Hi, just bought a second hand set of Sennheiser radio mics. Body pack transmitter and receiver.
Filmed a wedding today and unfortunately I seen to have got a lot of audio drop out.
I had the lapel set up on the groom, and unfortunately I missed some key points.
However fortunately for me, I had a second camera operator, so I can salvage some of the audio.
Now, I’m almost convinced that there is a problem with the sets, and I feel that I am going to return / exchange them.
But, I thought id just check with you guys first (not being an expert in the audio field)

P.S. I'm using new batteries.

Not enough info to give you an informed opinion. I don't have problems with my Senn unless someone has a cell phone, a competing wireless, or there is a large electrical disturbance near-by. A photographer's strobe could do this too.

Has nothing to do with diversity, it has to do with a very broad-spectrum interference.

But if you had the antennae firmly screwed in, I don't see a problem from that area (assuming the antennae are the correct units for the frequency range of your units, they are different).

It could also be a problem with the lav, its cable or connector.
The location of the receiver, and its relation to the transmitter also have a strong influence on reliable pickup.
Have you tried a different frequency and can you check for local UHF sources of interference such as TV broadcasting stations in your area?

Good point, Jay. I always place the transmitter in the groom's rear pocket or hang from the middle point of his belt in the back. That way the antenna has a clear shot to my receiver.

I purchased a spare microphone, cables and antennae for my Sennheiser outfit just in case one of them breaks (or one of the darned little antennas is lost.)

http://www.blackboxvideo.com/BOOSTER.JPG

you can add this one and shoot from other side of the town :-)

keep the antenna as much as posible from the body , check avalible fq in your reria or bring a scaner to check on spot
use fresh baterias , check if there large metal obsticals around , the multiply regection could couse dropouts , keep the wieu between the antenas as clean as possible , some cameras had bad influence on reception.

Thanks for the responses, but i do feel that there is a fault with the set.

I was no more than 10m away from the groom.

It was intermittent drop out, it was fine for the first 5 mins, the a few seconds drop out, then we got all the way through a hymn, n then it went off for about 30 seconds.

Going to speak to the place I bought it from tomorrow. I’ll probably end up changing it for the Sennheiser ew112-p
For someone who doesn’t need all the bells n whistles, I would have thought they would be just as good? (I know not as robust though)

P.S. they only have a 30 day second hand guarantee, so I can’t really persevere, I’ve had them for 20 days already.

That actually does sound like a problem with the lav, cable or connector. It's really unlikely to have an RF dropout that long. Perhaps you could wrangle a new lav to use if they'll extend your testing period and see if that clears it up.

Good point Jay, I hadn’t thought of it in that way.
New plan though. I've sent them to Sennheiser UK (under the instructions of the supplier, who have booked them in for "urgent" attention.) they are going to check the sets over for any problems. If there are none, I'll take Jays advice and try a new lav.

Hmm... just make sure you follow up on this thread or at least let us know when you get a new set and test it out.

Will do.

Thought I'd keep my word, and follow up...

Just got my the mics back form Sennheiser UK, sent via
www.creativevideo.co.uk who's customer service is amazing.

It would appear that there was something wrong with my frequencies. I also believe that they have ajusted my squeltch (I'm sure that means something to you guys)

Anyway, just had a quick play, and they appear to be working.
I'll do a proper test this weekend.

Best regards,

I own the ew 500 packs myself. Im almost certain its the squelch setting(you can adjust it yourself depending on your range). Also on senns web site, they have a print off of the radio stations that are in use in YOUR AREA that would cause interference, I would print that off if I was you, and avoid the channels in the chart. If you had the cheap mics, you wouldnt be having this problem, because they dont have all the manual control the expensive mics have. My advice to you........learn your gear better. Put the squelch in the middle and keep it somewhat close to your target, use the chart on the web site for a clean channel. It could always be the wire itself too, so keep that in mind, if kinked enough, they will drop out, so wrap them around somthing round like a 35mm film container.



John

I still don't know what squeltch is..... lol

<<<-- Originally posted by Richard Lewis : I still don't know what squelch is..... lol -->>>

Ok,....Ok. I miss spelt "squelch".......u don't need to tell the world.

Squelch is the term used in radio (and these are radio transmitters), but the same idea in the audio world is called a "gate," if you're familiar with what that is.

It is understood that anytime you are using radio frequencies, there is some background signal that the receivers will pick up. Even without all of the man-made radio energy, our little planet is being bombarded with radio waves from space, so there is always something. In practice, there will often be faint signals being picked up from distant (or not-so-distant) transmissions). But we don't want to hear or record this background noise, right?

The Squelch lets you set a volume threshold that must be met before the transmitter transmits or the receiver sends the received signal to its internal amplifier. By adjusting the squelch above the level of the background noise, that noise isn't transmitted unless someone is talking into the mic at a volume higher than the squelch level, and then it will be masked by that person's voice. As soon as the person stops talking and the volume drops down below the squelch threshold, the transmitter no longer transmits, and the circuit goes quiet.

The problem comes if the squelch is adjusted incorrectly. Too low, and the background noise may become loud enough to cross the squelch threshold and get transmitted, adding unwanted noise to your recording. Too high, and the person who you're trying to record will get cut off whenever their speech volume drops below the squelch threshold, which will sound kind of like an intermittent connection.

Normally, you adjust the squelch down until you can hear the background noise, then bring it up until you hear the squelch circuit cut out the noise. Add another 10% or so just in case the background noise gets louder later on, and then test it by speaking softly into the mic. If the mic picks you up okay even at low volume, you're all set. If you're getting cut off when your voice is too soft, then you need to back off the squelch a bit.

Once set, you should rarely have to adjust your wireless gear, and if/when you do, it should be only a tiny tweak up or down.

-Troy

Thanks Troy. Your explanation is very much appreciated.