Wireless lavalier reciever connection to camcorder or recorder?

[Salvis Are]

As I am fairly new to audio I would like that you, guys, help me in this!
I understand that if I am gonna connect the reciever to camcorder I can have some drop outs.
I have AKG WMS40 single wireless system. Anyway, the way the wireless system works and looks is similar to any brand. You have Mic, transmitter and reciever..
Do you, guys, connect the reciever to camcorder and walk around with it whenever you need to, or you just usually leave the reciever connected to recorder somewhere and then feel free with the camcorder??? ..or maybe you are still walking around with the reciever and recorder in the bag or pocket??
I would really like to find out the optimal way of recording audio and your help and support would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Salvis Are.

[Richard Crowley]

Whether you keep the receiver with the camera, or record to a separate sound recorder is a production decision that is rather independent of whether you are even using wireless or not. Certainly if you are using separate sound recording, it makes sense to put the receiver with the mixer/recorder. And likewise, If you are recording sound directly to the camcorder, then attaching the receiver to the camcorder makes more sense. Or was there some other factor that we missed?

[Guy Cochran]

The AKG WMS40 is supplied by mains (AC to the US folk). It's a rather large receiver too. Looks like it's more for installed sound or live event (music industry etc). Most shooters use the portable/ camera mount receivers for on-camera, or field use. If you haven't seen them before, check out some of the models from Sony like the Sony UWP-V1 Wireless System or the Sennheiser G3 models to get an idea of how much smaller the portable receivers are. If you are stuck with that model, I guess your best bet is to position the receiver close to the talent, then rig a long XLR cable and loop it through your belt. Hopefully, no one trips or gets tangled :) When I shoot live event tethered to the "JumboTron" we have a "cable page" (sp?) that follows me around giving me line or taking up slack as needed.

I've had times where we have used two wireless receiver picking up the same transmitter, one on the camera, and one going to a separate recorder. It all comes down to budget, there's lots of great options out there. Some of those rackmount units are actually a lot better than the portable units, you can hook up additional antennas and get wicked range.

[Salvis Are]

cheers, guys!

[Jay Massengill]

For many years I used a number of the AKG WMS80 systems. They were available in a number of configurations, including a very small on-camera receiver, that wasn't all that widely known at the time.
The WMS40 system has been improved since that time (now with diversity receivers), perhaps there's an on-camera receiver also available that uses the same frequency band you may already have?
I could put together almost any combo of AC/DC-powered base station or DC-powered on-camera receiver, coupled with a variety of belt-pack or hand-held transmitters.

[Salvis Are]

looks like I cannot find any camera-on reciever.
need to try out all the other options then!
cheers.

[Salvis Are]

ok, now I found one!!!
Wireless Receiver AKG PR40
do you think it will work for my wms40????
what should I check.. is it the frequencies or smth else!!!?

[Jay Massengill]

The PR40 appears to be discontinued so actually getting your hands on one may be difficult. This receiver operates on only ONE fixed frequency, so you'd have to find an exact match with what you already have.
It would probably be more cost effective to buy a system with much greater choice of frequency bands, like the Sennheiser G3 system, unless you can find a matching PR40 super-cheap.
Unless you have to be mobile with your camera, using your base-station system will still work also.

[Salvis Are]

You are compeletely right. PR40 is discounted and not accessible anywhere..
Do you think I could get a portable reciever from another brand and mix'n'match together???

[Richard Crowley]

Don't count on it. It might be easier to sell your transmitter to someone who needs a spare/replacement and get a whole matching Tx/Tx kit.