Martin,

I tried the suggested -18 on AF out on the receiver, cant hear a thing, then I tried the maximum + level on AF out, which is +12. At that setting, I can hear a little bit in one ear only and only when I have the lav mic right up to my mouth.

Have you plugged anything else into the xlr inputs of the camera and had success with good levels? Could you plug a known working mic into each xlr and see what you get. Mic level of course. If another audio source works properly into the camera input then you know its probably not the camera. Another thing to check. Is the mini plug to xlr cable from the receiver to the camera perhaps not functioning properly. It sounds like the audio either isn't leaving the receiver, or the camera isn't taking it in. I had a friend who had dead xlr inputs on his camera out of the box. Not likely but a possibility.
Bernie

Well, it is a Sony HDR FX1, so it does not have XLR inputs, only a single mic/lin jack.

When I use the onboard microphones, I sure hear it loud and clear on the Sony headphones.

I do not have another mic to check it with. I may bring the whole thing to a meeting of videographer types and see if my Sennheisers work with their vidoecams.

Have you gone into the menu and set the Mic/line jack for Ext. Mic?

Ah - if you're connecting to an FX1, you're using a 3.5mm-jack to 3.5mm-jack cable, right? Are you using the original Sennheiser-supplied one? A generic one is no good here.

Is it also maybe possible to use the cable between the Receiver and camera backwards? There's a 3.5mm stereo jack plug at both ends, but a screw collar on one end only (for the Sennheiser receiver end). The cable's internal wiring is not symmetrical.

Try it the other way round?

(Not sure if the screw collar will let you, though.)

This is correct.

+18 and go into the line input.

If you go into a mic. input you will have to turn this down.

I hope this helps.


On the transmitter the sensitivity settings are:-

• 0 = the most sensitive for speech
• -10 = for loud speech
• -20 = for singing (or someone shouting)
• -30 = the least sensitive for loud vocals

The supplied Sennheiser mini-jack to mini-jack is wired:-
Screw jack at receiver end to normal jack at camera end:
receiver tip to camera tip and ring
receiver ring not connected
receiver sleeve to camera sleeve

This puts the receiver output onto both lefta nd right channels of the camera.

just tried that.....

Ding ding ding ding ding! We have a winner! The mic is [i]quite[/] sensitive now. Finally! lol.

This will be one of those things where 10 years from now, I will pray nobody prospective client ever finds this thread..sort of like when they find your photos from your high school yearbook and you're wearing a tuxedo with frilly, flamboyant peacock crap spilling out between the jack lapels. ;)

Glad you got it sorted, Dave!

Perhaps Sennheiser should take note: and label the apparently reversible cable with 3.5mm plugs at both ends, which end is the Receiver, and which end is the camera! (Although the screw collar should give a clue!)

To hear an accurate portrayal of my level of competence in this particular matter,
click here

While resisting the urge to go crawl under a rock, I wanted to thank everyone for weighing in. I thought of this place as soon as I hit a roadblock.

Martin, the odd thing is, I did screw in the knurled collar on the bodypack transmitter thinking it was kinda cool that they made it so that it can't be accidentally pulled out mid-interview. You would have thought I would have ported over that rather glaringly obvious concept on the cable where it connects to the receiver.

But they have a saying in engineering; "If you have to read the directions, there is room for improvement".

Now for my next challenge, I am going to try to convince Chris Hurd to go into the admincp and enable members to edit their posts for at least some reasonable length of time, as I congenitally refuse to proofread my posts when I am on a mission. ;)