My audio on my lead actor's lav (countryman b3) has huge audio level jumps. I'm not adjusting the gain and you can clearly hear that its some sort of electrical or RF issue. Anyone experienced this before? Also, I'm running up to 4 G3s at the same time, but all in clear frequencies on the same bank so there shouldnt be intermodulation issues.
Sennheiser g3 help
- Thread starter Ryan-Guy
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Bruce Watson
Veteran
Interesting. I do not clearly hear an electrical or RF issue. All I'm hearing is a level change. No noise, no crackles, nothing that sounds like electrical or RF noise. But I'm testing out a new pair of headphones this week and might have missed what you're talking about.
Is the B3 an omni or a cardioid? Where is it placed (if under clothing, under what exactly)? How big is that level change in dB? Is it a one time thing or does it come and go?
Can you recreate the problem now? Do you have another B3 you could swap out with the same transmitter/receiver? The weakest point of the Countryman lavs is the wiring between the cable and plug. Hook up the components as they were and manipulate the mic cable at the plug and see if that does it. I had a mic that slowly went bad, static that sounded like radio interference was really just a frayed connection. Level would go up and down too. I would swap components around and would first look at the simplest, least expensive answer. Mic cable first, input plug in transmitter, output cable from receiver (less likely). If any doubt, send the mic back to Countryman. They will test and solder a new connector on for you at a pretty reasonable price.
graywolf
Well-known member
Was that crash supposed to be there? The crackling I hear sounds like background noise. Did something happen that you did not notice while shooting this? But his voice did go up suddenly, just before the crash.
While it does not sound exactly like that, could his mic have been rubbing against his clothes?
While it does not sound exactly like that, could his mic have been rubbing against his clothes?
Rick R
Veteran
Make sure all the system pairs (Trans/Recv) are set the same, in terms of pilot tone on/off (default=on) Recv squesh should be set to 'Low' (default). The compander should engaged on the pair (though I don't recall if that's a user setting).
The Recv's internal scan function is not sensitive enough (especially in populated RF environments) so an external RF scanner is recommended.
The Recv's internal scan function is not sensitive enough (especially in populated RF environments) so an external RF scanner is recommended.
The crash was supposed to be there. That was blinds slamming against a door. There is are no noises in there that aren't supposed to be there, no rf, no hiss or hum, etc. but it clearly blew out when it spiked.
Squelch is set to low. I'm not getting any RF interference with him or when the transmitter is turned off.
I can't seem to replicate it. I've fidgeted with all my cables, pinched them, wiggled, at both the receiver and transmitter and recorder. Nada.
My only guess at this point is the talent yanked on the mic cable too hard and the connector plug crossed wires.
Did the actor change position when the loud spike occurred? Depending on where the mic was placed it could just be proximity. I would mark the mic you were using and see if it happens again. Was he/she near any metal surface? The only time I had something like this happen when it was RF related was an interview subject was leaning against the side of a steel panel truck. I kept getting a fluky signal from him and later realized that the transmitter was right up against the steel surface, and I suspect that the diversity circuit was going nuts trying to sort out the signal.
This is definitely not a proximity issue. It very well could have been some RF reflection and the diversity antenna going nuts. Going to gaffe the cable securely to the transmitter today so that there's a less likelihood of tugging on the connector.