Bad Capsule in Wireless Mic?

[StradivariusBone]

Just looking for verification of a theory. Have a Sennheiser ew 100 G2 handheld with a dynamic cardioid capsule (md835). Was getting some strange interference from the mic that I sourced to our bass guitar amp. The mic was mounted on stand on an elevated stage floor (wood) and about 15' in front of the amp which was also on the floor. Everytime the bassist played loud enough, I'd get a buzzing interference through the vocal mic that sounded like a distorted version of what the bassist was playing. No wireless hardware involved with the bass.

I pulled the mic and noticed that when I shook it or vibrated it, I'd get a sort of static interference that led me to believe that something internally might be shorting out. Nothing looks suspect in the capsule, but with this design it does move a bit inside the holder as it slides up and down with the battery access.

Replacement capsule is $100, much less than a new mic of a similar build quality, but I'd rather not buy it and come to find out there's something else going on. Does this sound like a capsule going?

Thanks!

 

[FMEng]

That's really hard to tell. The buzzing could have been the floor and stand resonating, or the transmitter overloading if the gain was high. If the mic sounds good with someone speaking or singing into it, then I would tend to think it isn't the mic capsule. The static could be a noisy connector or loose battery. I would go over those with DeoxIT D5, and see if it cleans up.

 

[StradivariusBone]

I know. It's not so much a buzz as it is static/shorting sound. Like something grounding as the capsule vibrates inside the body of the mic, it could possibly be the transmitter section though which could also be the static. I thought about putting something in there to brace it being that it may be lose since it's older. Looking at the updated design for these handhelds (we've got three others) they now keep the capsule locked into the body and the battery compartment slides out and then connects via a circular connector.

This mic is in this exact same spot every Thursday and Sunday and this is the first time it's flared up like this so I'm erring more on there being something wrong with the device than the location. I'll try and replicate it after cleaning, but there's no visible corrosion on any of the terminals, battery or capsule. Thanks for the advice!

 

[JD]

Hard to pin down without a hardware swap. I have two of them but noting feels loose if I shake them. I have seen those capsules pop up on eBay (OEM) for $50 to $125, so sometimes you can get a pretty good deal when someone is clearing their inventory. No great deals at the moment.

 

[StradivariusBone]

True. It could be as much the "holder" piece inside as anything else at this point. I've got 3 others, but I think they're G3's, I'm guessing the capsule might be the same? At least in a perfect world it would be so. I'll try the swap later on this week and we'll see if the problem follows.

 

[rwhealey]

Sennheiser has a flat rate repair program: https://service.sennheiserusa.com/

It's probably cheaper than buying a whole new capsule, if that turns out to be the problem.

 

[JD]

I've got 3 others, but I think they're G3's, I'm guessing the capsule might be the same? At least in a perfect world it would be so.

G3 went with the top screw on capsules so they are not compatible with the G2. Still, it's easy enough to pull the guts out of a G or G2 and look for anything that might be obvious. If you can shake it and hear something, then a quick look is well worth it.

 

[NickVon]

Sennheiser has a flat rate repair program: https://service.sennheiserusa.com/

It's probably cheaper than buying a whole new capsule, if that turns out to be the problem.

Sennheiser service repair was excellent when when we had a screen on a G3, EW100 Bodyback get damaged. The pack was just 42 days out of warranty but they processes it and fixed it under warranty and didn't nitpick or site 'misuse' as a reason to deny it. Even then there flat rate and included shipping labels for services is 5 star.

10/10 would get serviced by them again....er that doesn't sound right.

 

[JD]

Just saw a 935 G2 cap on Ebay for $91, free ship. 935 is a step up from the 835. Haven't bought from this seller although his score looks good.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sennheiser-...429?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item258dc5dc6d