problem: high audio level at DVinfo.net

Adi Head · June 7th, 2004, 02:14 PM

shot a wedding reception yesterday. only second time, so i'm still learning out there. when i hooked up my pd150 to the wireless receiver to get sound from the dj's mixer, i noticed that the signal i was getting on that channel was extremely high (although AUTO GAIN was switched on). i had to set the channel's INPUT LEVEL to MIC ATT in order to get sound at a normal recording level.

first thing i tried to do is switch channels to see if the problem continues on the other channel. it did.

later, the next day, i tried hooking up a neck mic to the transmitter, to see if what happens. i had the same results i got from the dj's mixer - high sound level when set both to MIC and LINE. then i tried a completely different wireless audio device and different neck mic but the problem remained.

can't figure it out. anyone got a clue?

adi

Doug Okamoto · June 7th, 2004, 02:37 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Adi Head : shot a wedding reception yesterday. only second time, so i'm still learning out there. when i hooked up my pd150 to the wireless receiver to get sound from the dj's mixer,...-->>>

More than likely the dj was sending you a line feed. You need to have him send you a mic feed. Or he could have been sending you a very hot signal. Most of the audio people are concerned with analog with doesn't have the -10db limit that the digital world has. You can either have the dj send you a -10db mic signal or there should be a 'volume' control or attenuation control on your wireless receiver or a combination thereof.

HTH

Doug

Mike Rehmus · June 7th, 2004, 03:32 PM

If you hooked up to a wireless receiver and the level was too high, you have several choices. The first is to lower the level at the transmitter end.

Was it your wireless system? What brand and model?

In order, you should attempt to control the:
1 input signal level
2 input attenuation
3 sensitivity of the transmitter
4 output level of the receiver
5 input sensitivity of the camera
a line or microphone
b input attenuator
c level controls

Adi Head · June 8th, 2004, 06:43 AM

thanks for the replies. from what you guys are saying, i understand that it's just a matter of setting the in/out levels and sensitivities. in a way, thats what i eventually did. i just set the the channel to MIC ATT and that did the job. for some reason, i thought this was not a very good solution and that this should not be happenning.
maybe what i should be asking is: what exactly does the CHANNEL INPUT LEVEL control do? and what actually happens when i switch from MIC to MIC ATT or to LINE and vice versa.

thanks.

Mike Rehmus · June 8th, 2004, 10:32 AM

We have at least one person on the forum who has literally ripped these cameras apart at the schematic level and he can tell you technically what happens.

But basically you have a gain control and the other switches are really attenuators of different values.

Let me reiterate that adjusting these elements may be the wrong first step. Why? Because if the levels are that high coming from a wireless system, you may be approaching the upper limits there too. Like the camera, the wireless system can distort the audio when over-driven. So the best place to start is at the head of the audio string and get the levels into the proper operating range. In this case by adding attenuators or adjusting the input gain of the transmitter.

June 7th, 2004, 02:14 PM	#1
Adi Head Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 642	problem: high audio level shot a wedding reception yesterday. only second time, so i'm still learning out there. when i hooked up my pd150 to the wireless receiver to get sound from the dj's mixer, i noticed that the signal i was getting on that channel was extremely high (although AUTO GAIN was switched on). i had to set the channel's INPUT LEVEL to MIC ATT in order to get sound at a normal recording level. first thing i tried to do is switch channels to see if the problem continues on the other channel. it did. later, the next day, i tried hooking up a neck mic to the transmitter, to see if what happens. i had the same results i got from the dj's mixer - high sound level when set both to MIC and LINE. then i tried a completely different wireless audio device and different neck mic but the problem remained. can't figure it out. anyone got a clue? adi

June 7th, 2004, 02:37 PM	#2
Doug Okamoto Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Bellevue, Washington Posts: 145	Re: problem: high audio level <<<-- Originally posted by Adi Head : shot a wedding reception yesterday. only second time, so i'm still learning out there. when i hooked up my pd150 to the wireless receiver to get sound from the dj's mixer,...-->>> More than likely the dj was sending you a line feed. You need to have him send you a mic feed. Or he could have been sending you a very hot signal. Most of the audio people are concerned with analog with doesn't have the -10db limit that the digital world has. You can either have the dj send you a -10db mic signal or there should be a 'volume' control or attenuation control on your wireless receiver or a combination thereof. HTH Doug

June 7th, 2004, 03:32 PM	#3
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	If you hooked up to a wireless receiver and the level was too high, you have several choices. The first is to lower the level at the transmitter end. Was it your wireless system? What brand and model? In order, you should attempt to control the: 1 input signal level 2 input attenuation 3 sensitivity of the transmitter 4 output level of the receiver 5 input sensitivity of the camera a line or microphone b input attenuator c level controls __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

June 8th, 2004, 10:32 AM	#5
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	We have at least one person on the forum who has literally ripped these cameras apart at the schematic level and he can tell you technically what happens. But basically you have a gain control and the other switches are really attenuators of different values. Let me reiterate that adjusting these elements may be the wrong first step. Why? Because if the levels are that high coming from a wireless system, you may be approaching the upper limits there too. Like the camera, the wireless system can distort the audio when over-driven. So the best place to start is at the head of the audio string and get the levels into the proper operating range. In this case by adding attenuators or adjusting the input gain of the transmitter. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

June 8th, 2004, 06:43 AM	#4
Adi Head Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 642	thanks for the replies. from what you guys are saying, i understand that it's just a matter of setting the in/out levels and sensitivities. in a way, thats what i eventually did. i just set the the channel to MIC ATT and that did the job. for some reason, i thought this was not a very good solution and that this should not be happenning. maybe what i should be asking is: what exactly does the CHANNEL INPUT LEVEL control do? and what actually happens when i switch from MIC to MIC ATT or to LINE and vice versa. thanks.