G3 for weddings? at DVinfo.net

Darryn Carroll · May 7th, 2015, 03:10 PM

So my Azden had a few dropouts During the vows with fully charged batteries at roughly 50-70 feet. Wondering now if that could have been prevented if I were using a G3 setup??

Chris Harding · May 7th, 2015, 06:53 PM

Hi Darryn

Which Azden receivers are you using? I found that the 330 series suffered from dropouts so I'm still using the L100 receivers as they are true diversity ... 70' is quite a big distance so it's a big ask for any UHF system ... depends what's in the way too .... if there hundreds of people between the couple and camera the signal will be attenuated and a G3 won't be any better! What are you doing getting audio so far back?

Chris

Darryn Carroll · May 7th, 2015, 08:31 PM

I am now wondering if I over measured the distance. I attached a photo. I thought I had a pretty straight line of sight too. I am using the Azden 310. I also had it in the grooms right pocket and he was a big guy, perhaps his body interfered.

Michael Silverman · May 7th, 2015, 09:03 PM

The G3 system is great but I don't think it would be wise to use it 50-70 feet from the groom. I think some of the lectrosonics systems have longer range but they also cost a lot more. The new RodeLink system says that it has a 100 meter range, but I've heard the transmitter is quite big and I'm not sure how well the 2.4 ghz technology works for live events.

Chris Harding · May 7th, 2015, 09:13 PM

Hi Darryn

I had the Azden 300 series dual receiver and seriously it was hopeless so I went back to the 100ULT and had two on the camera .... Yep, my 300 also gave me dropouts for no reason with just a total loss of audio for maybe a second ... no exactly good for wedding vows!! I have no idea why it used to happen but it did and I sold the kit and had no more issues at all!!

OK, putting the transmitter in the groom's pocket also attenuates the signal big time!! I try to clip in on his belt and try to let at least one antenna stick out of the split of the jacket and it does help a lot.

Our frequencies have now changed so I'm looking at the AT System 10 2.4Ghz kit or even better the new Rode 2.4GHz sytem so I don't have an issue with frequency changes ... a lot cheaper too than a UHF system. Your distance based on 5 rows of chairs looks like no more than 30' to me and you have clear line of sight ..I would suspect the signal was attenuated by being in the grooms pocket but I find with the older 100 series I get no dropouts even with the transmitter covered with clothing but the 310 did dropout badly and didn't like people in the way either .. no idea why!!!

Chris

Paul R Johnson · May 8th, 2015, 12:19 AM

I'm firmly of the opinion that portable radio receivers really don't benefit that much from diversity reception as the aerials are just too close together. Receivers work brilliantly when you separate the aerials by many metres, as signal strength in itself is not the issue, it's those nasty nulls where the path has an issue. The aerial a few inches away will almost certainly be in the same null. Apart from obstacles in the building, the big snag is people. The aerial in the pocket is pressed up against a big bag of mostly water, and in stressful situations a rather sweaty bag of water, which makes absorption worse. In our theatre systems we use sennheiser's software to see the signal strength, and as people move you rarely see gentle slopes, you see bags of signal that suddenly drops to almost no signal, and this is danger territory. For use, an A channel dropout is bolstered by the B channel on full. During a show over Christmas, the broadcasters popped in and we noticed they had the same receivers, so they set theirs to the person they were featuring, and complained about dropouts, while we had no issues with our remote aerials.

May 7th, 2015, 03:10 PM	#1
Darryn Carroll Major Player Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Norwood, MA Posts: 255	G3 for weddings? So my Azden had a few dropouts During the vows with fully charged batteries at roughly 50-70 feet. Wondering now if that could have been prevented if I were using a G3 setup??

May 7th, 2015, 06:53 PM	#2
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: G3 for weddings? Hi Darryn Which Azden receivers are you using? I found that the 330 series suffered from dropouts so I'm still using the L100 receivers as they are true diversity ... 70' is quite a big distance so it's a big ask for any UHF system ... depends what's in the way too .... if there hundreds of people between the couple and camera the signal will be attenuated and a G3 won't be any better! What are you doing getting audio so far back? Chris

May 7th, 2015, 08:31 PM	#3
Darryn Carroll Major Player Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Norwood, MA Posts: 255	Re: G3 for weddings? I am now wondering if I over measured the distance. I attached a photo. I thought I had a pretty straight line of sight too. I am using the Azden 310. I also had it in the grooms right pocket and he was a big guy, perhaps his body interfered. Attached Images

May 7th, 2015, 09:03 PM	#4
Michael Silverman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Charlottesville Posts: 255	Re: G3 for weddings? The G3 system is great but I don't think it would be wise to use it 50-70 feet from the groom. I think some of the lectrosonics systems have longer range but they also cost a lot more. The new RodeLink system says that it has a 100 meter range, but I've heard the transmitter is quite big and I'm not sure how well the 2.4 ghz technology works for live events.

May 7th, 2015, 09:13 PM	#5
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: G3 for weddings? Hi Darryn I had the Azden 300 series dual receiver and seriously it was hopeless so I went back to the 100ULT and had two on the camera .... Yep, my 300 also gave me dropouts for no reason with just a total loss of audio for maybe a second ... no exactly good for wedding vows!! I have no idea why it used to happen but it did and I sold the kit and had no more issues at all!! OK, putting the transmitter in the groom's pocket also attenuates the signal big time!! I try to clip in on his belt and try to let at least one antenna stick out of the split of the jacket and it does help a lot. Our frequencies have now changed so I'm looking at the AT System 10 2.4Ghz kit or even better the new Rode 2.4GHz sytem so I don't have an issue with frequency changes ... a lot cheaper too than a UHF system. Your distance based on 5 rows of chairs looks like no more than 30' to me and you have clear line of sight ..I would suspect the signal was attenuated by being in the grooms pocket but I find with the older 100 series I get no dropouts even with the transmitter covered with clothing but the 310 did dropout badly and didn't like people in the way either .. no idea why!!! Chris

May 8th, 2015, 12:19 AM	#6
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,045	Re: G3 for weddings? I'm firmly of the opinion that portable radio receivers really don't benefit that much from diversity reception as the aerials are just too close together. Receivers work brilliantly when you separate the aerials by many metres, as signal strength in itself is not the issue, it's those nasty nulls where the path has an issue. The aerial a few inches away will almost certainly be in the same null. Apart from obstacles in the building, the big snag is people. The aerial in the pocket is pressed up against a big bag of mostly water, and in stressful situations a rather sweaty bag of water, which makes absorption worse. In our theatre systems we use sennheiser's software to see the signal strength, and as people move you rarely see gentle slopes, you see bags of signal that suddenly drops to almost no signal, and this is danger territory. For use, an A channel dropout is bolstered by the B channel on full. During a show over Christmas, the broadcasters popped in and we noticed they had the same receivers, so they set theirs to the person they were featuring, and complained about dropouts, while we had no issues with our remote aerials.