Rowa Wireless Lav Mics
 

Hello sirs

Has anybody considered this system for use?

New Professional wireless Microphone for 5d2 7d Camera | eBay

Re: Rowa Wireless Lav Mics
 

Be very very skeptical

Re: Rowa Wireless Lav Mics
 

Judging from my limited experience, output at 10mW looks a tad low compared to other wireless systems (30-50mW). Range might not be a strong point for these. Also, what frequencies are they using? Doesn't look like anything in the "normal" 500-800MHz range. Some kind of 2.4GHz cordless phone tech?

Re: Rowa Wireless Lav Mics
 

I found some more info on them, I would really like to see how they perform
Artworkfoto : DSLR Video Product Pre Order!

Re: Rowa Wireless Lav Mics
 

Warning Will Robinson! It uses uncommon batteries, and not cheap ones either and seems to use the word 'professional' in a casual sort of way. I have some Line 6 digital mics and they're pretty complex. The 2.4GHz band is full of thousands of users, and to use this band without errors correction and frequency hopping technology is foolhardy. If you Google the Line 6 microphones (no good for this use as they don't make a battery operated receiver, you'll see how they deal with interference. They do work really well, and seem immune from interference - although whenever I use them, they wipe out wi-fi. They don't suffer from interference, but boy - do they cause it! I'd be very worried about these with no info on resistance to interference.

Re: Rowa Wireless Lav Mics
 

Does the antenna position seem strange to anyone else? Normally I think of antennas being positioned perpendicular to an imaginary line between the transmitter and receiver. (With receive and transmit antennas both vertical, or both horizontal, at least in theory.) In the product photo, the antennas are pointed directly at the transmitter, which would tend to minimize (again in theory) the strength of the received signal.

Does anyone here position their receive antennas like the ones shown in this product photo?

(Also, if nothing else, the numerous errors in the product description tend to make me very skeptical. I realize English is not everyone's native language, but I'd hope that a reputable company could obtain a better translation than the one linked to here.)

Re: Rowa Wireless Lav Mics
 

From the batteries to the signal-strength indicator icon to the operating frequency band, the product seems to leverage cell phone technology. This is rather a clever way of hitching a ride on the gargantuan size of cell phone manufacturing economy of scale.

The description prose on eBay seems like your typical clueless "Chinglish" semi-translation. Since it is being sold by some individual 3rd party, I wouldn't judge the manufacturing company by what you see there. As for the photo showing the receiver mounted horizontally with the antennas "aimed" presumably at the transmitter, I write that off to just a clueless "product stylist"/photographer who doesn't know a wireless receiver from his left elbow.

The thing that makes me most skeptical is the logo: (((STEREO))) on the transmitter and receiver. That makes it look like a low-end consumer toy rather than a serious piece of professional audio gear. And there is no mention of the microphone or even any place to connect one. It may even have a built-in 42-cent electret capsule inside the transmitter case.

Unless we can find a better description of the goods elsewhere, I don't think it is worth gambling $280 to find out.

Re: Rowa Wireless Lav Mics
 

My concern is that, if the product is made to mount in a camera shoe, and the antenna jacks are pointed toward the transmitter, and the antennas are NOT 90º configuration, then anyone using this thing as designed would have the antennas oriented in the worst possible direction, and would get the worst possible performance.

Besides, antenna orientation is part of "Radio 101." If the designers don't even know that very basic theory, I don't have much confidence in their overall ability to design a quality system.