Limiter and wireless gain settings?

[Marco Leavitt]

I have very limited experience with wireless units, but the last time I used one I noticed that the gain settings on the transmitter acted something like a limiter on peaks. Maybe it's the compander or something. You could definitely overload it, but it seemed pretty forgiving. So my question is should I use the limiter on my SD302 mixer when using it with wireless, or just figure where the transmitter overloads and keep an eye on the mixer's meter? It's too bad there's no headphone jack on the transmitter (AT1800), so I don't really know what's getting sent to the camera. I would hate for the compander to be doing it's thing when the limiter engages. It seems like the audio would get squished twice. Oh, and in case it's not clear, for this setup the receiver will be mounted on the camera and I'll be connecting to the transmitter using a mic level output from the SD302.

[Jim Boda]

Originally Posted by Marco Leavitt

I have very limited experience with wireless units, but the last time I used one I noticed that the gain settings on the transmitter acted something like a limiter on peaks. Maybe it's the compander or something. You could definitely overload it, but it seemed pretty forgiving. So my question is should I use the limiter on my SD302 mixer when using it with wireless, or just figure where the transmitter overloads and keep an eye on the mixer's meter? It's too bad there's no headphone jack on the transmitter (AT1800), so I don't really know what's getting sent to the camera. I would hate for the compander to be doing it's thing when the limiter engages. It seems like the audio would get squished twice. Oh, and in case it's not clear, for this setup the receiver will be mounted on the camera and I'll be connecting to the transmitter using a mic level output from the SD302.

You need to dial in both the transmitter and receiver. I'm not sure if the AT1800 allows you to do that. Lectronsonics has an LED level meter that allows you to adjust the volume accordingly. Sennheiser allows you to electronically pad down the volume at the transmitter.

I always have the limiter on w/ the Sound Devices mixers. Adjust it so that it only kicks in when you really need it to in order to get maximum headroom. The SD302 has a input limiter and output limiter.

Get the level adjusted properly along the entire pathway for best sound quality.

Since your using wireless as a feed to the camera, send tone through the setup to make sure that both transmitter and receiver are dialed in and not squashing the signal. The SD limiters are good quality and reliable. It's much better to use those on the front end then end up with the wireless system processing the signal.

[Marco Leavitt]

I do know the receiver has an output gain knob, but don't have the system yet. The transmitter appears to have four input settings. So, are you saying I should have the limiter set to engage just before the LED peak indicator starts blinking?