Panasonic P2HD

[Mikey]

Our church just got one of these cameras and the power supply is causing a ridiculous amount of RFI on our wireless mics. As soon as the camera is powered down and no current is going through the PS or if the camera is run on battery the RFI goes away. Anyone have any good ideas?
Is this a known issue, is the power supply bad?

[Paris MkVI]

Some questions. . .

What model camera is it?
What environment is this happening, remote shoots or in the sanctuary?
What mic freqs are affected?
Powered via multi-core to a CCU or a 4-pin Canon 12VDC plug-in power supply?

[Mikey]

It's an AG-HPX370P
The problems happen in our "sanctuary". We're a portable church, so It's a hotel ballroom.
The mics are all between 500-530 mhz.
I am not exactly a video guy, but I think it's powered via the 4 pin clable.

[Paris MkVI]

OK. I use that same camera for the day job. First thing to try - do you have another power cable you can use to eliminate the cable as the issue? If not, beg or borrow one and see if that is the issue.

Also, regarding the mics in question - receivers mounted on the camera? Or racked units? If on the camera, try replacing the mic cables separate from changing the power cable.

[petereit]

Also, since you're in a rented ballroom, you might want to get a receptacle checker and make sure the hotel has all their outlets properly grounded.

[Mikey]

I'll see about replacing the cable. As for the mics they are rack mounted.

The receptacles are grounded properly. I checked them a couple years ago when we started using the space...that and the jman that wired them goes to our church, and he's a good sparky, not a hack.

Thanks for the help guys!

[tdangelo]

How far is the power supply from the camera?

How far is the power supply from the wireless mic antennas?

[Mikey]

PS has about a 6' cord, so it's not far from the camera. The unit is probably about 10' away from the mics. I'm thinking of moving my receivers form FOH to the stage rack tomorrow and see if that helps. I just don't like being able to monitor them...

[Mikey]

The hard part o of being a portable church is troubleshooting. After a few weeks we have it narrowed down. Power supply is not the problem. Interference occurs when we plug in the sdi cable. Gonna try a different type this week and see what happens.

[Borggren]

I think you have a ground loop problem. If it sounds like constant hum, it is not RFI problem.
Where is the SDI cable going to?
If you have your wireless recievers, camera power supply and projector/switcher, connected on different power lines, you could get ground loop problems.
Do you have connection between your audio setup and camera?

[Mikey]

No, there is no connection between the camera and the audio system. This is not a ground loop problem. It is pure RFI. The moment the SDI cable is plugged into the converter or the camera ALL of my RF meters on my wireless mics go haywire, and if you open one of the channels all you get is pure static.

After talking to one of the guys on staff I discovered the cable in question was a $6 cable bought from a computer store just because it was 75 Ohm coax. Told them to go buy a REAL cable (read shielded) this week and we'll give it another try.