HD P2 STATIC, Need help!

[arthur digby]

Sorry if this issue has been tackled previously here, but in searching I couldn't find anything specific on this issue with the equipment I am using. I have a shoot this
week that MUST go well. This means audio must be perfect.

I am using the Tascam HD P2 audio recorder and it has preformed flawlessly
until the past couple of days, and the problem seems to be getting worse. I am having an issue with static in the unit an am curious if anyone else has had the same problem, and knows of a solution.

The static comes and goes. I am running a boom pole with a Senn 416 shotgun
mic to one XLR input and a Senn ew100 G2 wireless lav to the other XLR input.
The lav never gives me problems, always a clear signal, but the 416 hardwired mic
is complete static at times, but gives a clear signal at other times. Oddly, there is even static when I disconnect all input and simply listen to the phones without ANY input, with different headphones.

(So, the problem is not the 416 mic, or the input line from the mic, or the headphones as I have tested these to a camera and they work fine there. No static.)

Usually, if I screw around with settings and unplug and replug the mics, the static
disappears in a few attempts, but I have an important shoot this week during which I cannot afford botched audio, and I cannot risk disaster. Does this unit use or provide some frequency that I am unaware of, is there a reason or cause for this
static that anyone knows of. If the unit has somehow became charged with some freak static charge, is there a method to discharge it?

I have spoken with Tascam tech support and am told to contact a service repair rep, while the people at tech support could offer no explanation, save perhaps a faulty unit. I don't know if it is a faulty unit or not, lav works fine, hardwired mic is useless.

I don't really have an option other than to use this unit, so hopefully someone can explain what is going on here.

If it seems I'm high or drunk, unfortunately I'm not, so that's not the problem either.

Thanks for any and all help.
arthur

 

[ptalsky]

I use the HD-P2 all the time and have never encountered this - though I usually go through a mixer and then line-in to the recorder. A couple of thoughts come to mind though:

1. Have you updated to the latest firmware? It hasn't been updated in a while, but you can download it from the Tascam site.
2. Have you tried a different cable into the Tascam with the 416? It may be that this is something in the wiring of that specific cable that may work fine with your camera but not the Tascam.
3. You may have a short or some other intermittant problem with the unit and it may have to go back for repair - though I'm guessing (knowing how repair organizations work) they'll get the unit and find nothing wrong with it.
4. As far as I can see in your post, you didn't specifically say that you switched the wireless and the 416 inputs (reversing them). If not, try that - it will help you isolate the problem.
5. You say you're hearing static through headphones - have you actually listened to the recorded audio? Is the static there too? Otherwise it may be a headphone jack problem rather than a mic input problem.

Just some quick thoughts. You may have already thought of all of these. One other off-the-wall idea - change your chip. Maybe there is something in the brand of chip you're using that it doesn't like (again, I have NEVER experienced this, but I'm kinda grasping at straws...)

HTH,

Phil

 

[arthur digby]

Thanx Phil, I had checked those things, save the chip, but the unit worked fine
for the past 6 months. I checked the HD P2 beside a friends and all settings were
the same, all switches same, his=no static..........mine=mad static.

So, I sent it back to Tascam. We'll see how their customer service works now.