Tram TR50/Roland R-09 problem...again

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I have a conundrum which hopefully someone here will have an answer for--I am starting to think I am taking crazy pills. I have Roland R-05 and R-09 external recorders (basically the same thing) I use to plug these Tram TR50 1/8" jack lav mics into.

This: http://www.rolandus.com/products/r-09/ with this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/258079-REG/Tram_TR50BSET_TR50_Omnidirectional_Lavalier.html

Now about half the time, the setup works great. The other half, the Rolands won't even recognize the Tram! Plug it in, hit rec, no sound bars, at all. I unplug, re-plug, tweak settings (turn plug-in power off, then back on, etc.), just won't work. Basically the Roland R-05 and R-09's just don't work at all with the Trams about half the time. Does this have something to do with the positive bias? Or is the recorder to blame? It does the same with both mics. I am getting pretty tired of Roland equipment...may switch soon if this doesn't change. Does anyone have ANY idea what's happening?

I apologize for ranting, but it is getting extremely frustrating as I shoot interviews all the time and need this to be a workhorse.

Thanks!

-Nick
 
I have Trams wired for Sennheiser SK bodypack (3.5mm TRS plug) and they worked in recorders with that type jack and plug-in pwr. (Zoom H2, Tascam DR series, Sharp and Sony minidisc) If it's intermittent, the first suspect would be the mic's plug (failing).
 
Thanks for the reply Rick. It is strange because I have the same problem with both my Tram Lavs in the Roland...they both seem in good condition with no frayed wires or anything like that. My R-05 is currently at Roland in CA being repaired for a separate problem, hopefully will have it back Monday to do further testing.
 
A 3.5mm and 1/8" plug are actually a slightly different size, but are 99% of the time compatible (in my experience anyway) , I spose it's possible the particular jack that Roland uses it's slightly larger than normal.. or the jacks on the Trams are slightly smaller.. It's puzzling since you stated both recorders and mics exhibit the same behavior.
Try the mics in a different brand recorder.

And you're sure the recorders' plug-in power was always engaged?
 
Another possible issue is that the Roland is expecting a stereo mic and you are plugging in a mono one in. Depending on exactly what what the Roland needs/wants this could be an issue. Have you tried other mono mics with the recorders? It's probably not the issue since it works sometimes but?

My first bet would always be on either the jack or the mic cable/plug. Though since it seems to be happening to both recorders I would lean toward the mic cable/ plug. A cable usually goes bad with no external signs. I've actually never seen a "frayed" cable, that would be serious abuse. What usually happens is folks treat it like it's a hunk of rope and yank it around and one of the wires breaks at the connector. 1/8" jacks are also pretty fragile and don't hold up well to a lot of use and or abuse. I've seen them actually break one of the board connections. What argues against both however is that usually the problem shows up as an intermittent connection. You can move things around and get the wires to touch and get sound for a second. Since yours seems to be an everything or nothing situation I was leaning to the possible incompatibility with the mic.

One other thing I noticed from the specs is that IF you have a line in the mics are disabled. So that would be something to check. I'm assuming that is a switch or a menu setting.
 
Well, I got my R-05 back. Now one mic works fine on both units and the other does now, so I suspect the mic itself has an issue. Is there a certain brand I can switch to that will be more durable? And for a shoot tomorrow where I need 2 lav mics do I need togo out and buy one? Thought on the Rode Smartlav?
 
I took everything to a music store and tried the mics on a new recorder...one worked and one didn't. I suspect they both have the same problem and one just has it worse. Maybe I should switch to mini XLR's.
 
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