One of the most common calls that we get in Customer Service is that a transmitter “doesn’t work.” Since “doesn’t work” is a very broad complaint, there are three things that you should check, prior to calling us, that could help you self-troubleshoot and possibly eliminate the need for a call altogether:
- Do your transmitter and receiver both have power? While it sounds rudimentary, ensure that your units are plugged in or that your batteries are fresh. Bad or weak batteries are surprisingly common. A general rule is to store your units between use without batteries, and supply new or freshly charged batteries at the start of each session. And make sure your batteries are inserted correctly – it’s easy to put them in the wrong way. All of our units are marked with battery orientation somewhere – either on the back or side of the unit, or inside the battery compartment. You may also need check your power supply, battery eliminator or BDS unit for proper voltages.
- Are your transmitter and receiver on the same block and are they tuned to the same frequency? These two discrepancies account for a great number of the calls that we receive. Additionally, if you’re trying to synch a transmitter and a receiver in the 486.400 – 495.600 MHz range of Band A1 and things are not working, it’s possible that you are running into the Block 470/19 overlap. For things to work in this situation and enable the correct pilot tone, your block and hex codes must match. Because of the unique design of the Lectrosonics products, each frequency within a block has a different pilot tone. This helps prevent unwanted un-squelching when an intermod lands on a receiver channel. However, the overlap between blocks 470 and 19 within the A1 band means you can have the correct frequency but since the transmitter and receivers are set to different blocks, the pilot tones don’t match. Be sure to check both the frequency AND the block if you are in Band A1 but are not getting audio.
- Are your transmitter and receiver on the same compatibility mode? Like frequency and block, if two different modes are selected, the units will be unable to communicate, or you may have audio distortion. Like people speaking languages, they both need to be using the same one in order to understand each other.
We hope that your issues are solved with one of these three checks. If not? Give us a call at 800-821-1121. We’re here Monday to Friday, 8 to 5 Mountain Time.
-The Lectrosonics Parts & Repair Team
