Rode Wireless Film Maker Modification
 

Some new toys arrived yesterday. Amongst them a Panasonic AG-UX180 and a Rode Wireless Film Maker kit.

I didn't like the idea of having large plugs and messy cabling all over the camera, and I will be leaving the receiver attached so I decided to reduce the footprint of the receiver. I also hate having to use batteries when there is a perfectly good power supply available, in this case the USB host port on the camera.

I drilled a couple of holes in the front side of the receiver to line up with the 1/2" threads on the camera's handle and used a couple of countersunk brass screws to attach it with a strip of 4mm ABS plastic in between to space it up a little so it didn't hit the curve of the handle.

Electrically, I found some test points I could connect to on the PCB for audio out and 5V USB power. I had to scrape some of the solder resist away to expose a couple of ground points.

The power supply needed filtering to remove a small buzz, which I did with a 12 Ohm resistor and a 2200uF capacitor.

Finally, I modified a plastic XLR plug to reduce its size and ran the cable out the side.

This setup work well and comes on automatically with the camera.

I was concerned about the possibility of reduced range because of the proximity to the antennas of the cables I added, but I could not notice any change from my tests before I started the modification.

Re: Rode Wireless Film Maker Modification
 

Very Nice!

Re: Rode Wireless Film Maker Modification
 

Probably kills the warranty if that is important, but otherwise interesting.

I suspect tthe same could be done to the Newsshooter kit's receiver.

As i understand it the antenna is internal and to the front end (opposite the display end). I suppose depending on their exact position the added wires could even act as a parasitic element in a yagi-type antenna to modifye gain/directionality.

Re: Rode Wireless Film Maker Modification
 

I've definitely voided the warranty. As an electronics engineer I do things more complicated than this all the time.

As for the new wires improving the signal, the chances are very slim for that. I did expect that I might have to route the wires away from the antennas. That would have involved cutting out part of the battery compartment, so I tried it as you see in these pictures first. It works fine so no need to go any further.

Re: Rode Wireless Film Maker Modification
 

In case you don't know, the antennas are the 2 gold "F" patterns seen on the far right and top of the photos of the PCB.

Re: Rode Wireless Film Maker Modification
 

Is there a mod you can do to enable the receiver to be mounted correct way up on the camera?

Andrew

Re: Rode Wireless Film Maker Modification
 

That would have been more complicated.

Besides, flipping the sound upside down means it will come out the right way for the northern hemisphere.

PS: I'm going to be visiting your town in February to see Roger Waters.

Re: Rode Wireless Film Maker Modification
 

There are other receivers which already have this included, such as the Sony UWP-D11 kit can be powered via USB.

Re: Rode Wireless Film Maker Modification
 

The Rode will do that too, but using power from the same device as the audio causes noise due to the shared ground. The filter I added cured that.

The main thing is that I didn't want lumpy plugs sticking out all over the place, plus having the receiver on the cold shoe would have made it stick out a long way. The way I have it now the receiver is an integral part of the camera and nothing gets in the way of other operations and setup/pack up.