ANDERSON Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 Hey guys..has anyone had any problems with the SHURE SLX4 Wireless mics?? No matter how I set them up im facing the same problems, which is Antenna activity, switching between, and causing an audible "pop" while doing so, with occasional dropout aswel. Set up as single unit / units, with included antenna. I've tried everything I can think of, searching for and changing frequencies, removing anything additional which may cause conflicting RF issues. Moving the reciever from FOH to stage, changing the gain level setting on the handheld itself amongst other things. This has happened in 3 of our venues, and also at an outside event. Whether its one single mic in use, or multiple, its made no difference, so for the time being ive had to put it down to being a fault in the units themselves. Like I mentioned, always get a random slight 'pop', and its always when the antenna is switching. I also use the PG wireless series receivers, AKG D5 wireless, Trantec s5.5 and sennheiser G3 lavs, and have had no problems. So why im having problems with the SLX's is beyond me. Am I missing something vital, a schoolboy error somewhere in my frustration?? Or has anyone experienced similar issues? Thanks in advance for any help!
carlskeats Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 What Frequency range are you using? are you managing all your wireless gear cooridnating frequencies?
laolu Posted May 13, 2015 Posted May 13, 2015 Is your SLX genuine? I ask this stupid question because I bought myself a counterfeit and got similar problems to yours. Of course it is my own fault, but I didn't know it when I bought it. Only after I heard it, I suspected something wrong. And - low and behold - had stepped into the trap. Aside from that, handling noise of the mic seemed unusually bad. So checking the barcode on the box, eventually exposed the bogus. If you can confirm yours is genuine, then disregard the above comment. Norbert
ANDERSON Posted May 14, 2015 Author Posted May 14, 2015 Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Just getting around to replying myself after a busy day or so! Yeah, all SLX's are on CH38, between the correct range (606-614), at various frequencies between this. I've let the units "search" for free frequencies, aswel as selecting them manually. I can only assume the SLX's are genuine. All 3 units were bought for the company through Stage Electrics. Genuine or not, there is a clear fault somewhere, in this case, I would rather it be my human error, than the units themselves, but no such luck so far! I must add...that its not a constant problem, but guaranteed it will happen 4-5 times, maybe more throughout an average 3 hour performance. So at this time, they cant be used.
paulears Posted May 14, 2015 Posted May 14, 2015 I doubt SLX would sell the dodgy ones - but that was exactly the conclusion I came to like laolu. Assuming they're OK - then first thing is to determine if the noise happens with only one transmitter in operation - switching should be silent, and if it is not, then they are faulty. If on it's own they are silent and only make the noise on switching aerials when other transmitters are in operation, then you may be lucky and have just set inappropriate frequencies. All the manufacturers offer frequency suggestions for multi-channel operation - where the maths has been done on the intermodulation products and they will work happily. That's the next step or two for you.
carlskeats Posted May 14, 2015 Posted May 14, 2015 Try using Wireless Workbench and coordinating frequencys for every venue you do. RF environment changes all the time and just because they work in the warehouse doesnt mean they will work on site. Workbench will allow you to plot frequencies for other manufactures as well as Shures own products. Also when doing a Frequency scan make sure you only have the unit your using to scan with turned on. If you want to talk further about this you are more than welcome to give me a PM or call me.
James Posted May 14, 2015 Posted May 14, 2015 I had almost a dozen SLX receivers on 69 and often had this issue. They frequently went back to Shure and we never had a satisfactory solution. The noise was always fairly subtle and could be masked with atmos / background music. As a budget product line I never got much interest from them on this. I've subsequently replaced them with Trantec S5.3 and am a lot happier. Sorry if this isn't the news you expect to hear. James.
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