Sennheiser G3 – light amount of interference, not a mobile interference sound

[Ty Ford]

Rats. Sorry, not hearing it here. Footsteps and throat clear, yes.

[Paul Mcdermott]

Hi Ty,
It’s very faint during the throat clear.
I’ll try and get a better example and post again.

[Paul Mcdermott]

Hi Ty,
It’s coming in and out here. High frequency.
With headphones I can hear it.

Audio-Interference-2.wav 5 MB Waveform Audio - Click to view

• Copy Download Link

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Paul,

My first question would be:
Do you have Automatic Gain Control (AGC) for the audio anywhere in the recording chain?

Looking up the Sony G series radio microphone, I get a number of small on camera microphones?
Not knowing what camera you are using, and if your mic is attached to the camera?

Then it might be something as trivial as auto-focus on the lens, doing its “silent” thing?
Sorry, throwing random questions, but would need to have a better illustration of the setup, before hoping to nail down your problem.

Having said that, if you can fix it in post, and are happy to do so, then you could keep doing that.

Atb
Mads

[Paul Mcdermott]

Hi Mads,
No AGC anywhere in the chain. I keep my levels low.
I record from the Sennheiser G3’s into my H4N Pro.
It’s a weird high pitched sound and I was wondering if anybody had a similar occurrence.
I wonder now is it because of the H4N Pro. I record with mono mix and phantom power off.

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Paul,

So Sennheiser, not Sony microphones?

Have you tried something as simple as changing the cable out?
Might be something as simple as an ill-fitting jack plug – shouldn’t be, but if you pour water on it after midnight, you know what happens, right?

Atb

Mads

[Paul Mcdermott]

I just realised I said Sony instead of Sennheiser. 😲..
Is there any way to edit the thread title?

That’s a good idea about the cables.

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

No problem, don’t worry about it.
Sometimes the COW helps auto-correct titles.

One thing that might be worth looking at is if you are recording mono audio into each channel, but using stereo leads?

Atb
Mads

[Ty Ford]

Wow what an amazing moment. I see more people on this thread than I’ve seen in the whole Audio group for several YEARS! Hello, everyone!!!
On to the problem. Still no on speakers for me, but several thoughts.
Types of interference exist today that were not around when the Sennheiser G3 came out.
Perhaps the age of the G3 is starting to show. There may be electronic components that aren’t working the way they should.
Power up the unit into whatever you had it plugged into when this occurred, put the headphones on and see if you can reproduce the problem.
Move cell phones closer. Wiggle the cables (including mic cable) to try to provoke your noise. If possible do this in the same exact location you were in when it happened.
Try a different mic. Mic cables can get distressed over time, frequently at the ends; where the connector and mic are.
I had a friend with a rhythmic RF problem traced back to the radar at Logan Airport in Boston. He was 5 miles or more away but on the top floor of his house and the radar tower was visible.
Phantom power on the camera or mixer recorder should be turned off for this track.
Can you reproduce the problem?
Regards,
Ty Ford
Audio Forum Moderator

[Paul Mcdermott]

Thanks TY.
I can’t reproduce the location but it has happened in multiple different locations so I’ll set it up and wiggle cables etc, to see if I can reproduce the interference sound.