If it is the
connector, it could just be dirty. Caig
DeoxIT D5 first, followed by Caig Gold is the way to clean connectors.
Just got back from the matinée. Yes, it was the connectors. Turns out, it was the connectors on the seven we rented, not any of the eight we own (And I am going to be having a serious discussion with the director about how much of our rental fee we should be getting back; this particular outfit has provided us with a number of devices that don't work as advertised. I realize that, when you rent something, you are getting used equipment. But it ought be
working used equipment. This ain't.)
The
connector could be broken inside the
beltpack, too.
It could also be a broken mic cable. They tend to break close to the
connector strain relief because of extra stress there. Cutting out the bad section and resoldering to the
connector can save that.
I really appreciate the thoughtful, supportive replies I get here, like this one. This really matched what I found before the show today. What I did was take out each body-pack, get it delivering sound out of the
house speakers, and then I thumped the connectors and gently tugged the wires. In every case where there was a problem, thumping the connectors produced the banging sound. If I held the
connector in one position, and tugged the wires, there were no problems. I didn't have any cleaner with me (I'm going to get some of that stuff you mentioned), but jacking the
connector in and out several times seemed to help a
bit, maybe by scraping off some ancient oxides. Then, as planned, I found a direction that, if shoved that way firmly and held in place (with about a
foot of
gaffer's tape), all lines on the
connector remained closed.
If there are no bangs from manipulating the
connector and cable, then the issue is RF dropouts. That could be caused by poor frequency management, which is very possible with 15 systems running, or it could be a problem with where the receive antennas are located.
The model 3000's have a direct frequency read-out. Everything is at least 500kHZ apart. The model 2000's are hard-channelized, but I have confirmed we have no
channel colllisions. The 3000's are all D-band and the 2000's are all I-band. All fifteen peg the
meter (well, show maximum strength) on the RF side. I've set them all to 30mW, which certainly seems enough for the short, unobstructed run we've got.
We have another show tonight, but, before the last four shows that start Thursday, I'm going to push the director to let me
call the rental place and raise some heck about this. They need to buy replacements for this stuff, and I think
today would be a good schedule.
In fact, that said, I'd like to make an observation and ask a follow-up question. First, the observation: I'm a total noob to theater, but I've been an
amateur radio and electronics hobbyist for over 40 years. I feel qualified to say that, in this application, this
connector is A Piece of Junk. Now, the question: why do complete model 3000 systems cost more than my all-mode, 100w, 550kHz-440mHz, Yaesu transceiver? It's just a flippin' wireless mike, fercryinoutloud! Granted, it must have better audio performance than my Yaesu, and must deliver balanced signals out of its
XLR jack. I'm willing to pay a
bit more than I would for, say, a baby
monitor, to get those things. But... $800? For
that, I want it to be battle-ready and combat-hard, and definitely not in need of solutions requiring
gaffer's tape, of all things (though I am told there are few problems in theater that can't be addressed with enough of it
). The tape actually did get us through the show (and, I hope, will do so again in two hours at the evening performance).
sdauditorium mentioned another model. What else do you folks suggest? We're on a limited budget (being a school), but we won't be renting this stuff again (if I have any say in it). I'd like us to buy something we can, if not pound on with a hammer, at least maintain with modest effort. Resoldering loose wires isn't too much to ask, but the
connector on those 310s looks bad in ways that solder can't fix.
What should we use?