wireless microphone

Thank you so much Alex. That is very helpful.

I was THIS close to buying 4 channels of the good stuff, but realized it just didn't make sense for a guy like me. The one big plus the big three have that I would like, even as an amateur, is the display and the controls on top of the receivers. Sennheisers in a bag are so difficult to use; completely impractical for a professional.

I've never had any operational issues with the G3s (I use TXAdvance) and I am more than satisfied with the sound quality and range, especially with fins. I did rent a set of Lectrosonics in anticipation of buying the good stuff. I have to say I was disappointed with the noise floor. It was worse than the G3. I tried to sort it out on JW, but we never came to any conclusion. So I stayed with the G3s.
 
Paul F said:
I did rent a set of Lectrosonics in anticipation of buying the good stuff. I have to say I was disappointed with the noise floor. It was worse than the G3. I tried to sort it out on JW, but we never came to any conclusion. So I stayed with the G3s.
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Lots of things at play here. Rental units are put through hell, and even though Lectro stuff is usually built like a tank, people treat rental gear like trash since they don’t own it. So, no telling what was happening internally there. Which Lectro system did you rent, and which lav came with it?

My first inclination would have been to check the lav, or try another (newer) one. Those can get really noisy as they age, especially after extended use in harsh environments.

My second inclination, if the lav wasn’t the problem, would have been to try a different TX. Not sure which model of transmitter you were using, but I have worked on other people’s gear that had some noise floor in Lectro systems. SMDWB transmitters, 822 receivers. Those transmitters go out on tons of reality programming and, though generally pretty well moisture-sealed, can develop issues if dropped or if the seals start to break down over time. Long story short (too late): if there’s a noise issue with a Lectro system, and it’s happening in the TX or RX, that unit needs to be serviced.

I have 14 channels of Lectro in my inventory - SMDWB and SMWB TXs with SRc RXs - and noise floor isn’t an issue in any of them.
 
I'm sure it wasn't the Lec,tros. Obviously, it was some equipment or operational error. Larry on JW helped me (he is Lectros resident expert), but to no avail. I don't remember which one I rented, but it was a COS-11d supplied with the rental. It wasn't the latest stuff. None the less, it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I wanted to be wowed. Water under the bridge at this point. I'm not going to be getting the good stuff at this point.
 
Paul F said:
I'm sure it wasn't the Lec,tros. Obviously, it was some equipment or operational error. Larry on JW helped me (he is Lectros resident expert), but to no avail. I don't remember which one I rented, but it was a COS-11d supplied with the rental. It wasn't the latest stuff. None the less, it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I wanted to be wowed. Water under the bridge at this point. I'm not going to be getting the good stuff at this point.
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Hate to think that an experience that was likely either user error or something defective in that particular signal chain has soured you on the whole line.

That said, have you looked at the Sennheiser EK 6042? It’s a 2-channel slot receiver, like the Lectro SRc, that has an available back plate for balanced out and bag power in. It’s compatible with G3 and G4 transmitters. Gives you the top-read display in the bag.
 
So what was the reason this thread got bump?

In general the middle tier "prosumer" segment has stagnated. I find the interfaces and features are like vcr menus from the 80s. The Deity Theos of recent showed how much more a wireless system could be, too bad their execution is lacking. While I don't use the 2.4ghz consumer stuff, I've got to tip my hat how innovative they are. Look forward to the day Zaxcom patent expires.
 
He made patent-law history worthy of a front page article in the National Law Review. It seems that the other companies went after his patent some 10 years after it was awarded. It set a precedent in patent law.

10 years after the patent award, the patent office decided, based upon arguments from his competitors, that ALL of the claims in the patent were invalid., making the patent invalid. But Glenn and his genius patent lawyers came up with new claims that the patent office deemed viable. So the patent continued.

It just shows how nonsensical patents are. I know. I have some. I am proud owner of one of the stupidest patents out there.
 
Paul F said:
He made patent-law history worthy of a front page article in the National Law Review. It seems that the other companies went after his patent some 10 years after it was awarded. It set a precedent in patent law.

10 years after the patent award, the patent office decided, based upon arguments from his competitors, that ALL of the claims in the patent were invalid., making the patent invalid. But Glenn and his genius patent lawyers came up with new claims that the patent office deemed viable. So the patent continued.

It just shows how nonsensical patents are. I know. I have some. I am proud owner of one of the stupidest patents out there.
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Kind of like Amazon getting a patent on photography on a seamless, white background. As noted in the CBS news story, the patent application was for a specific arrangement that adds a slight reflection. However, I’ve read the patent. Just like the Zaxcom patent, it contains very broad language that claims coverage for pretty much any lighting setup on a seamless, white background. The patent is absurd and never should have been granted.
 
Paul F said:
He made patent-law history worthy of a front page article in the National Law Review. It seems that the other companies went after his patent some 10 years after it was awarded. It set a precedent in patent law.

10 years after the patent award, the patent office decided, based upon arguments from his competitors, that ALL of the claims in the patent were invalid., making the patent invalid. But Glenn and his genius patent lawyers came up with new claims that the patent office deemed viable. So the patent continued.

It just shows how nonsensical patents are. I know. I have some. I am proud owner of one of the stupidest patents out there.
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It would have been reasonable to protect their method/technology but not the general idea of recording internally while transmitting. I heard that they applied for lots of little patents so if one was over turned they fall back to another. I think that shows this was intentional strategy, most likely intended for competitors in their space but when wireless audio became popular they were happy to capitalize on it. I'm in the legal field and know that cases aren't decided on what's reasonable. From the patent office perspective they can't possibly be experts in every field. They get money for awarding patents not denying them.

While I think the feature is nice it's annoying having to resync audio. Rode and DJI offer it currently and its ok. Just irritating when companies seek to block progress for their benefit.
 
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Alex H. said:
That said, have you looked at the Sennheiser EK 6042? It’s a 2-channel slot receiver, like the Lectro SRc, that has an available back plate for balanced out and bag power in. It’s compatible with G3 and G4 transmitters. Gives you the top-read display in the bag.
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This got me looking around at receivers and now I like the Wisycom MCR42 (2 ch receiver, $1500 used, if you can find it) and MCR54 (4 ch receiver, $3,800). Both compatible with the G3. In fact, a dealer in Canada has a Youtube video using that as a way to lure Sennheiser users into the Wisycom world.

My impression is that Wisycom isn't widely used in the States (based on availability of used gear) and that gives me the feeling that support would be weak. They seem to have top products that I would rate even better that Lectro and Zaxcom in some respects, but VHS beat Betamax, so that doesn't always count.

Today's spend was $4100 on an asphalt heater so I can repair the potholes on 600' of driveway I share with 6 other neighbors, so this moved further back on the toy list.
 
How does the asphalt heater work? I’ve got a large blow torch that attaches to a gas grill propane tank. I’ve thought about heating the cracks so the asphalt would melt and fill in cracks. I’m thinking that you can’t re heat old asphalt.
 
Paul F said:
My impression is that Wisycom isn't widely used in the States (based on availability of used gear) and that gives me the feeling that support would be weak. They seem to have top products that I would rate even better that Lectro and Zaxcom in some respects, but VHS beat Betamax, so that doesn't always count.
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There are a few Wisy users in the States, but not enough to have taken any considerable bite out of the other players. I think part of the hesitance has been the lack of stateside support, since it’s an Italian company.

I looked very closely at Wisy when I was rebuilding my inventory a few years ago, but ultimately I went with Lectro because I worked on shows with other mixers and needed to have a system that was compatible and interchangeable, and they were all on Lectro. I also know that, if I’m traveling and something goes wrong, I’m more likely to find a Lectro user in the area who can rent me a replacement.
 
Things to consider from my experience with 2,4GHz wireless.

The last big OS job I did had us filming in five different European countries. My UHF wireless sets while being frequency agile were not legal in most of the counties we visited. To try and avoid having to hire local wireless kit in numerous location in five countries, I said to production I will take three of sets of 2.4 GHz Rode wireless as backup. These were the bigger 'Film Maker' kit units, similar performance specs to the Rode Wireless Go II. But have the advantage that on two to three very long interviews per day, averaging three hours a piece, I could quickly change AA batteries and be up to full speed in a minute or so. Not so with the Wireless Go and many other 2,4GHz wireless, as they have internal batteries and USB charging. Not quick! Sure, you can feed the receivers with USB power at the camera end, but it means more clutter and cabling. AA batteries, cheap, available anywhere in the world and quick to change.

In central London, Paris, Berlin and Rome where the Wi-Fi app on the phone just showed a mass of convoluted colored wireless activity loops they performed 100%. We recorded about 45 hours of interviews over a three-week period in some of the most congested wireless locations I've ever filmed in. Not one glitch or dropout. We filmed in modern tall glass skyscraper blocks to old castles, including the Tower of London and the Reichstag in Berlin.
What I did was to keep the Rode lavs as backups. I rewired three Sennheiser MKE2 lavs I had so they would work with the Rode wireless kits. The combination worked flawlessly and delivered great sound.

We used the 2.4GHz wireless kits in conjunction with hard-wired boom mics. In post mixing, the lavs and boom didn't pose a problem with the Rode's 4ms latency. We could comfortably get away with it that delay as it was audibly undetectable in the mix. In previous testing we had tried the Sennheiser AVX kits that run at 1900MHz but have a 19ms latency. That's close to half a frame, and they did cause a noticeable echo when mixed with the hard-wired boom. That was the main reason we went with the Rode units, as it avoided countless hours of slipping audio in post with the AVX units.

Though, I notice the new Sennheiser XS wireless kits are now running at 2.4GHz and are claiming a 4ms latency. I would definitely being evaluating these new units if I had to go through a similar exercise again.

Since then, I have bought three sets of Wireless Go II kits and have had a similar experience in performance. Outdoors, we have used these at up to about thirty yards line of sight with no issues. Anything over that, I'll happily switch back to my much bigger, bulkier UHF kits.

Chris Young

Rodent mics in action!

Rode ENG 2.4GHz.jpg
 
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