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ROWA Wireless microphone system
  • 57 Replies sorted by
  • fabiocfabioc

    Hello, Vitaly. Did you received the microphone?

    I'm curious about your review. I found this micro in Dealextreme a few days ago and, well, I'm thinking to buy one.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @fabioc

    Yep, I got it.
    But need to find some time to test them out.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Some initial opinion.

    Good things.

    • This thing looks like next gen budget solution. Due to high contrast oled screens and
    • Very easy to setup. You leave reciever at autoscan, and set channel at transmitter. It locks almost instantly.
    • Has build in mikes both or transmitter and reciever. Two mikes on transmitter and one on reciever.
    • Mike on reciever is facing you. So, ideally you can make interview using only this thing.
    • Mike on reciever can be mixed with remote signal.
    • Looks like it is really digital (I mean transmission), as I see no noise induced by transmussion.
    • Big advantage that it is stereo transmitter.

    All below is preliminary due to 5 minute test using one mike (and build in mikes) and two headphones only. I used Panasonic stereo electret mike.

    Problems:

    • Do not like battery covers, as they are very hard to get off by hand and placed weirdly.
    • To hear mike sound in headphones clearly you need to push mic boost to high and volume almost to max.
      It requires more experiments and I'll make recording to external source to check levels.
    • Such pushing result in noise. Not good. Looks like almost perfect white noise. It looks like noise source are mic preamps.

    So, for now I am not recommending getting it.

  • DirkVoorhoeveDirkVoorhoeve

    I've also just tested them quickly and found signal drops a lot. But this might be because there is no free wifi channel in my area. I've been using the internal mics recently on an interview (there was no wifi there at all), i'll post it as soon as it gets edited.

    Another plus: you can power and charge them with 5v USB. That's very good news for the receiver (if you've got a battery pinch on your rig), as you don't need the internal battery and can keep it as a spare for the transmitter (i've not tested yet if you can load the empty battery in the meantime in the receiver, which would be really nice). But they are extremely (!!) hard to get off, in fact, i think it's impossible!.

    Another minus: there is no phantom power on the mic input. So I can't use them with my DPA. I believe the tram and sanken both need a little power as well!? Anyone has a good lavalier mic suggestion for this situation?

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev how did you mix the TX and RX internal mic sound? just up the Mic_vol on the receiver? Is it on both channels then, or one only?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    I've been using the internal mics recently on an interview (there was no wifi there at all), i'll post it as soon as it gets edited.

    It could be interesting.
    How is the level? As I don't hear much in the headphones in Mid, and later it is noisy.

    But they are extremely (!!) hard to get off, in fact, i think it's impossible!.

    I think that you need to glue some small thing (like bump) to them, so you'll have thing to hold, after this it'll be easy.

    just up the Mic_vol on the receiver?

    Yep.

    Is it on both channels then, or one only?

    As I remember, on both.

  • fabiocfabioc

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev
    Thank you, Vitaly

  • archp2008archp2008

    No comments since May 22nd. What's up Vitaliy?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    What's up Vitaliy?

    Any specific reason of this loud cry?

  • archp2008archp2008

    Hi Vitaliy. Thanks for the reply. It was a loud cry but not intended to be obnoxious, I hope. I was planning to purchase one of those Rowa systems for my T2i but couldn't find a single review out there, so you seem to be my only hope. I notice now that you aren't recommending it but I was anticipating more experimentation with recording as you mentioned this past spring.

  • peternappeternap

    @archp2008 I was looking at them too but they are sold out. I'm sure Vitaliy will give his opinion when he has time.

  • archp2008archp2008

    They are available elsewhere at higher prices including from Gadgetinfinity in Hong Kong on Ebay. It's too bad that more sellers including Dealextreme don't work out a more comprehensive review system where buyers could write in about their personal experience with specific products such as Newegg and Amazon do now. A Dealextreme representative told me they expect more of the Rowa systems within the next week or so. No way to know whether or not the price will be as low as originally, though.

  • archp2008archp2008

    Can't tell if this is the same system or not? http://www.dxebay.com/10quot-lcd-24ghz-50mw-stereo-wireless-microphone-system-transmitter-receiver-set-for-camera-p-54370.html

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @archp2008

    Yes, of course.

    It is just good to understand who is owner of this site.

  • archp2008archp2008

    Sorry, Vitaliy I didn't know you were the site owner. I just hit upon the thread for the first time and replied at once. I thought you were just one of a group of participants in this specific thread, except that you knew more about this particular system and were going to say more about it. Later I looked around the site and noticed that you were the top poster. Great site. Great idea. I don't have a lot of money to spend on a microphone system. With no review, it doesn't look like this one is going to be on my short list, more likely a wired stereo lavaliere.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @archp2008

    No, under site owner I mean that dxebay.com look suspicious :-)

  • RamboRambo

    Looks very suspicious to me trading off the ebay name and logo...hehe. Actually, sticks out a mile :-)

  • archp2008archp2008

    Its easy to misunderstand when we are not talking to people face to face and when some of us share different languages. I would have been very hesitant to order from that "DX" Ebay site. My guess is it's probably some kind of hacked site or scam.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @archp2008

    DX.com is site of DealExtreme, that this dxebay shit site is I have no idea.

    So, if you want to get this stuff, use some known site.

  • disneytoydisneytoy

    With super cheap and small wifi chips, wouldn't it be easy for someone to make a wifi based wireless mic? And you could choose to record on an Ipad, Iphone, Notebook or a wifi enabled Zoom?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @disneytoy

    Very bad idea, as Wi-Fi is power hungry, dropounts friendly and made for completely different things.

    Really good idea must be multiple channels digital transmitter and reciever, so receiver can choose channels without dropped data. But such thing is not easy to develop. And this market is really tiny.

  • archp2008archp2008

    I'm wondering if fabioc concurs with Vitaliy that these units may not be worth getting.

  • DirkVoorhoeveDirkVoorhoeve

    just been using it a bit more:

    • I found that the automatic channel selection doesnt work well but had a very good reception when I set both the transmitter and receiver to manual;
    • The line input of the transmitter can't take a normal line (-10 dBV) output. It has to be attenuated a bit to work;
    • Both the transmitter and the receiver work about 3 hours on one battery (it is about 1 bar per hour on the battery indicators). The nice thing is that you can charge the battery inside of the receiver with USB from your battery pinch, so you can exchange batteries every three hours.
    • The two internal mics are not that good. Maybe nice for spying but not for recording. Also very sensitive to wind-noise.

    mic input does only have very little power on it, so it doesn't work with my DPA. @Vitaliy_Kiselev which lavalier mic do you use?

  • archp2008archp2008

    As for me I decided on ordering a Zoom H1 recorder and a $20 lav to connect to it. I came to the conclusion that the quality of the audio was more important and I wanted to avoid the limitations of the built-in recorder of my T2i. If I had had $1000 plus to invest, a top quality wireless unit would have definitely been considered. I doubt if anyone who reads this thread now will order this particular unit.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    mic input does only have very little power on it, so it doesn't work with my DPA. @Vitaliy_Kiselev which lavalier mic do you use?

    It can be the problem.

    I used only electred mikes with it, ones without their own power.

  • DirkVoorhoeveDirkVoorhoeve

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev could you maybe tell me which ones you use as both my DPA and the newly bought Sennheiser ME4 are electred mics and both don't work...

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