Technical Pro WM-240

[Alex Burrows]

Opinions on this system and deal?

Wireless Daily Deal, 1 Sale A Day

Looking to use it for video production. Any input/feedback is much appreciated!

[Rick Reineke]

Be forewarned, You will probably get what you pay for.

[Greg Miller]

Check the specs. What's the frequency response? (They give a frequency range "100-10,000 Hz" and even that's not great; but that doesn't tell us the flatness +/- ? dB.) What's the RF output power? What frequency band does it use (is it even legal in the US, given the recent FCC rule changes?)? Are the transmitter and receiver crystal controlled, or will they drift and become noisy and require re-tuning? What about interference from other RF devices? Is the modulation AM, FM, or digital? Etc. etc. etc.

Aha, you can't find the specs? Then we can't evaluate it, can we? And why do you suppose they don't publish any specs?

$30 will buy you an average meal at Applebees. You are not going to get a piece of professional audio gear for that price. But on the other hand, it only costs $30, so you won't be bankrupt if you decide it belongs in the dumpster. Some people blow a lot more than $30 on the lottery...

[Alex Burrows]

^Thanks for your help, yea I'm not looking nor do I have the budget for high quality professional gear.

However, how is Technical Pro as a brand?

[Greg Miller]

I honestly never heard of this brand before. Probably imported from Wun Hung Lo electronics in a nameless backwater somewhere.

I personally like to tinker, modify, and "re-purpose" equipment. At the price I confess I was tempted to buy one of these and see if I couldn't make it useful somehow. I seriously doubt that it would ever be "professional" quality audio. If nothing else, I would give it to a friend of mine who gives horse riding lessons, to use with her PA system.

The main thing that holds me back is the fact that there's no description of the transmitter. If it is crystal-controlled frequency, or better yet "frequency synthesized" then you know the transmitter frequency will be stable and won't require constant fiddling with the receiver to keep it tuned in. If the transmitter is not one of those types, then you most likely need to adjust and fine-tune the transmitter frequency with a tiny screwdriver-adjustment somewhere. IMHO that's absolutely worthless.

Since the description doesn't mention "crystal" or "synthesized" and there is no spec for frequency stability, I would assume (caveat emptor) that this is not stable and IMHO a POS.

Of course you could always sell it for $10 at a yard sale and you'd only be out a double sawbuck. ;)

[Alex Burrows]

^Good point, yea I think I'm going to get one and worst comes the worst I sell it for 10 bucks, if it's no good.

Sorry, I'm a complete noob when it comes to audio systems. So how do these work, will I need a separate recording device to hook the system up to or will I be able to sync it with my camera?

[Greg Miller]

"Sync it up" relates to having the sound track/file and the picture track/file synchronized time wise. In other words, you hear the actor's voice at exactly the same time as you see his lips move. So "sync it up" has nothing to do with the electrical connections between a wireless mic and a camera

We don't even know whether this receiver has a "line level" or a "mic level" output. That's very basic info that should be included in the (non-existant) specs. But if your camera has an audio input jack, and if that jack accepts the same level as the output from this receiver, then you simply plug it in.

Otherwise, you may end up needing a separate audio recorder. And then you will learn about "sync" when you try to import the picture file from your camera, and the audio file from the recorder, and get the two of them in sync for your final product. (All of which has nothing to do with the function of this wireless mic.)

Anyway, Alex, give us a report when you get the system. I'm curious about the transmitter frequency adjustment (or lack thereof).