Audio sound with wireless

[Adrian J. Hare]

I've hunted for this problem I have without any finding yet.

I'm working with a samson wireless system and can not seem to get the Mic to work properly. After changing the XL1S to 12 bit I can get sound out of one side (right) but the left is very low on the scale and you can hardly hear it. I have a MA-100 adaptor with the camera.

I wonder if I am missing something here on the camera.

Would anyone have any idea as to how or where I am going wrong ?



Another question I have is: Can the shotgun mic with the camera work along with a wireless set ?

[Waldemar Winkler]

Originally Posted by Wayne Bowman

I've hunted for this problem I have without any finding yet.

I'm working with a samson wireless system and can not seem to get the Mic to work properly. After changing the XL1S to 12 bit I can get sound out of one side (right) but the left is very low on the scale and you can hardly hear it. I have a MA-100 adaptor with the camera.

I wonder if I am missing something here on the camera.

Would anyone have any idea as to how or where I am going wrong ?

Another question I have is: Can the shotgun mic with the camera work along with a wireless set ?

I think you have a bad connection between your RF receiver and your camera, BUT...

OK, I'm not familiar with the Samon systems, but I've had years of experience with wireless systems of many types. So here goes my troubleshooting process:

1. Whether one works backwards or forwards (mic to camera or camera to mic) , the first process of elimination is to examine all settings and then examine all physical connections.

2. Start with the wireless system. Is the transmitter broadcasting on the exact same frequency as the receiver? A few digits of shift can create an issue which should not exist. Then, is the receiver input switch set to mic, line, or instrument? Make it match the incoming signal. Sometimes this setting is on the transmitter.

3. Examine all physical connections. Are they secure and apparently positive? Every physical connection is a potential failure point. Where you can, use a VOM meter to establish continuity on each wire in the cable. Pay particular attention to XLR connectors. You have no idea how many broken or poorly soldered wires I have found inside XLR connectors!

4. Typically, a single wireless mic is a mono connection. To feed into both channels of an MA 100 the cable has to be physically split with a "Y" connector if you want the same audio of both channels. Sometimes cable adapters a supplied by the manufacturer to allow this adaptation. Check your cables. If not, don't worry about it too much. Most good NLE editing applications allow pan control adjustment. You can always delete the least valuable channel in post. Neither the XL1s or the MA100 have this kind of adjustment. The balance knob on the XL1s doesn't shift if only one audio cable is used (personal experience, here). Use two audio cables, and the pan adjustment really works.

5. If all of the connectors appear correctly wired, then there is the possibility that a short exists somewhere (which you can't see) within the cable. Check each cable in the connection string by twisting, turning, bending,as you move your fingers along the entire length of the cable while listening on headphones for the sound of a signal failure. When you find the guilty cable, discard and replace. This includes the cables from the MA 100 to the camera, which may mean purchasing a replacement MA100.

6. Remember that all of the MA series XLR adapters need power from the camera to boost the audio signal from "assumed" low impedance XLR connectors to high impedance RCA connectors installed on the camera's body. XLR is a connector designed for strength and reliability. It is usually wired for low impedance "mic level", but can managed to just about anything from mono balanced audio to stereo audio unbalanced to high voltage AC electical power. Change the insert to four or more connecters and the options magnify. So be sure to know the strength of the incoming signal.

Lastly, you can mix the front and back audio signals on the XL1s, but you must first set the camera for, I think, 12 bit, 32k sample rate audio recording. Then see what limitations exist on your NLE for audio download. Some NLE's only allow two channels of audio. You may have to download audio twice to get all four channels of audio.

[Jack Smith]

Also make sure you have the camera set properly.eg.the controls behind the door and that you have MIC level set in the menu.The MA100 only outputs a mic level.

[Don Palomaki]

The MA-100 is intended for mic level input signals and will clip if it is fed a line level signal. Make sure any input to it is mic level. The MA-100 provids about 6 dB gain to any input signal, and requires power from the camcorder.

Some wireless mics may not offer mic level balanced output, but they can be connected directly to the Audio 1 or Audio 2 input as a line level unbalanced source, or connected to the MA100 via an attenuator.

How are you connecting the wireless mic to the XL1? How do you have the XL1 configured for audio in the switches and menu?

At first blush it sounds like you may be feeding the wireless to one input channel of the XL1s, and may be hearing only crosstalk on the other channel because there is no signal being fed to it. The cross talk may be inpart a result of overloading the MA-100 input if the wireless is putting out a line-level signal.

The standard XL1 mic can work in conjunction with a wireless if you record in 12-bit/4-channel mode. You set this up in the menus, and fed the wireless to the Audio 2 input. Note that inspite of the shape, it is not a "shotgun" mic. It is a single point stereo mic with essentailly cardoid patters for left and right channels.

The RCA Audio 1 and Aufio 2 inputs to the XL series can be set for three input ranges; i.e., MIC (-55 dBV) or MIC ATT (-35 dBV) sensitivity with 600 ohm input impedance, and consumer line level (-11 dBV) with 47K ohm input impedance. All three unbalanced.

(The mic jack sensitivity is are -59 dBV and 600 ohm impedance)

[Adrian J. Hare]

Thanks guys for the return replies. Sorry I have not got back untill now but I have had Jet leg in the past couple weeks. I will try your opinions and see if I can get this to work. This is all new to me and I'm learning everyday .

Thanks again