Sennheiser 122p Wireless Ops Question

[Giff Gfroerer]

I notice on the Sennheiser 122p wireless lav system there is a mute button on the transmitter and a volume button on the receiver. What are these for and when would I use them??? We have a shoot first thing Friday morning.

Thanks to all the great advice I have read on this board. Most of my questions have been answered before even asking!

We also opted for the Sennheiser 122p over the Azden and Audio Technica because the latter two were VHF and this board really had nothing good to say about VHF and because we figured sound wasn't a place to scrimp on! Though we can't afford it, we went with it anyhow.....

[Mike Murri]

Mute on transmitter does just that...mutes the wireless mic.

The volume on the receiver controls the amount of sound entering the camera. I think about 75% is a good starting place; was for me.

I can only quess at when you would use the mute...perhaps you would use it when saying something "nasty" about the camera man and you didn't want him to hear what you had to say.

Use your volume on the rx though, tweaking it for your situation will help a lot!

I too have this system, owned it for two weeks now....so I'm not a knowledge, but I do have some experience with it now.

Hope this helps,,,,better yet, I hope my info is correct. If not, anyone, please correct me.

Mike Murri

[Peter Jefferson]

The recievers volume knob is the gain output control from the signal recieved from the transmitter. this is used to boost or decrease gain. The mics are VERY sensitive... so sensitive in fact that i can hear my unborn babies heartbeat with it... so this gain adjustment is very handy

the switch on the transmitter is a mute switch as mentioned in your post... it literally turns off any signal being sent to the receiver. People use this when they want privacy during conversations or if they dont want to be heard...

ive heard some shocking stories from people who forgot they were wearing a mic... LOL

[Nathan Gifford]

Mute kills the audio without generating hiss.

[Giff Gfroerer]

Thanks so much for the replies.

Does everyone agree to keep the volume at about 75%???

Why wouldn't I just use the soundmeter on the XL1 to control the amount of sound coming in???

Giff

[Nathan Gifford]

Yes I keep mine set around 75%.

[Mike Rehmus]

You need to set levels throughout the audio chain so that everything is running reasonably at mid-points. You adjust the level out of the receiver so that the camera has enough but not too much signal.

[Don Berube]

Giff,

To elaborate on Nathan comments about the MUTE function,,, this feature allows you to 'turn off' the transmitter microphone without turning off the transmitter. If you simply just turn off the transmitter, the receiver may or may not lock onto a nearby spurious Rf signal - and if it does, it will typically be a very loud, harsh white noise static sound and very annoying. By leaving the transmitter on, the reciever stays locked on to the proper signal. It is considered best practice to use the MUTE function on any transmitter which is feeding a public address system, or news feed, etc... As a sound person, when setting up your talent with any Rf mics, make sure you take the time to introduce them to the MUTE button, should they need temprorary privacy.

The OUTPUT VOLUME control allows you to optimize the relationship between source (wireless transmitter) output and your recording device input preamp. Not all recording devices exhibit the same input level sensitivity, so this allows you to back off the transmitter output level should you begin to hear distortion and you are already potted down as much as you can go on your recording device. By the same token, you can raise the transmitter output volume control should you find that your recording device input level is not optimized and you need more level.

- don