Zaxcom recording wireless

[Jeff Wexler]

I decided that the new Zaxcom wireless models that have recording capabilities might need their own topic thread (although much of what may now be discussed here has been discussed under "Certain reservations..." thread).

I will start by taking the liberty to post Billy Sarokin's latest comments on their use (Billy has taken the time to post personal and detailed accounts on r.a.m.p.s. and he has had more real world experience than any of us).

Here is a re-post of Billy's r.a.m.p.s. post:

Hi All,

I'm well into my 2nd film with the new Zaxcom radios here in snowy

Northern New Mexico.  A few days ago I received the last bit of

hardware for the package.  I'm not sure what it's called, but it's the

return feed transmitter that sends time code, audio and control

instructions back to the transmitters.  So far it is only transmitting

time code (I'm not sure if it is officially released, but I asked

Zaxcom and they delivered).  I had to set up each of my TRX900

transmitters to turn on and set the parameters on their built in 900

mHz receiver, a process that takes a few seconds with each unit, and it

works flawlessly and simply.  All I do is plug the tc transmitter into

a tc source and power it up.  Then, whenever I power up any of my TRX

900's or the 990 they immediately jam to the transmitted time code.

The transmitters run on continuous jam sync, so if they lose the signal

they run on their own until they see a signal again.  So far, range has

not been an issue.  Every radio that goes out comes back still jammed.

Zaxcom sells a high gain antenna, but I'm just using a 900 mhz whip on

the tc transmitter and it's working fine.  I walked around testing the

transmitters by turning them off and on.  Everytime I powered up, the

transmitters found and jammed to the signal.  I only went about 200' or

so on the first test with no faults.  The beautiful thing is that the

TRX 900 only has to see a brief burst of tc to jam, so I don't expect

range to be an issue at all.  For instance, if I wire the actor in

their trailer and it's out of range of the tc transmission, by the time

they travel to the set the TRX900 will pick up and jam to the tc.

I had to change the freqs of all my radios to work in Albuquerque

(again, an extremely easy process with the Zaxcoms).  So far I've only

needed to use the playback form the SD cards on one occasion, but the

new time code feature will make it much easier to find and playback a

piece using either the transmitter as the playback deck or putting the

sd card into my computer.

Hopefully the audio return (ifb) and control signal functions (so I can

control each transmitter remotely) will be available in short order.

Then the system will be complete.

Happy Holidays everyone,

Billy Sarokin

[Guest Mick]

This is quite helpful and reassuring post. Along with all the other posts on the same subject I can safely say that for me personally, all the issues that concerned me have been addressed and I'm currently discussing the aquisition of the aforementioned Zaxcom wireless systems with my accountant. Er...wife.

Regards

Mick

[Jeff Wexler]

I'm currently discussing the aquisition of the aforementioned Zaxcom wireless systems with my accountant. Er...wife.

Regards

Mick

We haven't even talked about the money part... my problem is that I really like having new stuff and so I have generally spent on equipment every penny I might have made on rental. Everyone talks about how "one job and I will pay this all off" works for THAT piece of equipment, but then what happens to the other five or six new toys I also purchased.

Regards,  Jeff Wexler

[old school]

Yea the equipment circle is is a spin cycle for sure. You either pay Coffey Snd, Location Snd, TrewAudio, or you pay Uncle Sam. I like gear. One of the posters here said I'm queer for gear, Me too. Give me tools( toys ) any day.

CrewC

I'm on my martini set up for the year so Peace n Love to all you posting sound people here at Jeff's site, and a happy new year.

[Guest Mick]

It's quite scary how often equipment becomes outdated because of software or hardware improvements. I love non linear recording but there was definitely a secure feeling in ownership of a Nagra 4.2, S or T.C. or whatever, which had hardly any changes for many many years and was almost always 100% reliable. I often look at my 4STC sitting in my office and remember the beating it took for years slung around my neck during my "Unsolved Mysteries" tenure. I doubt that any of todays digital hardware could withstand the brutality of run and gun shooting, but then again I'm sure that some of our posters here would tell a different story. Either way I'm excited by the changes in our equipment usage, but not by the expense we have to incur to maintain the "cutting edge."

Regards

Mick

[Marty Atias]

Another way to look at it is that Zaxcom's new system replaces several pieces of gear - wireless mic, wireless IFB or camera return, transcription recorder, backup or 2nd system recorder. Added up, the TRX is a very economical purchase.

BTW, for those in the Washington DC area, we will be presenting a seminar on January 11 on Direct to Edit recording and work flow, including the TRX-900 & IFB-800 for audio and the Firestore for video. After discussion, a live demonstration will show how shot footage from both gets brought into an NLE for editing. Details forthcoming, watch our web site for more - http://ATSComms.com

Marty Atias