Premium Members william west Posted February 23, 2014 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 23, 2014 Has anyone out there had a problem with Bolt transmitters and bluetooth interference? Im not an expert but would be interested to know if the two systems can cause problems. I am on a show where we are having constant problems with our bolt loosing video signal periodically and the only new thing in the equation is a heden "Carat" bluetooth focus sytem - would love to know if anyone has used these 2 thing together with any problems before? Cjeers Henry West 1st AC NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Tim Moynihan Posted February 23, 2014 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 23, 2014 I have heard of a show here where a simple WiFi connection in their studio was continually knocking off the Bolt's signal and reception. As soon as they turned off the WiFi reception was perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jens Piotrowski SOC Posted February 23, 2014 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 23, 2014 yes, they (HD transmitters) are all based on WIFI 5.X ghz technology. Check for WIFI items nearby or change the channel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jarrett P. Morgan Posted February 23, 2014 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 23, 2014 Bluetooth operates in the 2.4Ghz unlicensed band (2400–2483.5 MHz) similar to nearly every remote focus out there (except for the bartech and FIZ1, which operate in the 900MHz spectrum). The Bolt (and most other wireless video systems: Paralinx, Boxx, etc) operate in the 5.8 GHz range (5100-5800 MHz). Technically, there shouldn't be an issue. The issue arises if one of the devices has an issue with "bleeding" into other frequency bands (the bartech, for example, states that you should be at least two channels away when using multiple devices in a given space). 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz have a tendency to bleed into one another because of the overlap of the two spectrums (2.4 is 1/2 the frequency, so double the wavelength, which means that antennas are receptive to both in many instances).I would check for extraneous wifi items (both 2.4GHz ones and 5.8GHZ ones) and also check to make sure the Bolt transmitter and Heden receiver on the camera aren't right next to each other. That can certainly help the Heden overpower the Bolt. *a brief slightly off-topic note* I think it is an interesting choice to use bluetooth as the transmission system for a wireless follow focus. Bluetooth in general is not really known for its long ranges... Supposedly the newest version has better range (up to 60m, hypothetically), but I still am intrigued by the choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Ben Rowsell Posted February 24, 2014 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 Hi Henry, I don't think they do interfere. SPP are running 2 X Heden systems across town (not strictly Carats but the predecessor the HLC which still operates on Bluetooth). I believe they are also running Bolts on both cameras and as far as I know the only thing that they have had wireless issues with are the Redmotes. The Heden units were paired at the start and are now getting towards 2500 hrs of operation in the last year, no problems reported so far. I'm not entirely sure how long they have been running the Bolts for, but at least the current series and the previous. I am assuming that the Carats are running the same wireless as the HLCs, but my understanding is that they are very little differences between them. re: *a brief slightly off-topic note* (J Morgan) I don't think the range is fantastic, I wouldn't expect that they would perform as well over distance as a Preston, which I have managed to get up to 1000m range with. In most circumstances you would never want to be any significant distance from the camera to pull focus and the more important aspect is that it is reliable within the normal range. In the case above, the 2 HLC units have never dropped out on set (2 X Hedens, 2 X Bolts, 2 X Redmote and the usual number of phones, etc running Wifi & Bluetooth). From what Heden says you can have up to 256 operating together without interference and the reconnect time after dropout is a matter of seconds. If the units stay connected within a 60m range I'd be fairly happy. Ben R 1AC NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Martin Stacey Posted February 24, 2014 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 If you want to check it against the Boxx system give me a yell. Might help you troubleshoot it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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