A couple pieces of gear I have been putting off purchasing are now being shipped to me. I picked up a Denecke TS-3 Timecode slate and a new Zaxcom 900 wireless unit. The timecode slate is a pretty standard timecode slate, something I've been long over due to purchase. The new Zaxcom 900LT transmitter paired with the Zaxcom RX900M receiver will make for a nice addition to the equipment list.
I debated for a while between getting Lectrosonics or Zaxcom wireless units. While the Lectro name is more familiar with production folks the Zaxcom has quite a few advantages that made the additional money worth while (Lectro SMQV with 411 receiver is about $3000 while the Zaxcom is about $3500). Lectrosonics uses an analog UHF signal for transmission between the transmitter and receiver while the Zaxcom sends a full 24-bit, 48K digital signal. UHF signals can lose signal quality the weaker (a.k.a. further away) the signal gets but the digital transmission of the Zaxcom is full strength the entire time. Also, the Zaxcom 900LT comes standard with a micro-SD card recorder on the transmitter. If any RF hits do occur between the transmitter and receiver absolutely no dialogue is lost because everything is also recorded within the transmitter and can be pulled along with the rest of the daily audio files. With Zaxcom wireless units there will never be a reason to re-do a take because of RF hits! The audio recorded within the transmitter is 24-bit, 48K, and has timecode.
Additional information about the Zaxcom units can be found at www.zaxcom.com
