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Wolf Seeberg makes whip antennas for select frequency ranges (30-below, 30-50, 50-up) for $50 each and they're great.

 

From Custom Interface website:

 

 

1435 ¾ Wave Omnidirectional whip 3dBi gain. Ch 28 to 48 $ 60

 

1410 Tuned duck, UHF Channels 50-69 $ 30

1420 Tuned duck, UHF Channels 14-30 $ 30

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The key to a good Modulus 3000 is letting no one else touch it. Changing its channels whilst powered is bad news for the electronics, and gradually weakens its strength.

Fred, are you confirming this? How come this is the first time I have heard this nugget of wisdom (then again, I'm ignorant about many things--where are my housekeys again)?

 

If this is the case, I must be down to a near-homeopathic level of signal after 7 years of live knob-twiddling...

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The key to a good Modulus 3000 is letting no one else touch it. Changing its channels whilst powered is bad news for the electronics, and gradually weakens its  strength.

Fred, are you confirming this? How come this is the first time I have heard this nugget of wisdom (then again, I'm ignorant about many things--where are my housekeys again)?

While I support keeping one's equipment isolated from the hands of the clumsy, I'm convinced that using the channel select switches while powered up is not injurious to the transmitter. Typically, what caused weakening of signal was degradation of a component due to age, but that's true for all of us. ;)

 

I never ran into such problems when testing transmitters at the shop, but that's not field conditions. For a more informed opinion, consult with da man hisself, inventor Peter Spinelli. (207) 284-5925.

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When I bought my 3000, there was a warning card in the box that in big red letters "never change channels while powered". Most rental units I saw initially had that warning card laminated and in the box - but over time they all got lost and I haven't seen that warning card since. All I can attest to is that no one touches mine or changes the channels while on, and my 3000 is miles better than any of the hundreds in rental service here.

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When I bought my 3000, there was a warning card in the box that in big red letters "never change channels while powered". Most rental units I saw initially had that warning card laminated and in the box - but over time they all got lost and I haven't seen that warning card since. All I can attest to is that no one touches mine or changes the channels while on, and my 3000 is miles better than any of the hundreds in rental service here.

I spoke with the inventor, and here's the bottom line:

 

The transmitter was designed to operate while powered. This includes changing the channel select knob settings. In fact, users are advised to change channels on the transmitter before changing channel settings on receivers, (DX series anyway), to allow the tuners to better lock onto the signal.

 

The red warning card mentioned in previous posts is not a CIT included item. Whoever included such a card with its warning did so without any prompting from CIT.

 

While rigamorole's unit may perform better than other rental units, there is no causal relationship to channel selection while powered. Clumsy, bear-paw handling by third parties and incorrect power supply connections is, in my opinion, more common factors.

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Thanks for the official word, Fred. It is funny, however, that the local dealer and every rental house tech I have ever spoken to has always advised against changing channels while powered.

 

I have always wondered why my personal 3000 would outperform other 3000's from Panavision or other rental houses (I have done A/B tests on Panavision jobs to compare) - this seems to reflect the only drawback of the 3000, which is its need for careful handling - which unfortunately in a rental world is not always the case.

 

jeremy

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  • 2 months later...

I am a post guy across the globe from most of you who needs to put together a multi-camera video-assist system in a hurry so please bear with me please.

 

Does Modulus 3000 manufacturer have a web-site? All the googling brings up rental houses only.

 

Do I have to use the receiver from the same manufacturer?

 

Is there a list of compatible receivers?

 

Thanks

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey guys,

 

I shoot Beta SP (not on a steadicam). Since out of town producers have to trust us local freelancers, I thought it would be nice to get a modulus so they could see what I was shooting. Well now that I dropped the 2 grand for the unit. My playback tests show ghosting on my image when it is attached to the camera (or the back of the battery, etc.) Am I just screwed or is there a way to get rid of this ghosting so that I can actually use what I just blew a wad on? Or is it just not going to play well with a video camera?

 

I assume it's a shielding issue of some sort but I'm no engineer. Think there is anyway to make it work?

 

Tech Specs:

Camera - Sony DXCD35WSL w/ PVV3 Beta SP Back

2 Lectrosonics 211's

Modulus 3000 w/ timecode

 

 

Thanks in advance

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Sounds like your Modulus may not be terminated.

 

But since this is a Steadicam forum, not a general technical forum, maybe you should call the people who sold you the Modulus. Or try Plus 8 or any other number of video rental companies and talk to them about the issue.

 

Sorry, but since this is a steadicam related forum, we should stick to steadicam related questions here otherwise this forum will be flooded with non steadicam related topics, it's already getting that way.

 

Though it's been of very little issue in the past years, as of the 2004 forum, this site has become in need of a moderator for reasons such as this and others.

 

Again, sorry, but bandwidth is limited and as of this year with the sudden surge of hundreds of new members, Tim Tyler is having financial issues with keeping this forum up and running. Therefore, if it's not steadicam related, you should try and ask these questions to a more appropriate place. Oh, also try Custom Interface Technologies for all things Modulus.

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