Need a Wireless system with good range

[John Lee]

I'm looking to purchase a wireless LAV system that I can use for a lot of different applications. I'm basically looking for a versatile lav system. I would be using it for both sit down, planned interviews, and for long shots inside groups of people. (Stadiums and sporting events)

I'm looking for a system that has exceptional range preferably around a 150'. I'm not sure if that's possible or not, since I don't know anything about how powerful these wireless systems are.

I was looking at the UWP-C1, is this a good choice? I'd appreciate any advice anyone can give, I'm looking to spend under $500.

[John Lee]

I'm thinking of purchasing the G2 ENG system from sennheiser, if I can find a place to order it. Just curious, is there any specific frequency range that would be adventageous to purchase?

I noticed that there are three choices at the bh website. The packages come in the 500,600,or 700 MHz range.

[EDIT] I also noticed that adorama.com has the ENG for sale (preorder). They have a very competetive price, has anyone ever dealt with them before?

[Warren Pete]

I'm still learning about mics, but my understanding is that UHF is better than VHF for wireless. Not sure about specific frequencies though.

I've purchased from Adorama and had no problems.

warren

[Seth Palmer]

I think that everyone is trying to figure out which lav system is going to give them the BEST range for the money....the test that was run with the Senn100eng vs. the Sony see this thread...

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27309

IF this is truly an accurate showing...the sony kicks butt!

Does anyone have proof that this was actually a true test? If so, how far away is the living room, bedroom, master bath and outside from where the camera or mic was set up?

[Matt Gettemeier]

Since you mention stadiums and sporting events specifically it's a good thing that you're getting a set with selectable channels... depending on the importance of the event it's likely that other wireless sets will be operating in the venue.

Two wireless sets on the same frequency won't work.

I've been mostly lucky, but there have been a couple times when my wireless didn't work... often when a news crew was working in the area... I don't think their's worked either though 'cause I could see a guy talking into a newsmic with one hand on his headphones... finally he just ran a wire... I couldn't tell my guy to shut off his transmitter 'cause I couldn't see him.

Personally I say get the best wireless set you can afford. When it comes to wireless and the audio REALLY matters a lot of bad and unexpected things can happen.

[John Lee]

Boy that sort of makes this a tough call. I am really holding out for the Senn because it has that extra plug in transmitter. Thanks for the info everyone.

[Marty Atias]

When it comes to wireless microphone systems, yuo want to go to a professional audio dealer (not a photo shop). A good audio dealer will assist you in selecting the best frequency band for your region, and have enough experience to explain the differences between the systems you are considering. They will also assist you with adapter cables and any operational or service issues that may develop. They will also help you choose the lav or other microphones you want to use and put the right connectors on them.

Comparisons of different brands, unless performed by a trusted engineer under carefully controlled conditions, can be very easily compromised (and skewed) due to the multiple variables present in RF systems and the nature of RF interference.

ATS Communications (ATSComms.com), for example, supplies TV crews with wireless gear and carries many brands. They do custom cables and mic connectors.

[Nathan Gifford]

One of the things to realize about the Evolution 100 system is that it is not a true diversity system. That said, I have had excellent performance from older 100 system (the newer system is improved) and have yet to miss true diversity.

Almost all the comments I have heard on 100 is that it is great for the money.

If you are going to buy from a local shop, one of the best places to go are your musician shops. They have the advantage of knowing what has problems in the area and a wealth of practical operating experience.

[Jason Watt]

John-

Also, look at Northern Sound & Light for your Senn G2 purchase. I bought my Evoultion 100 ENG from them (best price, better than B&H) and looking to buy the G2's from them as well...

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

If we're gonna talk about "Best" systems, look to Commtech or Lectrosonics. If we're gonna talk about good, affordable, look to the Sony. I had about an hour with the G2/SK500 in Singapore, and definitely wasn't impressed. Companding that was noticable on low volume and very high volume. Didn't run into range problems but then again, wasn't offered the opportunity to do so. 70 feet was no problem for stability.
I'm sticking with the AT 100 system and the Sony, even though they are slightly more, they sound better, IMO.

[Marcia Janine Galles]

As an FYI post, I can say that I'm just wrapping up a long (documentary) shoot where the G2 was a major component of our audio for interviews, and my advice is, whichever price range and brand name wireless system you decide to buy, pick it up waaaay in advance of the onset of production. And test mercilessly, mimicing the conditions and voice ranges you'll be dealing with. Should be a no brainer, but I was hot to buy the G2 ENG package (that took forever to be available in L.A.) and it didn't come in until the week we left, so I hit the road learning its nuances (and its strengths and weaknesses) on the fly. And it shows. Some things that went wrong were clearly operator error. But some things I'm betting wouldn't have been an issue with a better quality set. That said, however, given the laughable conditions we were shooting under, it's nothing short of a miracle that any of our equipment was still functioning two months later. So I take my hat off to Sennheiser for making a durable product. But we did struggle with the G2 at times. In retrospect, the things we had trouble may have been the mic, and not the system itself. (I'm sure Douglas would know and could immediately tell the difference, but I am largely audio-ignorant, albiet less than I was.) So if I'd gone with a better quality lav, perhaps we wouldn't have had to fight what seemed to us to be pitch issues. For example, there is a sensit setting on the G2 that allows you to take into account the conditions you're in... quieter interviews vs. rock bands. However, even after making adjustments we battled distortion, often discovering it when we screened stuff in a quiet place at night (women and young girls in particular) when it hadn't shown up as red on the mixer. As time went on my sound op got better and keying in, listening for that in particular, though it was often tricky to hear in the field with all we were dealing with. We would then more aggresively adjust the distances from the speaker's mouth, the sensit settings, etc. but to us (and keep in mind our inexperience in this area) some pitches were just a problem which we seemed to struggle with time and again. Perhaps in more expert hands it wouldn't have been an issue.

On a more positve note, what the G2 DID give us was a reasonably wireless priced package that performed pretty well, all things considered. It went out a few times owing to what we're guessing was dust and dirt which we couldn't see as an air canister blasted into the connections later that day got it up and running again. And whether it was shooting around the Bay area, the greater LA area, or at 6 to 8,000 feet in the Sierras for seven weeks, it never had trouble giving us a strong, uninterupted signal (500 MHz). On that score, I have no complaints.

I'm just now bringing in our over 90 hours of footage, so I haven't had time to really get down to any editing. I'm curious how the G2 will mix with the other mics we used, typically an ME66/64 on a boom. (We pretty much killed them off, or at least it appears we killed off the K6's, but that's another story.) However, overall, from the snippets I've heard so far, playing with the two tracks (bringing down the boom when the nearly soccer game burst in on it, bringing it up when the lav sounds too sterile in a room) it doesn't sound too bad. Which is a great relief. ;-)

Marcia

[Dave Wagner]

<<<-- Originally posted by John Lee : I'm thinking of purchasing the G2 ENG system from sennheiser, if I can find a place to order it. Just curious, is there any specific frequency range that would be adventageous to purchase?

I noticed that there are three choices at the bh website. The packages come in the 500,600,or 700 MHz range.

[EDIT] I also noticed that adorama.com has the ENG for sale (preorder). They have a very competetive price, has anyone ever dealt with them before? -->>>

====================
BEWARE!!! CAVEAT EMPTOR!

The absolute WORST decision I made was to purchase something from Adorama! I would NEVER recommend buying anything from that company. It's been 3 months now and they still refuse to ship the missing parts from a light kit I ordered, or even work with me on a compromise. I've been put off and put off and put off. I've filed complaints with the BBB in NYC, and with every sponsor or advertiser on their site.

BIG MISTAKE DEALING WITH ADORAMA!

[John Lee]

Thanks for all of the information everyone. It really helped. It was still a tough decision to make, but I ended up purchasing the Sony kit. I've had it for about 6 weeks now and it's been great. The mic it comes with isn't the best in the world but it's been fine for the applications I've been using it for. I've routinely been able to shoot a subject from over 600 feet away without any huge problems. But I haven't used it at that distance in any densely populated areas.

Thanks again for the advice.