Ty Ford
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54
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Hello Tom and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.
If you have SKYPE on your computer, you can call his land line or cell phone from your SKYPE. There is a slight upgrade charge for this. $30.50 for 12 months of unlimited calls from the US & Canada from within the US. I have had it running on my MacBook Pro for years.
I also use a Plantronics .628 headset to keep the audio from bleeding from speaker to mic. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/861261-REG/Plantronics_81960_11_Audio_628_Stereo_USB.html/BI/8631/KBID/9745
If you have installed Call Recorder https://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/ on your computer, you can record both sides of the conversation to separate files. That’s $29.95 and well worth it.
You can choose to record mp3 or 16-bit wav files.
As Richard so wisely suggests, do some dry runs first.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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::SIGH::
I thought RED were the only camera people who reversed polarity on their inputs out of stupidity.
I don’t think you’ll damage any replacements.
There may be something wrong with the camera inputs. Turning on Phantom Power shouldn’t create any noise in and of itself.
I’d send the camera(s) in and see what they find.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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Hello Rick and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum,
We need to fix the C100 mic inputs and we also need to figure out what is causing these problems. My understanding of audio signals and electronic circuits is pretty basic but after researching the issues, it seems like there are a combination of possible factors. It seems likely that components inside the preamps in both cameras have become damaged over time. Could this be a result of frequently plugging in powered microphones into the XLR terminal when phantom power was active, or by a combination of activity like misfired cables?
Not so much by plugging in. Bad cables, yes.
AND/OR the usage of the Sony ECM microphones over time possibly reversed the polarity of the C100’s preamps?
Not possible. ?
The Shure SM87A did not present the Channel 1 distortion. I know that most microphones guard against unbalanced cables, etc., but many Shure mic’s add additional protection against voltage fluctuations, reverse voltage, and misswired cables/equipment through a variety of protection diodes and decoupling capacitors that aren’t included in other microphones.
Mics typically don’t require protection circuitry. Condenser mics do need to have circuitry that properly applies the incoming Phantom Power.
The Sony mic’s are wired with their copper shielding split between pin 1 and chassis ground, whereas the XLR cables are only wired to pin 1. Not sure if this has any relevance.
Preamps may be designed in a variety of ways. Usually pin 1 to ground is fine. What the preamp wants to see is another thing. That may or may not be a point worth inspecting and experimenting with.
If anyone has suggestions or possible solutions let me know.
Any mic preamp with no mic attached will probably be noisy because the circuit is not terminated (by a mic).
Different mics have different amounts of selfnoise , normally heard as hiss. As a rule, the smaller the diaphragm, the more the hiss.
Lavs, therefore, hiss more than the SM87A.Using battery powered mics with both battery power and phantom power turned on may create a conflict, resulting with noise and heated batteries. Usually, use either batter or phantom.
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There is NO DISTORTION when the Shure SM87A mic is connected to Channel 1 with any of the XLR cables, (+48V was turned on in the camera). The +48V buzz and the white noise is still present.
Are you monitoring each channel separately? Is the buzz and noise on both channels or in the unterminated channel 2?
When you find a mic/cable that works, keep the cable plugged into the camera and attach different mics to it to see how each one does. Also plug a mic and cable into inout 2 to properly terminate it.
There may be some menu items in the C100 that need to be changed. I don’t know the camera that well, but I think I recall its menu structure is not that obvious.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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Hello Troy,
Is it possible that the preamps in your recording studio have transformer inputs and the rest of your gear does not?
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum LeaderWant better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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Dear Robert,
You throw down a “gauntlet suggestion” that we bare our respective mic lockers and resumes to the world. That’s wholly provocative and not what this forum is about. It’s about helping people. You are attempting to hijack this thread. I suggest you take your energy to rec.audio.opinion, rec.audio.pro or rec.arts.movies.production.sound. They like that sort of confrontational approach.
Sorry if you felt talked down to. I assure you, there was absolutely no condescension in my reply. Again, that is not what this forum is about. It’s about helping people. Look through my posts for condescension. You won’t find it.
You are absolutely correct. Your post is a lizard brain response. Not the best approach here.
Please continue to use your 816 , Nagra and iPhone, as you wish. I also own an 816 (not the MKH 815, its predecessor) and a full track mono Nagra. My 816 is the original model with point to point soldering, not the later SMT version. The 816 is not indicated for Phil’s work. He has a Rode that may have a problem or is a bad match for his application. Sending him off to buy an 816 is not the best approach, especially if he ever intends to mount it on a camera.
If you’d like to ask a specific question, why not start a new thread instead of hijacking this one?
Best Personal Regards,
Ty Ford
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Robert, et al,
Yes, the 816 is a long shotgun used in film.
However, it’s choice, is predicated on a quiet set and specific acoustic properties of the location, not run and gun.
Bad choice or run and gun and its length makes it unwieldy.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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Phil, If you want a real flame thrower for a shotgun try this.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum LeaderWant better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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Hello Phil,
Run and gun maybe, but with a really good isolation mount on the camera if you actually plan to be running while gunning.
A shotgun mic in no way works like a zoom lens. It sounds like that’s what you were imagining.
There’s a 10 dB pad on the NTG-4. You don’t, by some strange chance, have that engaged do you?
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum LeaderWant better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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Hello Bruno,
Have you tried Sound Devices Wave Agent software as a way to save or open the problem files?
Audacity, operating in the “raw file” mode has worked for me before. I wonder if the person working on the files got something mixed up.
Sorry for your pain.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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Hello Tim,
I’m wondering of there’s a pro audio shop or an audio pro you could take the mic to who might be able to diagnose it for you.
Sorry, I don’t know anyone in Dubai. Maybe there’s a registry or local shop who could help you.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum LeaderWant better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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