 | A very small
and light Transmitter, little bigger than the aerial, which plugs
directly into the camera BNC socket |
| Transmitter
is powered from the camera via a 4 pin Hirose, or by a PP3 battery |
| Good range up
to 100 metres |
| UHF 418 MHz
operation, no licence required |
| Replaceable
efficient UHF aerial on a BNC connector |
| Accommodates
a wide range of time code input levels |
| Regulated
voltage input, works from 7-14 Volts with no performance change |
| Data input on
standard BNC |
| Use with
either of the two Black Box Video Time Code Receivers or the Black Box
Video integrated Radio Time Code Reader/Receiver. |
| Can be used
with other manufacturers' Receivers if they operate on 418 MHz |
Instructions for Use
Connect an aerial to the Transmitter’s BNC socket on top of the aluminium tube. Mount the Transmitter on the camera’s BNC time code out socket and plug the power lead into the camera Hirose power socket.
Transmitter Battery Life
For applications where the Transmitter cannot be powered by the 4 pin Hirose plug an adapter is provided so that the Transmitter can be powered from a PP3 battery. A much more robust alternative to the clip adaptor is our new PP3 Battery Box - does the same thing but is compact and sturdy. Current consumption of the Transmitter is less than 10mA so expect about 60 hours life from an MN1604 or around 200 hours from a lithium Ultralife when powering from the PP3 clip adapter (or PP3 Battery Box). The Transmitter battery volts can be from 14V - 7V with no loss of performance since it is internally regulated inside the Transmitter.
PROBLEM SOLVING
If all else fails, read this!
As with all radio systems it is important that the ends of the aerials are kept away from earthed objects if maximum range is to be obtained.
The radio link is very robust, being crystal controlled and using a double conversion superhet receiver.
The Transmitter has a built in data slicer and the Receiver employs a phase locked loop detector and Schmidt trigger ensuring a consistent square wave output, free of noise and jitter. All this makes the system almost immune to noise and interference within its normal range. Even transmissions on the same frequency are completely rejected so long as their level is just 1 dB or less than the desired signal.
The system can only be used to transmit data, it cannot transmit analogue signals!
However, if you stand close to the Receiver and press the transmit button of a CB or Motorola, you will swamp the Receiver and cause a glitch, this will affect any radio system, not just the Time Code unit.
Also, be aware that some radio and car alarms work on the same frequency so these could affect reception if their transmitters are operated closer to the Receiver than the Time Code Transmitter. In
practice this is rarely a problem because of the FM capture effect and the high efficiency of the Transmitter aerial.
If problems are encountered with reception, make the
following checks
Power the Transmitter up using the PP3 clip adaptor (or PP3 Battery Box) and a known good battery. Check the range by taking the Receiver away from the Transmitter, about 100 metres line of sight should be obtained with good reliability.
Having checked that the Transmitter and Receiver are working OK, try powering the Transmitter from the camera’s 4 pin Hirose socket. If the unit now fails to work the fuse or breaker inside the camera is probably faulty.
The most common reason for people reporting almost no range is that either the Transmitter PP3 battery is not fresh or quite often the camera’s 4 pin Hirose socket is dead or faulty and
all the Receiver is receiving is interference (often from the camera electronics) so the range appears to only be a few feet from the
camera! So, always check the Transmitter using the PP3 clip adapter (or PP3 Battery Box) and a known good battery.
BEWARE, many lithium PP3’s check OK off load but fail on a small load due to internal regulator failure. I prefer to trust Duracell MN1604’s myself!
How to check that time code is coming out of the Receiver
It is easy to check time code is coming out of the Receiver by just touching a pair of cans on the BNC output on the side of the unit. Time code has a very distinctive ‘chirpy’
sound that once you’ve hear it you will always recognise. Or better still, plug the output into your mixer (line level) and have a listen.
Steady hiss like an off tune FM radio indicates no carrier is being
received
Intermittent, dull, buzzy, crackly sound indicates carrier is received by no time
code
Slightly varying chirpy sound indicates time code is being received (very distinctive
sound)
Time Code Level Problems
If you have ascertained that time code is coming out of the Receiver but the time code display has problems locking, it is possible that the level if too high or low.
The time code levels are optimised for Betacam into the Transmitter (3.8V) and Receiver to HHB PortaDAT (2.2V). These levels will suit most equipment. The Transmitter has a wide range it will cope with from about 1 Volt to 6 Volts which covers just about everything. The Receiver will cope with most inputs - Nagra, PortaDAT, Video playback machines - without adjustment.
If all else fails try a BNC cable in place of the radio link to check that the system is basically working before blaming Black
Box Video!
Miniature Time Code
Transmitter, X-tra Range, 433 MHz
Description
This system is designed to transmit time code from a camera to a recorder using a reliable and robust UHF link, operating at 433 MHz.
The Transmitter is DTI approved to MPT 1340 and does not require a licence.
| A very small
and light Transmitter, little bigger than the aerial, plugs directly
into the camera BNC socket |
| Transmitter
is powered from the camera via a 4 pin Hirose, or by a PP3 battery |
| Good range up
to 300 metres |
| UHF 433 MHz
operation, no licence required |
| Accommodates
wide range of time code input levels |
| Regulated
voltage input, works from 7-14 Volts with no performance change |
| Battery
voltage LED |
| Data input on
standard BNC |
| Use with
either of the two Black Box Video Time Code Receivers or the Black Box
Video integrated Radio Time Code Reader/Receiver. |
| Can be used
with other manufacturers' Receivers if they operate on 433 MHz
|
Instructions for Use
Connect an aerial to the Transmitter’s BNC socket on top of the aluminium tube. Mount the Transmitter on the camera’s BNC time code out socket and plug the power lead into the camera Hirose power socket.
Transmitter Battery Life
For applications where the Transmitter cannot be powered by the 4 pin Hirose plug an adapter is provided so that the Transmitter can be powered from a PP3 battery. A much more robust alternative to the clip adaptor is our new PP3 Battery Box - does the same thing but is compact and sturdy.
Current consumption of the Transmitter is about 10mA so expect about 60 hours life from an MN1604 or around 200 hours from a lithium Ultralife when powering from the PP3 clip adapter (or PP3 Battery Box). The Transmitter battery volts can be from 14V - 7V with no loss of performance since it is internally regulated inside the Transmitter.
A red LED on the side of the Transmitter indicates power OK. When it dims replace the PP3 battery.
PROBLEM SOLVING
If all else fails, read this!
As with all radio systems it is important that the ends of the aerials are kept away from earthed objects if maximum range is to be obtained.
The radio link is very robust, being crystal controlled and using a double conversion superhet receiver.
The Transmitter has a built in data slicer and the Receiver employs a phase locked loop detector and Schmidt trigger ensuring a consistent square wave output, free of noise and jitter. All this makes the system almost immune to noise and interference within its normal range. Even transmissions on the same frequency are completely rejected so long as their level is just 1 dB or less than the desired signal.
The system can only be used to transmit data, it cannot transmit analogue signals!
However, if you stand close to the Receiver and press the transmit button of a CB or Motorola, you will swamp the Receiver and cause a glitch, this will affect any radio system, not just the Time Code unit.
Also, be aware that some radio and car alarms work on the same frequency so these could affect reception if their transmitters are operated closer to the Receiver than the Time Code Transmitter. In practise this is rarely a problem because of the FM capture effect and the high efficiency of the Transmitter aerial.
If problems are encountered with reception make the following checks
Power the Transmitter up using the PP3 clip adaptor (or PP3 Battery Box) and a known good battery. Check the red power LED on the side of the Transmitter lights brightly. Check the range by taking the Receiver away from the Transmitter, about 100 metres line of sight should be obtained with good reliability.
How to check if time code is coming out of the Receiver
It is easy to check time code is coming out of the Receiver by just touching a pair of cans on the BNC output on the side of the unit. Time code has a very distinctive ‘chirpy’
sound that once you’ve hear it you will always recognise. Or better still, plug the output into your mixer (line level) and have a listen.
Steady hiss like an off tune FM radio indicates no carrier is being
received
Intermittent, dull, buzzy, crackly sound indicates carrier is received by no time
code
Slightly varying chirpy sound indicates time code is being received (very distinctive
sound)
Time Code Level Problems
If you have ascertained that time code is coming out of the Receiver but the time code display has problems locking, it is possible that the level if too high or low.
The time code levels are optimised for Betacam into the Transmitter (3.8V) and Receiver to HHB PortaDAT (2.2V). These levels will suit most equipment. The Transmitter has a wide range it will cope with from about 1 Volt to 6 Volts which covers just about everything. The Receiver will cope with most inputs - Nagra, PortaDAT, Video playback machines - without adjustment.
If all else fails try a BNC cable in place of the radio link to check that the system is basically working before blaming Black
Box Video!
Time Code Instructions
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