Wireless Mic Problems with Tascam DR-40

PegLeg Media said:
I still am on warranty so I think i am going to send the mic back and buy a cheaper mic that works with my samson airline kit. anyone know a decent lav in the $100 range that will work with my samson? I am having a hard time finding a Lav for samson transmitters with a 1/8th connection
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Most lavs are available with any termination that you need: XLR, mini XLR, 1/8", TA-5... and wired for any specific transmitter. You can go through the trouble of sending the TRAM back and getting something cheaper, but why when you have a really good lav that won't be that difficult to get rewired for your transmitter? You'll be taking a huge step back. And later, when you decide it's time to invest a little more in a robust and reliable wireless system, you simply get the mic reconfigured for the new transmitter.
 
OST makes great mics for around $100. The side-fire (Tram-like) 801/802 and the smaller end-fire TL40.. don't know it's availability with a Samson airline connector. Probably if it's not custom made by Samson. Email OST's Dave and ask. OST's customer service is top shelf.
I agree with Alex, "You'll be taking a huge step back" with the Samson POS.
 
OST said they do not make mice that support Samson transmitters. So does anyone know a lav that would work with this wireless system?
 
I suspect the snag is not that OST don't make one, but that they just don't know if they make one becase Samson don't publish techincal specs - just a basic user manual that assumes nobody wants to connect anything else. Almost 100% certainty is that you will be able to connect virtually any small condenser to this pack, because there are only a few ways of doing it. There is an audio feed and a power feed. They can be separate or combined - pretty well, that's it. lock down collar 3.5mm connectors have three circuits - tip, ring and sleeve. Some put 5v on one, and expect audio on another, with ground on the third. Others, put audio at mic level and the polarising voltage on one circuit, and put line level audio and the volts on the other one, and the connector wiring selects which one you use!

Apart from small output and impedance differences, a mic is very much a mic - so there is no reason you can't mix and match simply by putting on your own connector. Some pack designs require you to insert a tiny capacitor to isolate the audio circuit and the DC. If Samson keep this quiet, thinking that their customer demographic wouldn't want to do this kind of thing, then you have to experiment. The problem is simply experimenting with mics - and this needs a few skills you may not have, but one of your friends or colleagues must have these skills. The connectors and capacitors are available, so don't give up. OST don't have a ready made one, or actually, perhaps they do, but just don't know it. You could ask them if they would be willing to try your system? You send it to them and they try their mics, by luck, one could actually work!
 
I've gone down this same road. Have the Samson Airline Micro Camera wireless kit, and the LM10 microphone that comes with it. Performance is decent, not great. I wanted to experiment with getting a better lav microphone and had access to a Sennheiser ME2...so tried that out. The ME2 does not work when fully inserted and locked down---but works when pulled out slightly (1/8" or so). Performance is slightly better with the ME2 versus the LM10. I've been searching for an adapter (Sennhesier to Samson) but that does not exist apparently. Also contacted OST to see if their 801/802 or TL40 could be wired with a "Samson" friendly connector...but I expect to hear back, having now read this post, that they don't...what a shame that companies do this foolishness with their connectors. I've also asked a local company if they can reverse engineer the correct wiring so I can get them to cut the regular Sennheiser connector off and 'rewire' a replacement locking 3.5mm connector. They are hesitant to do that...so I might just purchase a second LM10 and let that be my backup plan for when talent rips the microphone off and damages it...
 
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Ok, got in contact with Dave at OST...and he requested I send them my Samson LM10 lav mic, that came with the Airline Micro Camera kit. So I fired it off, along with an order for their OST-802 mic combo kits..., and just got a confirmation e-mail that they have wired the 802 to match the LM10...and its in the mail to me now... Will report back once the microphone has arrived and can test it with the actual transmitter unit... I've also asked if they can share the connection wiring...
 
OST has done it. 802 mic arrived yesterday, and they have wired it to work with the Samson Airline Micro camera wireless system. Based on a quick recording session, the OST 802 mic gives better performance than the Samson LM10 mic. I've asked if they can share the wiring scheme with us...but in any case, it can be done, and OST can make one of their microphones compatible with the Samson unit...so go place your order...!! I think I'll start a new topic to highlight this...as this post is a bit dated...
 
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