Hi all,

Up until October 2008 I was shooting on a Sony DSR570 with Sony's V-mount WRR wireless mic system. I had a lapel mic and hand-held mic (Sony WRR series as well) to go with the receiver. It was a flawless system that worked every time over long distances without fail. I had complete confidence in it. In the 5 years I was using it, I never had a problem with dropouts or spurious signals and interference.

After wrecking that camera (accidentally - I would never have gotten rid of it otherwise) insurance would only cover to a certain amount and all that I could get for the money was the Panasonic 502 P2 format camcorder.

Now, because the 502 does not have a slip-in slot for radio mics, for one reason and another, I opted for the Sennheiser EW100 series wireless mic system. I have a butt-plug for the hand held mic and a lapel transmitter pack. I have two receivers.

Now, ok the system is not a diversity system and is most likely not classed the same as the Sony WRR series, but I have to say the Sennheiser system is utter crap. Dropouts and interference daily, no matter what settings I have or if I do a scan for free channels, with or without new batteries. Quite frankly, this and the fact that it is a "cling-on" system makes it a complete pain in the butt.

Sometimes it performs so poorly that the talent can be standing not 6 feet from the camera and they might suddenly turn that it creates a "phhht" sound.

Anyway I contacted the retailer who gave me the "never heard of the problem before". That made me decide to make comment on the net.

Is anyone else having the same problem? I am curious because I have tried two of the systems and had the very same problems with both. Surely someone else out there must have this problem.

These things are advertised as adequate to use professionally, but I really don't think that is the case.

I understand that there is a new diversity model out and I am hoping I can return the two sets I have and exchange them for something that actually works.

Cheers,

David

Well, gotta say, you're experience is diametrically the opposite to mine.

I have both a "butt plug" and "clip on" EW100 G2 transmitters and two receivers and they all work flawlessly.

Best shot with them to date was last summer, when I got my "talent" wired with the "clip on" transmiter and the lav, holding a Senny Me66 with the "butt plug", doing "you've been framed" interviews at Lake Wanaka, whilst I shot from 110 metres away around the lake at max zoom (thus totally invisible to the "framees", till I was pointed out).

{the 110 metres was measured using a Laser Rangefinder, accurate to 1/2 metre}

Admittedly it was over water, but the sound was as clear as a bell with nary a hiss, pop, whistle or drop out at any point.

[I digress: the truly amazing things people will say when a mic is stuffed in their face and they think they're on the telly!]

If you're having problems at 6 feet then something's gotta be wrong and I can't see it being the EW100 G2's.

You got a UHF TV transmitter/ repeater/ translator nearby? I can't think of any other explanation.


CS

Make sure the antennas of the transmitter and receiver are oriented parallel to each other. If one is vertical, so should the other be. Make sure the mic cable doesn't drape across the antenna. Remember if you put that transmitter in the small of the talent's back and they're facing the camera, there's a huge bag filled with RF-absorbing salt-water between the transmitter and the receiver. Try moving one or both of them until there's a clear path between them. If the transmitter's antenna is pressed against the skin of the person wearing it, perhaps flipping it over will giver less absorbtion.

Have to say, David, I too, like others, have never had ANY trouble with a Sennheiser system. I have two butt-plugs, two pocket (on-camera) receivers and one pocket transmitter. In any combination, never, ever had anything but perfect sound.

I suggest you've either got faulty units, or your mode of working is flawed. If you've tried two systems, and they both exhibited the same problems, it rather points to the latter.

(No offence, only trying to indicate that there are units that do NOT exhibit the faults that make you describe the system as "rubbish".)

David, did the systems come from an authorized dealer. There has been reports of counterfeits about.
If this is not the case I would surmise unusually strong interference or defective system(s). Have you tried them away from the camera, monitors, ect.? ( RF spray?)

Does it say "made in China" :-) Seriously though, there are a lot of reports of counterfeit Sennheisers out there. Maybe you want to rent one and test it against yours? My G2 works pretty well for years now, even it crowded settings like NYC...

I think the included mic is kinda muffly, but I've only had interference when i've actively tried to find it.

Like Chris, I'm in the south island of New Zealand, so our results aren't typical for you RF lovin city-folk, but still. I've never heard so much as a crackle, even with the transmitter hundreds of meters away (line of sight).

If you are positive you don't have counterfeits (which exhibit exactly the symptoms you describe), is it possible you got a block that is being used for some strong digital transmission?

After I raised (on this forum) a similar complaint as David, I sent my Senn EW100 units back to the factory for service. As it turned out, I had a bad board in the receiver. Not sure when the board went south, the units never worked, from purchase at B&H.

At any rate, after Senn returned them to me, they've worked like a champ ever since.

Just to say - the new G3 camera receivers *are* diversity.

Just to say - the new G3 camera receivers *are* diversity.

I wonder how reliable Adaptive-Diversity is in comparison to the antenna diversity with a lectro or zaxcom.

David,

Without knowing which of the three bands you ended up with and what part of what country you're working in, it's impossible to rule out that there isn't any open spectrum where you are. Is it NSW?

Wearers of cellphones, iphones and other beltworn communication devices can drop your reception to almost nothing.

My G2 are fairly new but are are getting at least 30 feet around the house.

Regards,

Ty Ford

the problem might well be the camera & receivers together. I had a lectro 185 receiver velcro'd onto my HD100 for news type shooting. well it was always getting hits and being unreliable, but I'd used the lectro's for over 10 years and they had always been pretty reliable on just about any other camera. with some experimenting, I found that the HD100 just puts out RF that messes up the 185. if I put the receiver even 2-3 ft away, the problems went away. eventually I sold the 185 and replaced it with a pair of 195's that work fine. the 195's are midband while the 185 was 181mhz.

so I'd recommend trying to move the receivers off camera for a test and see if the problem goes away. .... that can call Senn for a possible service on the units.

Wow, I hope they aren't really rubbish or I've wasted money on two dozen channels of G2. But seriously, I think for the money they cannot be beat. Six of my units were working golf tournament coverage in Hartford just last week. Distance between transmitters and receivers were all over 100 feet and all sounded great-no interference whatsoever.

The key to making ANY wireless work well is finding a clear frequency to do business on. I'm thinking you are either not on a clear frequency, or something is wrong with your units. If you turn on just the receiver ONLY, your RF meter should show ZERO bars and the green RF led should not be turned on. If not, try another frequency until both of those conditions are met. Then power up the transmitter, set frequency to match what you found on the receiver and see what it sounds like. If this doesn't help maybe something is broken or defective. I have broken my antennas a few times (very easy to...)-not visible but it sure does limit range between units.

Hi soundguys,

As a cameraman operating mostly without sound engineer i am most satisfied with our EW100 G2. It's not as good as my wired TRAM but that's not wireless.
Only one thing that irritates me about the G2 and that's the clip that attaches the mic to your talent. Pointing the mic properly in the right direction can make a big difference in sound quality but the original clips make the mic turnaway all the time.

Has anyone found a better way to attach the ME4 or ME2, please advise me.

Greeting from the Netherlands,

Eelco

I never had any problem mounting the awful sounding ME2. Never used the cardioid ME4, but I do not use a sound system with this set-up.
Replacing the mic makes a difference.

I wonder how reliable Adaptive-Diversity is in comparison to the antenna diversity with a lectro or zaxcom.

Adaptive diversity is the same as antenna diversity.

IE: you switch between two antennas - one RF stage and one AF stage.


True diversity has two antennas - two RF stages and one AF stage.

IE: you switch between the outputs of the RF stages.

... False.

I had one FAIL on the G2 system at a live event using a couple of rack mount receivers. Next time I'll put the receivers on the "stage" at the end of the snake. I had been running it inside a plywood rack case about 40 ft from the "talent".

It turns out that there was another wireless system in that space that has been left on 100% of the time. (Aside - at each corporate event, I've had a hell of a time fighting feedback. I finally found the problem - this other crap system was left on with hot wired mics feeding the ceiling speakers. No wonder our system was feeding back!)

I've recently done some audio tests with the Microtrack II, H4n, BeachTek DXA-5D into a Canon 5D Mark II and a juicedLink CX 231 into the same camera. The rack mount G2 receiver is HOT. The noise of the G2 dominates a bit on the Microtrack II, and dominates strongly on the H4n and juicedLink setup. The noise isn't bad, but it is loud enough to swamp the noise of the preamps/recorders.

The lessons?
1) If you want the lowest noise, use a wired mic,
2) Keep the receiver close to the transmitters to minimize risk,
3) Turn off anything that might be in the area that could interfere, and
4) Murphy's Law applies to everything - including audio.

The lessons?
1) If you want the lowest noise, use a wired mic,
2) Keep the receiver close to the transmitters to minimize risk,
3) Turn off anything that might be in the area that could interfere, and
4) Murphy's Law applies to everything - including audio.

Plus - if you have more than one receiver use a proper splitter, preferably with external antennas.

" The noise of the G2 dominates a bit on the Microtrack II "
-- What kind of "noise". RF hits or electronic based hiss ect.???

Well, I'll dissent with the very knowledgeable folks who have already added their learned wisdom here:

I have had very little luck with the Sennheiser G1 & G2 series systems, at least compared to my experience with Sony WRR800 series (at 5+ times the price, mind you) and my own UWP series Sony.

With the Sennheisers, I have had issues with audio just plain old dropping out for no reason. I can't explain it and don't know what causes it but every time I do work for my client that owns two of them, I DREAD the audio.

Again, just MY experience, in MY market (which SHOULDN'T be a high RF Interference market - we're a population of about 800,000, a far cry from a Los Angeles or New York or Toronto)

" The noise of the G2 dominates a bit on the Microtrack II "
-- What kind of "noise". RF hits or electronic based hiss ect.???

It's a hiss. Fortunately, the hiss is at a low level, and is not unpleasant as far as hiss goes. The hiss is rolled off a bit at high frequencies.

However, it is definitely louder than the hiss from the H4n or the juicedLink into the 5D2/Magic Lantern.

The bottom line is that you don't need a 744T when recording a G2 system - at least not from a noise point of view. The G2 noise is the weak link in the chain, even with mid-level recorders. The signal from the G2's rack mount base station is hot enough that the preamp in the recorder is swamped.

Even my Microtrack II, which has a terribly noisy front end, does well with the hot signal from the G2 receiver, though it's still a bit noisier than the Zoom or juicedLink/5D-ML.

Thanks Jon, just curious.

I've used a Sennheiser system a few times. It belongs to another producer. There were several instances of dropouts at normal working distances. Could be due to reflections and phase canceling (known as multipath distortion) because of the steel frame construction of the house we were in.

On the other hand, the Audio Technica ATW-1800 diversity system I use has been pretty much rock-solid. It's not perfect, but for the price and reliability it's a good deal. I recently ran four channels of audio on 21-foot boat, recording constantly to an Edirol R-44. Despite the constant engine noise I got good audio the whole time.