Noise and hesitation when playing audio and video files

[vcationguy]

Hi Fabio,

I think eventually a clean install is in my future.  Then I'll add one program at a time and test it each time.  The sound comes through external speakers also using my sound card.

As far as the mics go, I think if I ever had a singer just drop the mic and walk off, I'd be obliged to kick his ass!  lol  I haven't had that experience and hope I never do.  The biggest problem I get is people pushing the on/off switch too hard and sometimes damaging it.  Now I just turn it on and put a small piece of tape over the switch so they can't to that.  I have 4 wireless mics I got from Acesonic.  They aren't rechargeable but I think my next ones will be!  lol

Later,

Ron

[Justin]

Ron: This may sound like a stupid question (kinda like, "is it plugged in")... but could it be cell phone interference?

Fabio: Why would you prefer VHF? In my experience, VHF mics are far more prone to interference and static; FM UHF are very clean, no crackling, hiss, or other interference, and they have a further range with less power (longer battery life)...

Note that they still make good UHF mics, they just had to use a slightly different frequency band with the new FCC allocations.

As far as I know my model is discontinued, but I'm sure someone makes a good all-metal model. The VocoPros I have cost $250 for two mics, two-channel receiver, and a charger. I later bought a body-pack that I use with my guitar & amp at home

I work smaller bars on occasion, and mostly I end up doing graduation parties and such. These usually have one or two people who want to sing, but overall it's more of a DJ gig than a Karaoke gig. I live in a small town, but of the several DJs in town I'm quite well known (none of the others have the bragging rights that they wrote their own software lol, in fact three of them use VDJ )  I also tend to know everyone personally, usually it's the same basic group of guests. Everyone in Cedar Lake, Indiana knows everyone else...

Therefore I don't get too many a-holes abusing my equipment, and when I do, someone else ends up dealing with them before I have a chance to...

[vcationguy]

Hi Justin,

I don't think it is cell phone.  It happens all day long when I'm in the office and have internet radio on.  I'm not on the cell when it does it.  It just happens randomly.  Someday we'll figure it out.  lol

Ron

[Fabio]

Ron: This may sound like a stupid question (kinda like, "is it plugged in")... but could it be cell phone interference?

OMG!...I forgot about that....Ron does it sound like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRFRa0OP18Y


Justin: It's not that I prefer them, it's just they are the first ones I used that didn't have any pops, hisses or any kind of interference.  I actually don't have much experience on that...I just remember buying a pair UHF microphones that did pop and did have all kinds of problems.  So when I tried these I sold to the VHF frequencies.  I swear, I've been using these for years and I've never had problem aside when the batteries run low, it may may some noise, but usually it just stops transmitting and the singers voice get cut off.  To be fair the first ones I bought were the Nady brand for $75 for a pair...live-and-learn cheap microphones usually end up sounding cheap.  I thought all UHF microphones were being discontinued...good to know that's not the case, that gives more choices.

-Fabio

[Justin]

I'm not on the cell when it does it.  It just happens randomly.

You don't have to be on the cell to get interference - it just has to be powered on. Every so often, kinda randomly, all cell phones check in with the tower, and the signal they put out will be easily picked up on any "consumer" audio equipment as short "buzz" sounds... if it is on and nearby (within a few feet of the audio equipment or cables) you sometimes get a loud noise in the audio...

Most professional audio equipment is immune to this, with good heavily shielded cables and such. But consumer stuff, including any computer speakers, laptops, etc, will be more susceptible to the interference. It's a pretty dirty signal, powerful and in short bursts, that cell phones emit.

So, still something to consider. Try keeping all cell phones (or any 3G/4G device) out of the room for a while and see if things improve. It's a long shot but you never know...

[Fabio]

Ron: It looks like I posted at about the same time you did...

Justin is correct, you don't have to be on the cell phone.  Follow the youtube link and if it sounds like that, IT IS cell interference.  You can try turning off your cell phone to see if it still occurs but be warned, it may not even be your cell phone, it maybe your neighbor's or your co-workers', although it follows you wherever you go, it could be your cell phone.

-Fabio

[Justin]

OMG!...I forgot about that....Ron does it sound like this?

Ha, I love the example! Absolutely perfect. Seems there's a YouTube video for everything these days...

In personal experience, I have a subwoofer on my entertainment center that for some reason picks up cell interference from as far as 30 feet. At least it used to... I modified it, adding a couple small capacitors in the audio path to short high-frequency interference, and problem solved (I'm an electronics geek as well as a computer geek). I was re-reading some of the posts and suddenly remembered that, and though I don't use PC speakers, I remember this being a problem with cheap powered speakers as well. The shielding on the thin little cables is weak on most, and they'll pick up a cell phone from your pocket when it "phones home".

So when I tried these I sold to the VHF frequencies.

All it takes is one bad experience to convince someone that a particular product is bad, even if there were other factors involved.

...live-and-learn cheap microphones usually end up sounding cheap.

I believe I cover this in the book, but I always say, "you get what you pay for". My first wireless mic was purchased at (ashamed to even admit) Radio Shack... VHF, using the same 49 MHz band as toy RC cars.

Worst. Investment. Ever.

It wasn't even all that cheap if I remember correctly... After that a friend had some Nady UHF ones that I really liked (must have been a model or two up from yours I guess), and I ended up with VocoPro because I spotted the words "all metal construction" in the description and was sold. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat.

I just looked and they have an updated model of my mics, with this mention in the specs:

Complies with New FCC Frequency Rules

However, looking at the enlarged picture of the mics I'm not sure if they are metal or plastic now... but this close to my model (Mine is UHF-3205, this is UHF-3200):

http://vocopro.com/products/product_info.php?ID=462

Mine look more like the (crappy) attached photo. You can tell there's some wear, but the shiny black body is obviously metal.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Justin]

After a little more research, the FCC in conjunction with the manufacturers has a "trade in program" if your UHF mics operate in the now forbidden 700 MHz band (which mine do). The link for VocoPro trade-in gives a 404 error of course   But the FCC is telling me that I am not allowed to use them at all. I will wait for a cease-and-desist letter
 

[Fabio]

Seems there's a YouTube video for everything these days...

Well, I didn't intend it to be a youtube link, but after googling for the sound that was one of the links.  After I played it I figured it was the best example.

I believe I cover this in the book but I always say, "you get what you pay for"

Yup, I remember reading that there too 

I just looked and they have an updated model of my mics

I wish they had a 4 channel version.  the 4 channel version is actually perfect for me because of the hosting I do.

On an earlier post:

I don't get too many a-holes abusing my equipment, and when I do, someone else ends up dealing with them before I have a chance to...

The one bar where this is a problem is usually the most crowded (my Sunday gig) and one I get most celebrities showing up  (Some are regulars). The first time it happened because it was crowded I couldn't follow him and he got away.  I mentioned it to the main bartender who's a buddy of mine.  He told me next time give him a signal and he or the bouncer would get him....sure enough the next time it happened, the guy did not get away.  This is the craziest bar I've ever hosted -- this is the only one that has GONG behind the bar...if the bartenders don't like your singing they will gong you and I usually have to stop the karaoke and start the interim song.  I usually have an CDG file queued up on another line that plays on the screen "You are the Weakest Link...Goobye!"

I usually don't like to abuse singers this way but people keep coming to this place.  I guess they enjoy the abuse!

-Fabio


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-Fabio

[Justin]

I wish they had a 4 channel version.

Yeah, that's actually the reason my friend bought the plastic AA-battery model. They didn't make a 4-channel version of mine. However, if you look, you can buy two sets of UHF-3200 mics, and request to get one set with channels M & N, and one O & P. Granted you end up with two separate receivers (so two wall-wart power adapters hogging up the power strip)...

Too bad you can't buy the 4-channel rack-mount receiver, then buy four individual metal-housing mics, all separately. They are only sold as kits with VocoPro... but as I mentioned, my N & O channel mics worked with two channels of my buddy's 4-channel receiver.

There are even higher quality units (not VocoPro) that I've researched (like what you would find celebrities using in concert) but these are encrypted, high-frequency, durable units, and VERY *VERY* expensive. A whole different animal from what we as DJs/KJs call "pro"... and not easily available. They don't want joe schmoe to be able to go to a concert and "key over" their wireless mic signal, so they pay quite a lot for the encryption and signal quality.

[Justin]

I realize we got way off-topic here on the wireless mic thing, but look what I found:

http://vocopro.com/products/product_info.php?ID=466

This would be the new, UHF, rechargeable, metal VocoPro mics in a set of 4 with a 4-channel rack-mount receiver!

Snippet from the features:

Rugged 1RU metal receiver chassis
Complies with New FCC Frequency Rules
4 individual XLR Mic Outputs and 1 1/4" Mixed Output
Low power consumption design for longer battery life

And the mics themselves look exactly like mine (metal body).

If I ever replace my set, this will be what I replace it with...

For the record earlier I linked to the 3200's but they DO still make the 3205, just with the new frequency, that look identical to mine. I'm glad to see that, as again they are super rugged and have been good to me for years. I used to do 3 nights a week Karaoke up until about 2 years ago, so don't think they haven't had their share of abuse... I've had them about 6 years.

[Fabio]

Yup, I would say we're way off topic...the way I see it we're just keeping busy while we wait to hear if Ron's problem is cell phone interference...

regarding the UHF-5805:
That's awesome you found them...I just did a google search on the model and it looks like I can grab them from Amazon for a lot less than the $759...in fact, even ebay has a set for $319...hmmm...I might "have" to pick these up.

Question...what about the internal rechargeable battery how often do you have to replace them in the 6 years you've had them?

-Fabio

 

[Justin]

the way I see it we're just keeping busy while we wait to hear if Ron's problem is cell phone interference...

Yup

I got my set for $250 new-in-box from eBay back then. As for the rechargeable batteries, they are unfortunately not user-replaceable. However, mine still hold a great charge after all those years, and when I got them I was doing 3 nights a week Karaoke. I tended to leave them on the whole night, controlling them from the mixer, to avoid customers wondering why their mic wasn't on, etc. I just put tape over the switch so they'd not turn them off.

I found myself only charging them once each week at home. Never had one go dead except once when I left it on in the gig bag for a few days...

I believe the battery is Lithium-Ion, which can last many years and over many charge cycles.

[vcationguy]

Hi Guys,

It does kind of sound like that, especially the noise toward the end.  I'm going to try it with my cell phone off or in another room and see what happens.  My concern now is that a singer's cell phone could set it off. 

Talk to you later.

Ron

[Fabio]

I'm going to try it with my cell phone off or in another room and see what happens

If it's your phone, you can usually trigger it by just dialing it from another phone just leave it next to the PC and call it and just before it rings you'll hear it.  Again, this may not be coming from your cell phone so if you can't trigger it, it may not be your cell phone. My understanding is that this is usually caused by phones using GSM (T-mobile, AT&T and others) CDMA apparently does not cause the problem (Verizon, Sprint and others). I don't know if newer phones using LTE would cause the issue.

If you're only noticing the problem when you're not plugged into your amp and your hosting speakers, you'll probably okay, a singers cell phone probably won't trigger it because of the shielding of the speaker wire. I figure you're using 1/4"  or Speakon with heavy gauge cables.  Those are usually well shielded and probably won't pickup the interference.

It does kind of sound like that, especially the noise toward the end

Do you get the beginning sound too/at all?  Because that is the more typical part of the sound you'd get.

-Fabio