Field Mixer repair

djkarn105

djkarn105

Well-known member
I picked up a shure fp410 field mixer at a garage sale a little while back. When I checked it out I plugged it into the wall and everything seemed kosher but I've just discovered it won't run off of battery power.

Anyone have any ideas on if this would be an expensive fix? Plugged into the wall it works flawlessly.
 
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Rippie said:
shure.com has service and repair info on it.
Seems like the logical place to look into.
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Without knowing the mixer model in question, I will caution you this about sending the mixer back to Shure: they have a flat fee service structure, and raised their prices about a year ago to an exorbitant amount. For instance, an FP33 mixer costs $600 +/- to repair, no matter if it's a simple cracked solder joint or a fried circuit board.

You might try and find a local electronics repair shop that works on broadcast gear.
 
C2V said:
Without knowing the mixer model in question, I will caution you this about sending the mixer back to Shure: they have a flat fee service structure, and raised their prices about a year ago to an exorbitant amount. For instance, an FP33 mixer costs $600 +/- to repair, no matter if it's a simple cracked solder joint or a fried circuit board.

You might try and find a local electronics repair shop that works on broadcast gear.
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good to know.
 
C2V said:
Without knowing the mixer model in question
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Stupid me... didn't notice that it's there in the OP. Shure fp410.

This is an automatic mixer, which honestly is going to create some challenges in recording usable dialog in most situations. If there is any way to defeat the automatic mixing functions, do so.

The FP410 is a discontinued item, and one thing that aging Shure mixers face would be the cold-soldered joint (or cracked solder joint). If it's just the battery compartment that's somehow disconnected internally, it could be a simple fix that a local shop could take care of. The FP410 is not listed on Shure's consumer flat-fee service sheet... but the exact figure listed on the FP33 is $661.
 
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I've always thought of the 410 as a rack mounted AC-powered auto-mixer that was accidentally manufactured with a DC power option.
 
That's actually an excellent mixer.
Apparently you guys have never done a remote for radio broadcast? That''s why it's DC powered.
 
BRH said:
That's actually an excellent mixer.
Apparently you guys have never done a remote for radio broadcast? That''s why it's DC powered.
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Well, aside from insulting our experiences here... this is not a forum for AM/FM remotes. The mixer in question is likely a fantastic piece of gear... for its intended purpose. But we're a community of folks in film and TV production, and an automatic mixer is not the right choice for ENG/EFP work.
 
C2V said:
Well, aside from insulting our experiences here... this is not a forum for AM/FM remotes. The mixer in question is likely a fantastic piece of gear... for its intended purpose. But we're a community of folks in film and TV production, and an automatic mixer is not the right choice for ENG/EFP work.
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With all due respect this mixer certainly isn't an ideal eng/efp mixer but it can be very useful in our work under the right circumstances. I've used combinations of the 8 channel version and the 4 channel version to mic many people (up to 24) for a live to tape mix in not necessarily ideal acoustics. It does the job better than both my hands can do especially if you don't have good line of sight or video monitoring. You'll get a very clean and natural mix without tons of room ambiance. I'd love to have one in my tool box for those big free for all discussions.
Bernie:thumbup:
 
C2V said:
Well, aside from insulting our experiences here... this is not a forum for AM/FM remotes. The mixer in question is likely a fantastic piece of gear... for its intended purpose. But we're a community of folks in film and TV production, and an automatic mixer is not the right choice for ENG/EFP work.
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While I would agree that this is primarily a forum for audio as it relates to film and TV production, I would also say that, given that many DVX Users have "day jobs" that don't fall into that category but are perhaps in related industries, I think a little leeway is called for.

As a guy whose audio background is primarily in (very basic :) ) live sound, I am leery of automixers in general. As bad as I might be at mixing, I still think I'm better than a mixer any day--well, OK, most days. :D Still, I'm glad that BRH and berniebeaudry posted their experiences, because now I know something I didn't before, and in my job you never know what strange little piece of knowledge might help...
 
Captain Pierce said:
While I would agree that this is primarily a forum for audio as it relates to film and TV production, I would also say that, given that many DVX Users have "day jobs" that don't fall into that category but are perhaps in related industries, I think a little leeway is called for.

As a guy whose audio background is primarily in (very basic :) ) live sound, I am leery of automixers in general. As bad as I might be at mixing, I still think I'm better than a mixer any day--well, OK, most days. :D Still, I'm glad that BRH and berniebeaudry posted their experiences, because now I know something I didn't before, and in my job you never know what strange little piece of knowledge might help...
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Don't get me wrong... I know that there are day jobs. And I know that every piece of gear (well, almost every piece of gear) has its time and place, and occasionally even outside of its intended purpose. I was a little put off by the assertion that none of us had ever done anything like a live remote for radio... mostly because of the tone that was conveyed with "apparently none of you have ever done this..." Personally, I'm also leery of automixers in general, despite a background in audio for live broadcasting.

But then, even the most unusual pieces of gear find their ways into the least likely toolboxes. My initial caution was that an automixer is not a suitable mixer for production... I should have specified that it is not a suitable primary mixer.

I mean, the Midas Venice is one sweet console... but would I take in on location, or use it on set? Heck, no. It's impractical. Great for a live concert, but completely unwieldy for film/tv/live remote/etc.
 
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C2V said:
Well, aside from insulting our experiences here... this is not a forum for AM/FM remotes. The mixer in question is likely a fantastic piece of gear... for its intended purpose. But we're a community of folks in film and TV production, and an automatic mixer is not the right choice for ENG/EFP work.
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You overlook event video of conferences with roundtable discussions and legal deposition video, to name a two situations where an automixer can be a useful tool for video production.
 
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