Senn 500 evolution dropouts at DVinfo.net

John DeLuca · July 22nd, 2003, 08:30 PM

I have two omni senn 500 evolution wireless lapel kits. At a resent wedding, I was experincing major dropouts, and was clueless as to what could be causing this. A friend said that if you kink the wires to much, this could happen, and to wrap the wires around a 35mm film canister(keep in mind this is new equipment). I was thinking it was a grounding problem aswell. If anyone could help by giving the reasons these kits dropout, I can single out the real problem. I would hate to feel this helpless at the next job. Thanks for any direction you can give.

John DeLuca Akron, OH

Doug Quance · July 23rd, 2003, 06:45 AM

Did the dropout include BOTH signals? Or did each one cut in and out a different times?

Nathan Gifford · July 23rd, 2003, 12:26 PM

Were the batteries fresh? I always use new batteries for a new shoot.

I also noticed once that the security system use to cause fits with my transmitters. It only happened by the door so as long as I was away from there everything was OK.

Mike Rehmus · July 24th, 2003, 11:01 AM

I've had the Evolution 100 work over distances that made the subject look about 3" high (straight line, nothing in the way and I was above them). But I've had interference at 10 feet when members of the audience used their Cell Phones.

As Nathan suggests, fresh batteries are always a must and they don't last more than a few hours. The power of the transmitter goes way down as the voltage droops at the end of battery life.

The Sennheiser products use a semi-stiff and short antenna for both transmitter and receiver. I don't think you should wrap them around anything. As for the microphone and output wires, they have nothing to do with the radio side of the operation.

Sennheiser does make extension antennae and RF amplifiers (ITIRC) for the receivers. Whether they offer it for the body-pack receivers on the 500, I don't know.

Sennheiser do offer good technical support. Why don't you call them and ask.

It goes without mentioning that the two systems were on different frequencies, right?

John DeLuca · July 25th, 2003, 02:38 PM

Thanks to all for the insight. I had drop out in both channels, but mostly in one more than the other. It was a huge stone church, and I was far away on telephoto during the shot. I have a "b" channel and a "c" channel so they were defenetly on diff freq. Do police radios cause this? Batteries were semi fresh. I changed them before testing, and left the equipment on as the wedding was delayed due to the brides maid being late(possible drainage). The extention wires are a good idea to make sure you get live sound(once you miss it, its gone). Thankfully I have a good sound editor, and was able to copy the other channel to fill in the dropouts. Ill be calling senn for advice, thanks again.

John DeLuca Akron, OH

Mike Rehmus · July 25th, 2003, 03:02 PM

Police radios are particularly strong and can cause a lot of problems. They even cause the steadyshot in my Sony cameras to misbehave.

July 22nd, 2003, 08:30 PM	#1
John DeLuca Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 496	Senn 500 evolution dropouts I have two omni senn 500 evolution wireless lapel kits. At a resent wedding, I was experincing major dropouts, and was clueless as to what could be causing this. A friend said that if you kink the wires to much, this could happen, and to wrap the wires around a 35mm film canister(keep in mind this is new equipment). I was thinking it was a grounding problem aswell. If anyone could help by giving the reasons these kits dropout, I can single out the real problem. I would hate to feel this helpless at the next job. Thanks for any direction you can give. John DeLuca Akron, OH

July 23rd, 2003, 06:45 AM	#2
Doug Quance Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 138	Did the dropout include BOTH signals? Or did each one cut in and out a different times? __________________ If you're not the lead dog... the scenery never changes

July 23rd, 2003, 12:26 PM	#3
Nathan Gifford Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Tickfaw, LA Posts: 1,217	Were the batteries fresh? I always use new batteries for a new shoot. I also noticed once that the security system use to cause fits with my transmitters. It only happened by the door so as long as I was away from there everything was OK. __________________ Nathan Gifford Southern Cyclist Magazine & Productions For quick answers try our Search! To see me and Rob Lohman click here

July 24th, 2003, 11:01 AM	#4
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	I've had the Evolution 100 work over distances that made the subject look about 3" high (straight line, nothing in the way and I was above them). But I've had interference at 10 feet when members of the audience used their Cell Phones. As Nathan suggests, fresh batteries are always a must and they don't last more than a few hours. The power of the transmitter goes way down as the voltage droops at the end of battery life. The Sennheiser products use a semi-stiff and short antenna for both transmitter and receiver. I don't think you should wrap them around anything. As for the microphone and output wires, they have nothing to do with the radio side of the operation. Sennheiser does make extension antennae and RF amplifiers (ITIRC) for the receivers. Whether they offer it for the body-pack receivers on the 500, I don't know. Sennheiser do offer good technical support. Why don't you call them and ask. It goes without mentioning that the two systems were on different frequencies, right? __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

July 25th, 2003, 02:38 PM	#5
John DeLuca Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 496	Great info Thanks to all for the insight. I had drop out in both channels, but mostly in one more than the other. It was a huge stone church, and I was far away on telephoto during the shot. I have a "b" channel and a "c" channel so they were defenetly on diff freq. Do police radios cause this? Batteries were semi fresh. I changed them before testing, and left the equipment on as the wedding was delayed due to the brides maid being late(possible drainage). The extention wires are a good idea to make sure you get live sound(once you miss it, its gone). Thankfully I have a good sound editor, and was able to copy the other channel to fill in the dropouts. Ill be calling senn for advice, thanks again. John DeLuca Akron, OH

July 25th, 2003, 03:02 PM	#6
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Police radios are particularly strong and can cause a lot of problems. They even cause the steadyshot in my Sony cameras to misbehave. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!