Recording to laptop - 25 ft far enough to avoid noise w/wireless?

el_lago

el_lago

Active member
Sorry if this has been asked before. I did a search and couldn't find what I was looking for...


For the project I'm working on I'll be recording direct to tape as well as to my laptop via DV Rack. I'm using a hyper (MK41) and a wireless (Countryman E6 connected to MM400B). If I use a 30 foot firewire cable to keep my laptop roughly 25 feet away from all of my gear, will that be far enough to avoid picking up any noise from the laptop, or do I need to go further? I'm not too confident in the tests I've done so far due to the very noisy environment in which I live (in the flight path of LAX airport among other things). The location I was originally going to shoot at turned out to be a no go and as of yet I haven't found an alternate location, so I don't have a place to go and do a more "clean" test right now.

On one of the forums here someone, I think it was Barry G, said the specs for firewire recommend a maximum cable length of about 14.5 feet (anything longer and you're supposed to use a repeater) but that he has had a Laird 30 foot cable work good for him.

So... will the 30 ft. cable keep me from picking up any noise, or will I have to go with something longer and get a repeater?

Thanks,
Mike
 
Why not keep the firewire device nice and close to the laptop, and instead run a 30' XLR from the wireless reciever to the audio interface? That way, you'd be better isolated from any RF noise generated by the DV Rack itself, plus you wouldn't have to worry about long firewire runs.
 
SMuir said:
Why not keep the firewire device nice and close to the laptop, and instead run a 30' XLR from the wireless reciever to the audio interface? That way, you'd be better isolated from any RF noise generated by the DV Rack itself, plus you wouldn't have to worry about long firewire runs.
Click to expand...

So the laptop being close to the receiver won't cause any noticeable interference or noise pick up? ... and 30 feet is definitely far enough away from the transmitter?

thanks
 
We shot all of "Siren" with a 30' firewire cable. Sometimes in a quiet situation the laptop hard disk could be heard. You may want to bring some sound blankets and make a "laptop tent" -- a sound blanket should totally silence the laptop since it's a high-frequency noise.

Proximity to the receiver isn't the issue, it's proximity to the microphone. 30' should be good for most circumstances.
 
Thanks for the advice, Barry. I'll get myself a 30' firewire cable and some sound blankets and give it a go.
 
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