Question re. protecting base of wireless transmitter

[Ben Drissa]

Hi all

I have an idea to use Sugru (mouldable plastic which sets hard/flexible) around the base of some wireless transmitters (Sennheiser G5). I've always felt these areas were prone to damage. See attached image.

Any reason not to? Would this impact the signal in any way?

Thanks
Ben

 

[paulears]

Well - sitting here looking at the really well used G2 version - I think you don't need to even worry. I really don't worry about mine at all - I have over a dozen, and turning this one over The back has big paint chips down to the metal, the corners are worn and very shiny, the display window is very scratched and the antenna points sideways at a rakish angle - but the rubber at the bottom is pretty much untouched. It is NOT a weak spot on these radio systems. I can think of no reason to reinforce it - Sennheiser made this product very well. My battered stock never hets looked after especially well, and the TX and IEM packs are solid and reliable despite this lack of care. Personally, I suspect if you harden the bottom up (and I tried this on a different brand with epoxy where I too thought it was a weak point) then the act of sitting down with one in the back pocket will snap it, possibly ripping the wire from the pack. Sennheiser have obviously considered this and the soft rubber is by design. Probably the interesting angle this one is at is because it's always in my pocket and I sit on the thing continually in jeans. Leave it alone - it does it's job of supporting the antenna so well, stiffening it up might the detrimental - and if in warranty, prevent a free repair if you do something silly.

 

[Jim Feeley]

I work with G3s fairly regularly (a FOH gig, mostly), and like Paul, I haven't seen any problems or failures at that point. And like Paul says, adding sugru might provide a "snap" point as the transmitter gets abused.

Two mods I've seen that do seem useful: Slip a narrow straw or some rigid(ish) heatshrink tubing over the antenna to make it straighter. Some of the G2/3 transmitters seem to have antennas that get kinda curled, and that seems to affect range; that's not always a big deal but considering their 30mW output, it's nice to maximize the signal and keep RFI at bay...but mostly, in some instances it helps keep the antenna away from sweaty signal-absorbing skin. You can google around for examples.

The other is to add a SMA connector to the transmitter so you can add a removable (and stiffer) antenna. Andrew Jones, before he became a god or Deity or whatever, wrote up a nice tutorial on how to make the mod:

Tutorial: Sennheiser G2/G3 SMA mod
https://wavreport.com/2016/10/27/sennheiser-g2g3-sma-mod/

 

[Paul F]

I think it is a really bad idea to crap up your nice transmitter with some silicone putty. The antenna costs $8 and can be replaced in about 10 minutes. There is no anecdotal evidence that there is any issue in this regard. I've not had a problem and I've not heard anyone having a problem with the antennas.

But to answer your question, no, there is no signal-integrity reason not to do it. There may be some really minor attenuation of the signal.

 

[Rick R]

As I stated elsewhere... I do not think it would compromise the RF any if used on the antenna base but I would not goop up an otherwise nice Tx case.
But I've never had any issues with antennas where they enter the case anyway. The flexible part of antenna's usually get kinked up after a while, and in the event they actually do break, they are cheap & easy to replace if you can DIY. (replacement antenna, Torx screwdriver, soldering pencil and about 10 minutes if you've done it before)