Sony ECM-AW3 Bluetooth microphone system

[Colin Basterfield]

Hi there,

Last year I bought the above 'lapel' microphone system to feed into my sony pd170, and for the most part it all works fine.

I was aware that operation can be intermittent if in the vicinity of a wireless network, it states it in the manual, but I hadn't counted on the unit to just stop working.

Take this afternoon, I was up the garden, and there are houses nearby which may have their wireless routers etc running, but I tested the sound and all was fine, levels etc. I then proceeded with my shoot. However when I captured the footage on the PC indoors, I first noticed a little crackle underlying my voice, but after a few minutes the audio recording had cut off altogether.

Has anyone else experienced a complete cut off of audio with this device?

Many thanks in advance for any help on this.
Cheers
Colin

[Gary Nattrass]

To be brutally honest the bluetooth system is not really suitable for reliable transmission of audio regardless of any claims from manufacturers.

I have some bluetooth headphones but have found them pretty much un-useable for basic monitoring so if I were you I would be looking at a proper UHF radio mic system for a more reliable solution.

[Colin Basterfield]

Hi Gary,

Many thanks for the reply. It wasn't the answer I'd hoped for, but as I was short on funds at the time, it seemed a workable compromise between a naff one and the Sennheiser lapel mike I'd rented a couple of years prior.

As an aside what would be your recommendation be for a UHF lapel mike?

Thanks again and smiles from Wellington, NZ
Colin

[Gary Nattrass]

A sennheiser G3 is the one to go for not cheap but it will do the job!

I have looked into blue tooth devices for in ear monitoring and sadly they are just not reliable enough for that never mind a critical sound feeding source, there is just too much to cause it to fall apart and whilst bluetooth may be OK for telecoms communication it is not suitable for constant audio streamin as it seems to send data in packet streams ala usb rather than a constant transmission.

Found this test on you tube thought but bear in mind it's in a fairly isolated location and I think he was just lucky to get a decent reception http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=-riVY...feature=fvwrel

[Colin Basterfield]

Yep, the G3 was the one I had my eye on when I opted for the bluetooth. I couldn't however justify it to the financial controller, especially as I wasn't working at the time. sigh.

I did just call up the guy who sold it me and his first suggestion was to use lithium batteries, or NIMH rechargeables, so now I have the bluetooth, it's got to be worth a try, although given your points I'm skeptical. He did say if I was still having problems to call him back. Not sure where that would lead, but hey...

I'll keep my eyes on ebay, or trademe here for some second hand g3's.

Thanks
Colin

[Gary Nattrass]

I must admit that I read a lot of the reviews on your bluetooth mic and it gets a good write up but if it drops out without any warning that is a dangerous situation in practical use for critical audio applications, of course if you just want a cheap mic and can live with any drop outs in audio then it will be fine but for critical applications UHF radio is still the most robust option.

Like all things you pays your money and makes your choice but in the world of wireless audio not many if any solutions are 100% reliable.