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Converting headphone line in Audio snake to TC

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Walter R

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Hi,
We've been using a Sound Devices 302 for a while with the Epic, but have decided to go to second system recording and only feed the Epic reference audio. We plan to use the Zaxcom Maxx and either send TC to the Epic from the Zaxcom or have the Zaxcom take TC from the Epic - any suggestion of which is more reliable is welcome.

For now, we plan to have everything hard wired between camera and mixer/recorder. We have an existing audio snake we use with the Sound Devices which has L/R XLRs, plus the headphone return. Without the second system recording, we've been relying on the return monitoring through the Sound Devices to make sure we're getting good audio to the Epic. It is a pretty noisy signal but we've made it work.

Anyway, now that we're switching to the Maxx, I'd like to use the headphone line in our existing snake and just put new connectors on it for timecode. This would be BNC on the mixer/recorder and the Lemo on the Epic. I think this should work, since we're only worried about the TC and ground pins in the lemo, but I'm not a engineer so I thought I would ask here. Is this viable? Any issues we might face? And where can we get the proper lemo connectors or even just send the snake to have this done?

Thanks,
Walter
 
It's all just electricity traveling through wires, so as long as you read the manual with the pinout information, you should have no problems converting the headphone return to a TC Out. I'd jam camera from mixer.

You'll probably burn yourself and spend hours soldering and assembling that stupid 4 pin lemo cable, so I'd recommend taking it in to your local shop to have it done.
 
Epic has no timecode out without the Pro I/O module, so your only choice with this cable configuration would be to feed TC from Maxx to the Epic. By using a syncbox on the Epic you could get rid of the snake cable altogether. You could use a small camera mounted mic on the Epic for reference audio. I have used a Betso SBOX-1 and I can highly recommend it. It is very robust and accurate.
 
Hi,
Thanks for the quick replies. I'm intrigued by the idea of the Betso box. If I went with that I jam the Maxx to it at the beginning of the day and then put in on our Epic? Also, what cable do we need to connect between the Betso and the Epic? It would be great if it was included but there always seems to be a $100 or more cable needed for anything involving a lemo.
 
Walter R said:
Hi,
Thanks for the quick replies. I'm intrigued by the idea of the Betso box. If I went with that I jam the Maxx to it at the beginning of the day and then put in on our Epic? Also, what cable do we need to connect between the Betso and the Epic? It would be great if it was included but there always seems to be a $100 or more cable needed for anything involving a lemo.
Click to expand...

Actually, i would jam the max at start of day, and after the "lunch" break, as we do other cameras..
 
Some very good advice above. I would recommend using either an Ambient Lockit box or a Denecke SB-T as a timecode source for the camera, and jamming that twice a day. Zaxcom does have wireless timecode solutions, but because they require both a timecode transmitter and a receiver, they're more costly than just a single lockit box ($800).

The issue I would worry about with feeding timecode down a headphone line is the potential for crosstalk and/or grounding problems, affecting other analog audio. Having the box on the camera is infinitely easier to deal with. I would also recommend sending the scratch track feed wirelessly, just to avoid having a connected cable at all, freeing up the camera operator and not getting in their way.
 
How accurate is Epic's internal timecode generator, may I ask? And is it any different from the Red One's or the Scarlet's? Thanks!
 
Peter Moretti said:
How accurate is Epic's internal timecode generator, may I ask? And is it any different from the Red One's or the Scarlet's? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Not reliable enough to use for paid projects for my clients, unless I also use reference audio.

I always use an external TC source with the Epic.

I do the same for an R1. I have not conducted side by side test to see which is more accurate.
 
It is better to jam the Betso syncbox to Maxx instead of the other way round. The Betso box has a unique software calibration option that actually adjusts the internal TC frequency to match the incoming TC signal very precisely. Betso also makes custom cables suitable for Epics and Scarlets. I ordered one and it has proven to be reliable and well made.
 
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