Is the Sennheiser G2 junk?

[Cody Walters]

My units are in the 600 range. I think they were the B block.

Cody Walters
JW Studio LLC
Houston Video Production
Houston Wedding Videographer

Final Cut Studio 3
Adobe CS5 Master Suite
Panasonic HVX-200
Canon 7D

[Eric Toline]

B block it is. The A block covers 518-550MHz, B block covers 630-662MHz. That would be TV channels 22-27 for A & channels 40-45 for B.

Eric

[Craig Alan]

[Ty Ford] “Place the receivers as high as possible”

Hmm I use G2s. Could I place the receivers way up high and use an XLR extension cord to get to my SD 302? Is there any improvement in height over any direct line of sight? That is the fewer things near the line of sight the better? I once read that advice for cordless phone reception. As if a homeowner was going to build a pillar and put it away from all other electrical devices.

Assuming a non-defective unit, I find experimenting with sensitivity and AF out helps noise levels.

My antennas on my G2 kits are very flexible and have never been straight. Should I try to store them straight somehow? None of the cases I have used to protect them have been built for this. I could store them rigid using some gaffer tape until they are straight. I have the original boxes. Maybe the packaging allows for this? Never heard of this concern before.

OSX 10.5.8; MacBookPro4,1 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz
; Camcorders: Sony Z7U, Canon HV30/40, Sony vx2000/PD170; FCP certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Eric Toline]

Craig,

Once the antennas are bent it’s almost impossible to straighten them out. A slight curl “(” won’t hurt reception. It’s when one antenna looks like this “7” that you could have a problem, Ideally the antennas should be in the same plane for maximum performance meaning if the tx antenna is vertical so should the rx antenna.

Eric

[Craig Alan]

Thanks. Mine are curled not right-angled. They are quite flexible and I thought that the intent was to allow for storage where they might be curled to fit. I never saw any warnings/directions to store them straight. Nor have I seen storage cases where that is mentioned as a feature.

During use, would a narrow piece of gaffer’s tape to hold the end straight hurt, help, or not mater? Mine are not like a 7 but more than a slight curl.

I’ll keep it in mind for the future.

I knew about the orientation and when needed use a hot shoe adaptor that allows for vertical positioning.

When using the 302, I’ll use a pocket on the case to keep it vertical. I haven’t tried the down position for the transmitter but will try that. Easy enough to mount that way. Velcro works pretty good through the belt clip for attaching to legs of chairs or talent.

Never got great sound with the included mikes but not bad with countryman.

A lot depends on location. At school, we get pretty good reception. At home, with same settings, camera, mike, I get a buzz – definitely some interference in the air. Tried cutting the power to the house and it didn’t help, so must be coming from the area. Wired mikes are fine here.

OSX 10.5.8; MacBookPro4,1 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz
; Camcorders: Sony Z7U, Canon HV30/40, Sony vx2000/PD170; FCP certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Eric Toline]

Gaffers tape or shrink tubing alone won’t help. If you want to uncurl the antenna while using it get a plastic drinking straw narrow diameter and cut a section to fit on the antenna, tape the straw to the antenna so it doesn’t falloff & you’re good to go.

Eric

[Ty Ford]

Hmm I use G2s. Could I place the receivers way up high and use an XLR extension cord to get to my SD 302? Is there any improvement in height over any direct line of sight? That is the fewer things near the line of sight the better?

>>Usually higher provides better line of sight. Placing the receivers closer to the transmitters (and line of sight) then cabling back to the 302, yes. For some studio shoots, I put the receiver bag on a light stand just out of frame and cable back to the mixer

I once read that advice for cordless phone reception. As if a homeowner was going to build a pillar and put it away from all other electrical devices.

Assuming a non-defective unit, I find experimenting with sensitivity and AF out helps noise levels.

My antennas on my G2 kits are very flexible and have never been straight. Should I try to store them straight somehow? None of the cases I have used to protect them have been built for this. I could store them rigid using some gaffer tape until they are straight. I have the original boxes. Maybe the packaging allows for this? Never heard of this concern before.

>I don’t know that you need to go that far, but it may help. Just having them be somewhat straighter and not folding back over the transmitter has to help some.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Cow Audio Forum Leader
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide

[Kirill Belousov]

Very good to know that block C isn’t supported in US anymore. Thank you Eric. I actually was thinking to mod my 2xG2 to a mini BNC connector antenna, do you think it’s doable or is there something special inside the antennas of G2/G3 series wireless transmitters/receivers? It’s very easy to replace the antennas, but to make it removable would make those guys so much better, so you could unscrew them once the job is finished… I think it would make them a lot better devices. What do you think? Just so you know my warranty on g2’s are done a long time ago. Thank you.

Kirill B.

[Kirill Belousov]

“Sennheiser uses the same antenna for the G2/3 series for all frequencys from 470-772MHz which cover blocks A, B, C and the newer G block.” – Eric so you saying I can replace my G2 Bank A long antenna with the G3 Bank G Short Antenna and will not have any losses on a signal?

Sincerely,
Kirill Belousov
SounDudes
http://www.specsound.com