Sennheiser SKP 100 w/AT873r? at DVinfo.net

Ben Chiu · December 16th, 2004, 10:22 PM

Season's Greetings!

I'm considering getting an AT873r to run with an ew 100-ENG G2 package. My question is whether a non-battery powered mic like the AT873r can be powered by the SKP 100 plug-on transmitter. I thought it would work, but I read specs somewhere that listed "Phantom Power = no" for the SKP 100. So now I'm confused (nothing new for me). :)

Thank you for any insights!

Ben

Jay Massengill · December 17th, 2004, 09:29 AM

The AT873r requires full 48-volt phantom. You'd have to use either an external battery-powered phantom supply between the mic and the transmitter (kind of clumsy and defeats the purpose of a plug-on transmitter) or go up to the 500 series plug-on transmitter. It supplies 48v phantom, but I'm not sure if it can properly transmit to the 100 series receivers or only to the 500 series receivers.

Ben Chiu · December 17th, 2004, 11:00 AM

Hi Jay:

Thank you for the clarification. Just FYI, it looks like they sell 100/500 series packages (like this one at BH http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=getItemDetail&Q=&sku=349266&is=REG&si=feat#goto_itemInfo), so the 500 must transmit to the 100.

But for the amount of money they want for a 500 plug-on, I wonder if it'd be smarter to put money into a different mic instead? What do you think?

Is there such thing as a good battery powered hypercardiod mic for under $300 that you can recommend?

Thanks again!

Ben

Jay Massengill · December 17th, 2004, 01:09 PM

Unfortunately, the only really good-sounding battery-operated hyper that I know of is the Rode NT3. It's rather large and heavy for any use outside the studio.
I guess I should ask, how exactly are you planning to use this mic. If it's on a boom pole, then my earlier comment about using an external phantom supply being clumsy isn't really accurate. It's actually better to keep the plug-on transmitter on your belt with a cable running to the mic. It's not a big deal to add a phantom supply on your belt too. This minimizes the weight on the end of the boom, and reduces dropouts caused by constantly swinging the transmitter around on a conductive pole that acts like a second transmitting antenna (which is bad).

Ben Chiu · December 17th, 2004, 04:44 PM

Hi Jay:

Yes, I was thinking about wireless boom operation. Your proposed setup sounds (padon the pun!) convenient.

On a related note, do carbon fiber boom poles cause interference/drop outs or is that limited just to aluminum.

Thanks again for sharing your experience.

Ben

Jay Massengill · December 17th, 2004, 08:28 PM

Carbon conducts electricity too, so the same applies with their potential to create dropouts, as well as interference in cheap cables wrapped around them when going wired, as well as electrocution risk. Maybe someone can come up with a cheap, light, non-conductive material for future use. Too bad fiberglass is so heavy.

Ben Chiu · December 18th, 2004, 02:22 AM

> Maybe someone can come up with a cheap, light, non-
> conductive material for future use.

Maybe there's something to that bamboo boom pole suggestion!
:)

Cheers!

Ben

December 16th, 2004, 10:22 PM	#1
Ben Chiu Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Posts: 30	Sennheiser SKP 100 w/AT873r? Season's Greetings! I'm considering getting an AT873r to run with an ew 100-ENG G2 package. My question is whether a non-battery powered mic like the AT873r can be powered by the SKP 100 plug-on transmitter. I thought it would work, but I read specs somewhere that listed "Phantom Power = no" for the SKP 100. So now I'm confused (nothing new for me). :) Thank you for any insights! Ben

December 17th, 2004, 11:00 AM	#3
Ben Chiu Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Posts: 30	SKP500 to G2 Hi Jay: Thank you for the clarification. Just FYI, it looks like they sell 100/500 series packages (like this one at BH http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=getItemDetail&Q=&sku=349266&is=REG&si=feat#goto_itemInfo), so the 500 must transmit to the 100. But for the amount of money they want for a 500 plug-on, I wonder if it'd be smarter to put money into a different mic instead? What do you think? Is there such thing as a good battery powered hypercardiod mic for under $300 that you can recommend? Thanks again! Ben

December 17th, 2004, 04:44 PM	#5
Ben Chiu Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Posts: 30	Wireless boom operation Hi Jay: Yes, I was thinking about wireless boom operation. Your proposed setup sounds (padon the pun!) convenient. On a related note, do carbon fiber boom poles cause interference/drop outs or is that limited just to aluminum. Thanks again for sharing your experience. Ben

December 18th, 2004, 02:22 AM	#7
Ben Chiu Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Posts: 30	More ultimate boom > Maybe someone can come up with a cheap, light, non- > conductive material for future use. Maybe there's something to that bamboo boom pole suggestion! :) Cheers! Ben

December 17th, 2004, 09:29 AM	#2
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	The AT873r requires full 48-volt phantom. You'd have to use either an external battery-powered phantom supply between the mic and the transmitter (kind of clumsy and defeats the purpose of a plug-on transmitter) or go up to the 500 series plug-on transmitter. It supplies 48v phantom, but I'm not sure if it can properly transmit to the 100 series receivers or only to the 500 series receivers.

December 17th, 2004, 01:09 PM	#4
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Unfortunately, the only really good-sounding battery-operated hyper that I know of is the Rode NT3. It's rather large and heavy for any use outside the studio. I guess I should ask, how exactly are you planning to use this mic. If it's on a boom pole, then my earlier comment about using an external phantom supply being clumsy isn't really accurate. It's actually better to keep the plug-on transmitter on your belt with a cable running to the mic. It's not a big deal to add a phantom supply on your belt too. This minimizes the weight on the end of the boom, and reduces dropouts caused by constantly swinging the transmitter around on a conductive pole that acts like a second transmitting antenna (which is bad).

December 17th, 2004, 08:28 PM	#6
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Carbon conducts electricity too, so the same applies with their potential to create dropouts, as well as interference in cheap cables wrapped around them when going wired, as well as electrocution risk. Maybe someone can come up with a cheap, light, non-conductive material for future use. Too bad fiberglass is so heavy.