Azden 330 1/4second Dropouts??

[Chris Harding]

Hi Guys

I was shooting an outdoor wedding with the Adzen 330 dual channel on Saturday and I experienced two "dropouts" It's like just a fraction of a second where the audio goes dead silent and then comes back perfectly normally. No distortion, no audible interference, just this tiny "no audio" glitch of total silence!!
It's probably no longer than 1/4 to 1/2 second at the most but that's enough to lose part of a word!!

I must admit that I did have the transmitter inside the groom's jacket pocket (the inner pocket) and even though the groomsmen were probably no far away than 40' (before the ceremony) I did notice I lost the signal now and again. Is this possibily due to the fact that both antenna's were quashed inside the pocket...could that attenuate the RF signal quite badly??? I do remember reading somewhere here that the antennas should be in "free air" ...like with the transmitter clipped onto the back of his trousers????

Then again with just about everyone having a mobile/cell phone a signal from that could quite easily zap my own signal could it not?? or would there be noticeable interference??

Any ideas would be appreciated!!

[Allan Black]

Assuming you bought the rig here Chris it's certainly a pain and a distraction not knowing if and when it'll happen again. From your description, first I'd try and induce it by wriggling the cables around, then with help try and repeat the exact setup, antennnas, angles and all. Maybe the groomsmen moved changing the angles.

Angles do play a part and there's plenty on the web about it. Wikipedia wireless mic antenna angles - Google Search

Were there any big transmitters close by the location? .. police or other services? Do you ask for all mobile phones to be turned off?

Also there was a new Oz expansion to 80 UHF CB channels as of May this year.

UHF CB - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Keep an eye out for anyone else having strife in that area. HTH

Cheers.

[Greg Miller]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Is this possibily due to the fact that both antenna's were quashed inside the pocket...could that attenuate the RF signal quite badly?

Absolutely. A simple wire antenna is cut to a length that is close to electrical resonance for the frequency in question. In order to work well, the antenna needs to be extended to its full length and in a straight line.

Also, the transmit antenna should be as far as practical from the talent's body, to minimize absorption. Likewise, the receive antenna should be as far as practical from other electrical conductors (including structural metal within the building) to minimize absorption and potentially destructive reflections at the receive end of the path.

Finally, the physical direction of the transmit and receive antennas should be the same. Normally with a wireless mic, the antenna will be hanging straight down vertically, so the receive antenna should also be oriented vertically. Cross-polarization (where one antenna is vertical and the other is horizontal) can easily result in RF signal strength losses of 20dB or more. Of course this won't change the audio level, but it will make dropouts much more likely.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Guys

It was attenuation from the fact that the antennas were not in "free air" ...I had the transmitter clipped onto a lectern at the reception and no issues at all. Next job it will clip onto the rear of his pants and problem will be solved. Funnily the 330 series which are newer, tend to attenuate quite badly if restricted by clothing but my second set is the older UHF 100LT and that seems to keep it's range if shoved in a pocket. Doing a little test at home, the 330 signal is severely low even around 10 metres range if dropped into my pocket but clipped on a belt with the antenna's free it's still a great signal at 50 metres!!

Your input is much appreciated!!

Chris