Wireless Help with Shure SLX system

[KBrylczyk]

Hey guys, I've been working on this for a few days now and I've been hitting nothing but brick walls.

I'm currently working in a theme park where the audio systems were set up by people who don't understand how to work audio. The sound boards are behind the stages, no monitors, mismatched headsets, all kinds of crazy stuff. This is mostly beside the point, however. My real problem lies with the mismatched headsets.

Every stage is equipped with a Shure SLX Wireless system. The SLX4 Diversity Receivers are connected to the performers' SLX1 Bodypack Transmitters. No problems yet, right?

Here's where the fun stuff happens. The microphones in use are Sennheiser ME 3 headset microphones. Now, these Sennheisers come with a 3.5mm (?) jack, while the Shure SLX1 Bodypacks are designed for a TA4F 4-pin Mini Connecter. Before I took up shop at the park, the headsets had already been chopped and converted to the TA4F connectors.

The problem I'm having now is the cables are extremely temperamental. I've taken apart a few of them and had to re-solder the connections. When doing this I was able to get a really good look at just how ugly the modifications were. Lets just say that converting a two-wire mic to a 4-pin mini connector shouldn't be done, but I digress.

Even after cleaning up the connections there is still a lot of crackling and popping happening with some of the bodypacks. The best I can tell at this point is that the TA4F connectors are just slightly too small for the bodypack's input and they tend to shimmy about while the performers do their dancing, causing the problems.

Does anyone here have any ideas on how to possibly fix this? The TA4F connectors are too small for a rubber band to stay in place, gaff tape never holds because the performers' sweat makes it impossible for it to stay in place, and to top it all off, I am unable to be present when the shows are being performed as I have other duties elsewhere in the park. Any help would be excellent.

 

[FACTplayers]

I get this a lot with some of our body packs (They are pretty old, and we haven't done any converting of plugs... anyways). What I do is tighten the connection within the body pack itself. There should be four little screw on the back of the shure body pack. Unscrew them and carefully lift the back half off. Inside you will easily see the nut that might have wiggled down from vibrations and use. Give that a try. It usually works for my mics.

 

[DaveySimps]

~~

FACTplayers, the SLX do not have this nut on the transmitter, the set up is a bit different.

I have 16 if these in my space. We do 10 theatre productions a year, so they get a real work out. One thing you might want to check is the male connector on the transmitter itself. If you unscrew the 4 screws on the back of the unit, it comes apart (just be sure to catch the small grey button so it does not get lost). You will quickly see that the TA4M is actually on a tiny circuit board itself, that just plugs into the larger circuit board. Check this connection. If you don't see any corrosion, unplug the smaller board from the larger one, and plug it back in, making sure it is seated nicely with out damaging the pins. Lining the parts up for reassembly can be a bit tricky, but not difficult. I have been able to fix a couple of my units this way, that were exhibiting similar issues.

If this does not work, and you are handy with a soldering iron, I would say just replace the connectors on the mics. The connectors are cheap, and it would stop a lot of headaches. You should have a couple on hand at all times, just for the sake of maintenance.

~Dave

 

[KBrylczyk]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Davey, I'll take a look inside and poke around a bit to see what's going on. As for keeping spares around, its not my call, as the park is in charge of all expenses. Believe me, I've asked for spares, but it falls on deaf ears.

 

[DaveySimps]

As for keeping spares around, its not my call, as the park is in charge of all expenses. Believe me, I've asked for spares, but it falls on deaf ears.

I know the feeling. I've worked in many spaces like that. I feel for you. That style of management never made much sense to me. It makes less and less sense the more I manage facilities and consultant on projects.

Let us know if it works or not.

~Dave

 

[FMEng]

There is nothing inherently wrong with soldering a TA4F onto the mic cable, as long as it is done properly. Not everyone has the skill to do them well. Most important is that the cable jacket must be crimped into the strain relief. For that to work, the wire lengths have to be precise.

A very common failure on any lav or headset mic is for the wires in the cable to break where they get a great deal of stress and flexing, which is right where the cable enters the connector shell. Check for that by carefully flexing the cable but not the connector, while listening for crackles. If a wire is broken, cut the cable back an inch and re-solder it into the connector.

Another common failure is oxidation on the connector contacts. Spray the male and female contacts with Caig DeoxIT to clean them. Follow up with spritz of DeoxIT Gold as a preservative. Both products are magic and I recommend them for every electronics tool box. Surprisingly, Radio Shack sells a small twin pack.

It's also possible that the TA4F connectors are simply worn from too much use. If neither of the above solutions work, then it's time to replace the female connectors.

 

[KBrylczyk]

FMEng, thanks for the suggestion. I don't have a chance to get to a Radio Shack (or any store for that matter) for a few days, but fingers crossed it won't even be needed. Today was my day off, tomorrow I'll be taking a bunch of things apart. I just picked up a brand new soldering iron and rosin-core solder, along with a solder wick, today. I'm reaching the point where I'm just gonna start over, clean everything out, and re-solder all of the connections.

 

[KBrylczyk]

Alright, I opened the bodypacks and did some fresh soldering on the TA4F connectors. Everything is back in working order save for one Sennheiser mic. For that one, though, I'm fairly sure its the actual mic receiver that is messed up. When I took the windscreen off, most of the black paint came with it as well as a pretty big puff of salt. This led to me having to tell the performers that when a windscreen gets covered in sweat or other things, its in their best interest to remove the windscreen immediately following the performance.

As for fixing that, I have no idea how to go about it. There doesn't seem to be any way to get inside the casing to look at the wires and the only thing I can think of is to ship it off to Sennheiser for repair.

As for everything else working, thanks a ton for the input. I ended up not having to do anything with the bodypacks other than disconnect the male TA4F and reconnect it after spraying some compressed air.

 

[DaveySimps]

Good hear. Hopefully that takes care of your issues.

~Dave