berniebeaudry Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I have a message into Lectro, but thought I'd see if anyone here has any ideas. The pilot tone on my UCR 211 is not working. I'm using it for one channel of my camera hop. I'm on location now so I bypassed the tone so we could get working. I recently changed the control button board so I'm wondering if I may have done something when I reassembled it. Does it need a trip to the factory or is there something I can do in the field. I'm close to the camera so no audio issues yet but I really need to get this figured out soon. I have an out of town gig next week. Thanks for any help. Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 " The pilot tone on my UCR 211 is not working. " CRAP Did you try the double secret, ultra master reset sequence ?? " I recently changed the control button board so I'm wondering if I may have done something when I reassembled it. " Certainly, you may have done something when you reassembled it, or the crystal may have died (a usual cause of pilot failure)... and that probably means... it need a trip to the factory " I really need to get this figured out soon. " toll-free by phone...instant RA, FedEx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berniebeaudry Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 " The pilot tone on my UCR 211 is not working. " CRAP Did you try the double secret, ultra master reset sequence ?? " I recently changed the control button board so I'm wondering if I may have done something when I reassembled it. " Certainly, you may have done something when you reassembled it, or the crystal may have died (it has happened before)... and that probably means... it need a trip to the factory toll-free by phone...instant RA. I'd try the reset you mentioned if only I knew it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Use the pilot tone bypass until you can send it in. It won't hurt a thing. Best, Larry F Lectro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berniebeaudry Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Use the pilot tone bypass until you can send it in. It won't hurt a thing. Best, Larry F Lectro Larry thanks for your reassurance. I'm going out of town on a shoot that will potentially be rf hell. A college football game. Will I have any issues in that enviornment? Is there any way to keep the pilot bypassed when the unit is powered down and then back up? I locked the rx and that didn't seem to do it. Thanks, Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) " Will I have any issues in that enviornment? " all the usual ones... (I know: I'm not Larry! ) Pilot tone squelch is for eliminating RF interference when the transmitter is turned off or out of reception range Pilot tone squelch (sometimes called tonekey squelch) circuits are triggered by the absence of an identifying pilot tone that is normally sent by certain transmitters. This insures that a corresponding receiver will be squelched (muted) even in the presence of a strong interfering radio signal if it does not contain the proper pilot tone. http://www.audio-tec...7bfecb9ab0cfee/ Edited October 19, 2011 by studiomprd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berniebeaudry Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 " Will I have any issues in that enviornment? " all the usual ones... (I know: I'm not Larry! ) Pilot tone squelch is for eliminating RF interference when the transmitter is turned off or out of reception range Pilot tone squelch (sometimes called tonekey squelch) circuits are triggered by the absence of an identifying pilot tone that is normally sent by certain transmitters. This insures that a corresponding receiver will be squelched (muted) even in the presence of a strong interfering radio signal if it does not contain the proper pilot tone. http://www.audio-tec...7bfecb9ab0cfee/ Thanks Mike, It would seem from the article you linked and the explanation that you provided that I should be ok as long as i'm near the receiver and don't turn the transmitter off. I appreciate your help! It will be awhile before I'm able to send it in. A nice problem to have. Best, Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Hi Bernie, The receiver works perfectly well with the pilot tone defeated. The receiver simply won't squelch when a strong signal, on frequency is received from some other interferer. However, the receiver wouldn't have worked properly anyway. The only difference is that the "failure" of the receiver is quiet in one case and noisy in the other. You still wouldn't have a usable signal, pilot tone or no. The only disadvantage to a broken pilot tone is that if you are mixing audio signals together, the noise up may cause a mixed together problem whereas brief silence would be overlooked. The range or quality of the system is not affected. If the bad system is on its own isolated track, the pilot tone is immaterial. However, in PA or performance use this is not true. A 100 kW noise up is not what the audience wants to hear, though for some acts, I'm not sure it makes any difference. Best Regards, Larry Fisher Lectrosonics Thanks Mike, It would seem from the article you linked and the explanation that you provided that I should be ok as long as i'm near the receiver and don't turn the transmitter off. I appreciate your help! It will be awhile before I'm able to send it in. A nice problem to have. Best, Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundtrane Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 <A 100 kW noise up is not what the audience wants to hear, though for some acts, I'm not sure it makes any difference.> LOL, Larry always has the humour up! Larry - please recommend some books (if they exist) on RF tech. I am ready to spend considerable time on this arcane black art. And math/physics don't scare me. warmest, -vin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 An excellent place to start would be the ARRL Amateur Radio Handbook (and others)... www.arrl.org you could also look at the bookstore at the NAB website. www.nab.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundtrane Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Thanks Senator, will get the ARRL Handbook soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 I would also recommend Larry's own free 66-page "Wireless Microphone Guide": Lectrosonics Wireless Microphone Guide Tons of great information on the black art of RF. There's at least 15 or 20 books out there on sound recording, and I've never seen even one of them cover wireless microphone theory and usage very well. Troubleshooting wireless problems can be very frustrating, but at least Lectro's guide covers the basics, as does their very well-written instruction manuals. --Marc W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berniebeaudry Posted October 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 I would also recommend Larry's own free 66-page "Wireless Microphone Guide": Lectrosonics Wireless Microphone Guide Tons of great information on the black art of RF. There's at least 15 or 20 books out there on sound recording, and I've never seen even one of them cover wireless microphone theory and usage very well. Troubleshooting wireless problems can be very frustrating, but at least Lectro's guide covers the basics, as does their very well-written instruction manuals. --Marc W. Not to mention that Larry comes on this board and helps reassure a guy that's on location that the audio will not suffer if his pilot tone is gone. The manuals are indeed very clear and well written as well. Great attention to us users. Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundtrane Posted October 30, 2011 Report Share Posted October 30, 2011 Lectrosonics Wireless Microphone Guide Thanks Mark, I've read this before and do refer back at times. Larry is my RF guru anyways, i won't forget his assistance in 2007 when i was putting my rig together. Now, to get the ARRL manual... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristotle_kumpis Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 My UCR211 recently started to do this also. I can only use it when the pilot tone is bypassed. Does anyone know why it's doing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 My UCR211 recently started to do this also. I can only use it when the pilot tone is bypassed. Does anyone know why it's doing this? Yes, it likely needs a paid vacation to New Mexico (The Lectro mothership resides there). I've had that happen to several UCR210D receivers. Larry can give you the more technical explanation of what becomes defective. From my experience it's the most fragile part of Lectros. It's a plus that you can still use them until you can get them repaired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 The pilot tone crystals were the most troublesome part of the older receivers. The replacement crystals are more rugged and on some board versions, during a repair, the circuit is modified to improve reliability. The 400 series dropped the pilot tone crystals in favor of DSP generation of pilot tone and good riddance. Best Regards, Larry Fisher Lectrosonics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berniebeaudry Posted November 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 The pilot tone crystals were the most troublesome part of the older receivers. The replacement crystals are more rugged and on some board versions, during a repair, the circuit is modified to improve reliability. The 400 series dropped the pilot tone crystals in favor of DSP generation of pilot tone and good riddance. Best Regards, Larry Fisher Lectrosonics That makes sense Larry, Is it possible that they can be intermittant as well? I've had a few times when it powered up with the pilot missing and then after awhile it pops back in. I sent you an important email this morning. If you're reading this I need a response as soon as you get a chance. Thanks, Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristotle_kumpis Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 Does anyone know how to setup the UCR211 to be used with the UM400 transmitter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 If the crystals drift off frequency, operation can indeed be intermittent. The replacement crystals are better. Best, Larry F Lectro That makes sense Larry, Is it possible that they can be intermittant as well? I've had a few times when it powered up with the pilot missing and then after awhile it pops back in. I sent you an important email this morning. If you're reading this I need a response as soon as you get a chance. Thanks, Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 You don't need to do anything to the UCR211. You need to put the UM400a into 200 emulation mode. UM400's (no "a") with SN# below 601 did not have this feature. If you have one of these UM400's, you can't use them together. See this manual, page 10: http://www.lectrosonics.com/images/Manuals/um400man.pdf Best Regards, Larry Fisher Lectrosonics Does anyone know how to setup the UCR211 to be used with the UM400 transmitter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 " I need a response as soon as you get a chance. " Larry (and the other folks at Lectrosonics) answer their phones, too. (A real live person always answers the main lines!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Mulcahy Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 Hi, Thx Bernie, Senator, Larry, Marc et al for this thread; very helpful. The link to the 66-page wireless guide returns a 404, and I couldn't locate it on lectrosonic.com; any help locating a copy appreciated. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 1 hour ago, Mike Mulcahy said: Hi, Thx Bernie, Senator, Larry, Marc et al for this thread; very helpful. The link to the 66-page wireless guide returns a 404, and I couldn't locate it on lectrosonic.com; any help locating a copy appreciated. mike http://www.lectrosonics.com/US/wireless-guide.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Mulcahy Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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