NEW WIRELESS MIC

[jim sitton]

I shoot the JVC 250 HDV cam for our Special Projects unit.
My Lectrosonics wireless mic is soon to be obsolete due to it's frequency.
I'd like to replace it with a single reciever (2 channels) and dual Lav transmitters.
Having 2 lavs and 1 reciever would be nice on those walk n talk interviews.
Does this exist?

Thanks for any suggestions. I don't have much time to research,

jim

 

[Flaca Productions]

yes - lectro SR and your choice of lectro bodypack transmitters.

 

[couryhouse]

I am prob. gonna add another sunn. g2 recv.

 

[Sasquatch]

Lectro SRA5P receiver is a 2 channel receiver.
Lectro SMQV transmitter bodypack.

The below will apply to pro and prosumer camcorders equipped to allow internally mounted RX.
The Lectro receiver will work internally in many Sony camcorders built to handle an internal receiver. However Sony has made their cameras to operate 2 channel wireless with a Sony wireless receiver only. The Lectro will operate to only one channel internally and the second channel will require a pigtail output to the xlr input at the rear of the camera.

 

[canuckcam]

However Sony has made their cameras to operate 2 channel wireless with a Sony wireless receiver only. The Lectro will operate to only one channel internally and the second channel will require a pigtail output to the xlr input at the rear of the camera.

Despite my frequent disapproval of Sony proprietary-ness, I don't think the made their 2-channel drop-in wireless proprietary. The Sony receiver is outputting AES/EBU digital audio through a single 3pin XLR equivalent on the DB-15 connector. And with that carries 2 channels of digital audio which stays in the digital domain from the mic transmitter right through to the recorder. The Lectro receivers being inherently analog devices requires two sets of balanced lines for the same two channels.

That said the Sony dual digital wireless does have an optional accessory sleeve that provides a pair of analog outs. The Sony is $$ but it is a sweet @ss wireless despite its gigantic buttplug..err.. cube transmitter. I like and still use Lectro gear but Sony is giving them a good run for the money.

 

[zac love]

I haven;t been too impressed with the Sennheiser G2 sets. I get hits with them all the time, for no apparent reason. Almost as bad as some Lectro VHF mics that gave me trouble.

I've used some of the older Sony models (from a few years ago) & they were very usable, but not at Lectrosonics quality. The units I used always sounded a little tinny & I could never find user manuals for them.

Now I swear by Lectrosonics. I think the company is great (you can easily get a real person on the phone). They're mics are great. Price isn't great. But if you've ever used bad wireless mics, then you'll probably appreciate Lectrosonics even more.

 

[canuckcam]

How are you mounting the G2 wirelesses? The inherent nature of the built-in/flexible antennas cause a problem when mounted horizontally. As well they tend to flex and over time stay bent out of shape!

Why? It deals with polarization of the antennas. A bit too complicated to get into here, but you can Google it. Essentially, the wirelesses were designed to be used vertically, that is, the antennas mounted straight up. That's vertical polarization (relative to the ground.) On the transmitter, you would most likely have it clipped to the person's belt or something, again with the antenna vertical? However, with the popularity of camcorders, most of the receiver mounting boxes have the antennas in the horizontal position. Since the antennas themselves are vertically polarized, they are then essentially expecting RF signals from the ground or from the sky. So really all the receiver would receive are RF signals bounced back from the ground.

This antenna positioning is not too critical in an indoor environment where the RF bounces off the walls/ceiling/floor/etc. but as you can imagine outdoors, there's not much to reflect RF, so antenna positioning is very important. Even more so with cheaper units as their receiver may not be as sensitive or reject spurious signals to pick out the right one (the transmitter.)

This is why Lectro offers a variety of antennas including right-angled ones. Those of you who run a 90º BNC elbow on both antennas in the attempt of making them less obtrusive are actually affecting (quite a bit) the range of your wireless system.

You've most likely seen "shark fin" antennas at events, concerts, etc.

... note the VERTICAL reminder!

Yes, there are circular polarized antennas such as helix antennas, but they're not suitable for ENG use due to their size.


For too much info, radio and television transmitters used to be only horizontally polarized. Think about the old exterior TV antenna towers on houses and their Yagi antennas elements positioned horizontally. With the popularity of radios in vehicles "way back when" and their antennas pointing straight up (again, relative to the ground) reception wasn't as good so the stations modified their Tx antennas for vertical polarization to improve in-car reception.

 

[Sasquatch]

Despite my frequent disapproval of Sony proprietary-ness, I don't think the made their 2-channel drop-in wireless proprietary. .

I didn't say they made the Sony wireless proprietary.
The Sony camera has been made so that only the Sony wireless can be used fully internal for L and R channels audio without the use of a pigtail for one of the channels.

Sony Camera + Lectro wireless = pigtail needed

 

[canuckcam]

I didn't say they made the Sony wireless proprietary.
The Sony camera has been made so that only the Sony wireless can be used fully internal for L and R channels audio without the use of a pigtail for one of the channels.

Sony Camera + Lectro wireless = pigtail needed

If you reread my post, I basically meant if Lectro or any other manufacturer made a receiver that outputs AES/EBU then I'm pretty sure it would work as an internal drop-in 2ch receiver. Right now, only Sony makes that.