A lot of documentary and news shooters I know use the Lectrosonics SRb Camera Slot UHF Receiver as it allows you to have one receiver that can receive two different signals from separate transmitters. It is a great system for mounting into a camera slot that powers the receiver and runs all the audio into the camera without having to use cables. You can also use it in a housing that can be powered via a small camera battery and this has been a very popular choice for users of cameras such as the Canon C300.
Lectrosonics have just announced two new dual channel radio mic receivers in the SR range. The SRc5P and SRc consist of two separate receivers built into a single, ultra compact housing with adapters for video camera receiver slots or stand-alone use. Digital Hybrid Wireless® technology is said to provide superb, compandor-free audio quality and compatibility with other wireless systems. Lectrosonics claim that the RF performance is extremely stable over a very wide temperature range, making the receiver perfectly suited to the rough environmental conditions found in field production.
The two internal receivers can be operated separately, each using switching, antenna combining diversity, or in tandem with ratio diversity reception. The audio inputs of the receivers can be mixed internally or left separated for discrete recording tracks or external mixing. The 5P variant allows dual channel operation for cameras with only one audio channel in the slot.
The new receivers include a wide tuning range of three standard Lectrosonics blocks or 76 MHz. Tuning steps of 100 kHz or 25 kHz allow for up to 3072 frequencies per band. Tracking front-end filters are said to provide excellent out-of-band rejection of RF noise, making the receivers ideal performers in extreme RF conditions. An IR (infrared) port is included to simplify setup with IR enabled transmitters.
A SmartTune feature lets you quickly and automatically select frequencies based on local scan data. Audio frequency response: 40 Hz – 20 kHz +- 1dB. Three frequency ranges are available for United States use: A1 (470-537 MHz or blocks 470, 19, and 20), B1 (537-614 MHz or blocks 21, 22 and 23), and C1 (614-691 MHz or blocks 24, 25 and 26).
“I’m particularly excited about the SRc and SRc5P receivers,” says Karl Winkler, Vice President of Sales/Service for Lectrosonics. “The combination of the wide tuning range and tracking filters makes these products ideal for today’s challenging RF environment, while the convenience features like SmartTune™ and the IR port make it really quick to get up and running. It’s really a lot of technology in a very small package.”
The SRc receiver will also be a perfect solution for those one man band Arri Amira owners who want to use it with the Ambient Recording PowerSlot Wireless Receiver Module.
DSP compatibility modes allow the receiver to be used with a variety of Lectrosonics systems, other brands of wireless systems and with Lectrosonics IFB transmitters.
The SRc will retail for $2299 and the SRc5p for $2459. They are scheduled to start shipping soon (estimated for Q2 this year).
Features:
Fits camera “slots,” Lectrosonics Duopack adapter and Octopack multicoupler, and operates stand-alone with various adapters
Tunes over a 75 MHz range* (3 blocks)
Dual receiver design for two channels with phase switched diversity or single channel with ratio diversity operation
Digital Hybrid Wireless® with compatibility modes for use with other transmitters
Tracking front-end filters for high performance in tough RF environments
LCD with RF spectrum scanning
SmartSquelchTM DSP-controlled, noise based filtering and squelch
DSP-based pilot tone for squelch control
IR sync port for quick transmitter setup (LMb, LT, HHa, HMa, & SSM)
SmartTune operation for quick and confident frequency selection
