recorded and transmitted over Zaxnet is set from this menu." I read that as it being optional, like my car's automatic stick shift that has a manual option. If it had said, "The frame rate must be set from this menu," I would have gotten it. Maybe it just me, but it's a distinction that is helpful.

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Manuals are not intended as a replacement for having used, having experimented with, and having learned first hand how gear performs. 

It's like getting to know another person by reading about them.  You will never actually know a person until you spend a good deal of one-on-one quality time with them.

Another thing to keep in mind with manuals:  If you've ever written one, and followed up on its use, you will have discovered that it's almost impossible to write a manual that some end user won't misinterpret. 

Further, if you give ten people a function such as the above to explain in writing, it'll be documented ten different ways and not a one of them will be able to avoid someone misinterpreting it.

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5 minutes ago, Tilt Down said:

Gee. And to think I've made it 25 years as a soundman without a lecture on how to learn to use new gear. Maybe I'll get to know my gear more by sleeping with it. You know, like you would a person.

Hey, if it works for you. <G>

"...less experimenting while a client is waiting..." is the very reason I emphasized practical experience with a device's functions over relying on a simple manual description.

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