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John C Eternal Order I THINK therefore I wrote 12945 Posts |
I have a Fender PD250 (great!)
For a mic I have an Audio Technica 200 series lapel mic. It has always been fine. The other day, in a school, it started to cut out. I mean, while I was talking everyting was ok then the sound was gone. Then the sound came back and I tried it again. Then the sound went out then came back. The kids thought it was funny so that wasn't a problem. But after a few moments I switched to the wired mic that comes with the PD250 and everything went fine. The next school, before the program, I tested it and the same thing happened. I had new batteries etc. so that wasn't the problem. I am testing it here at home right now and it seems to be ok. But I feel there is something not right. Any ideas? Thanks. I've tried the squealch stuff on the receiver and transmitter. John |
silverking Inner circle 4574 Posts |
John, is it cutting out completely and passing absolutely no signal or noise (in other words is it "dead quiet")?
Or is it cutting out in the sense that you might still be able to hear your voice, but it's overpowered by static and noise? |
John C Eternal Order I THINK therefore I wrote 12945 Posts |
Dead silence. As if it weren't even plugged in. About a week before, while using it, it would blow in this static for a few seconds then it would be fine. I never knew what that was I thought it may be a weak batter in the transmitter since that was the only battery in the unit.
But that day it would just cut out completely as if while I was talking someone turned it off for a few seconds then back on. John |
Brian Tanner Loyal user Ohio 297 Posts |
Hi John,
You might try changing the cable that goes from your receiver to your mixer. Sometimes these cables can just short out with no warning at all. As strange as it sounds.....always check the simplest things first.That's usually the source of the problem. If that's not the case, you may want to have the cable from the mic itself and it's connector checked for a short. Sometimes because these cables are so thin, they can get an accidental kink in them and wreck havoc. At the same time, I'd check the connector in the battery pack/transmitter too. One more easy thing to try just crossed my mind. Try connecting your wireless receiver into a different channel of your mixer. You may have a channel going bad. The same thing happened to me with a Mackie mixer a few years back. I hope that this helps, Brian |
Brian Tanner Loyal user Ohio 297 Posts |
In the words of Columbo "Uh...sir....just one more thing."
John, you may also want to check and make sure that the battery terminals are clean and free of dust and debris or even battery acid. As stange as it sounds, it can happen. |
Michael Messing Inner circle Knoxville, TN 1817 Posts |
Brian has given great advice. As long as you are sure that it wasn't RF interference with your wireless, it could be any of those things. I had a Samson wireless lavalier mic that started giving me trouble and I finally tracked it down to the cable that went from the body pack to the mic. When I wiggled the cable, I could the sound cut out.
Good luck in trying to track down the issue. Michael |
silverking Inner circle 4574 Posts |
For general troubleshooting, start at one end of the signal chain and work your way thorough to the other end of the signal chain in order, and dealing with cables before dealing with hardware.
Keep in mind that for most problems like this it's the weakest link in the chain causing the problems, which in the case of a wireless lav is the cable from the mic to the body pack. |
John C Eternal Order I THINK therefore I wrote 12945 Posts |
Great! I'll test it out tonight. Thanks,
John |
Regan Inner circle U.S.A. 5726 Posts |
Let us know how it goes, John. I tend to agree that it sounds like a cable problem. I had some trouble similar to your description once with a Nady wireless system for guitar. It was the cable that connected to the transmitter.
Regan
Mister Mystery
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John C Eternal Order I THINK therefore I wrote 12945 Posts |
Well, I tested it out at home and of course I couldn't get it to duplicate. I guess it only happens during a show!?
I used the same cables and, while reciting the Gettysburg Address, I wiggled the cables. Both the body pack cable and the receiver to my Fender PD250 unit. I also switched ports. I'll try it again and see what happens but there is definitely something wrong. Thanks for all your input ... (ha ha, get it? Input! stupid joke) John |
silverking Inner circle 4574 Posts |
Hi John,
Two things might be appropriate at this time. One is to re-check your squelch settings with the manual in your hands. Squelch can often create this exact type of problem. If that doesn't work, I'd replace all cables in my system at the same time. That would include your lapel mic as well. Intermittent problems are some of the most difficult to track down. The only real solution is to be proactive. If it happens after you've got all your cables replaced, and have set to squelch to factory specs, you've likely got a hardware problem. It's not unheard of for a wireless transmitter or receiver to wander off it's assigned centre frequency. This hapens less and less as you get newer generations of wireless equipment, but it still can happen. Your manufacturer could tell you if your pack or receiver can be re-tuned. Regardless, this is a typical hardware issue, and often you're far better off to consider buying a new wireless mic system prior to getting into large scale hardware repairs. But replace all your cables and re-tune your squelch first...it might just fix things! |
jamie j New user 3 Posts |
We had a similar problem with a lapel mic that we were using for a performer awhile ago, and we finally tracked it down to the fact that the microphone itself had a faulty cable in it. Although this is sort of a "hopeful" last resort, it is possible that this may have happened to yours as well. But check with the other posts above as well as they are some very good suggestions.
Jam |
Alan Munro Inner circle Kentwood, Michigan, USA 5952 Posts |
I used to use a VHF microphone and it started cutting out when TV stations went to Hi-Def, if I recall right. I had one particular gig near a TV tower, years ago, and the signal was jammed when I went more than 10 feet from the receiver. The sound person loaned me a UHF mike and that worked fine.
I understand that large electrical equipment can also cause interference. It can be a problem in schools, sometimes. |
John C Eternal Order I THINK therefore I wrote 12945 Posts |
I went ahead and replaced the entire unit. Everything works better now. I went from VHF to UHF it's louder, more clear. Everything has improved. It's probably a good idea to get a new mic system every few years.
John |
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