Mic problem again

[Kingdaddy]

Well this is the second microphone in a row that is bad, this time it went bad after the first use. The first one was bad out of the box, this one worked just once, turned it off, put it away, got new furniture so I went to redo the auto calibration and it would work for the Level setting (barley) but wont do the distance settings at all, keeps saying too much variation. The distance readings are all over the place, first reading will be 10, the next will be 50. I tried moving the mic closer and it worked, it seems that the mic sensitivity has changed since last use. I read a professional review where the author stated the same problem with the mic, he mentioned that you should not leave the battery in the mic after use, even in the “off” state it seems like the battery will somehow ruin or degrade the mic filament over a short time.

I wonder how many of you have tried to use your mic again after the first cal, I'll bet not many. I think there is a design flaw in these mic’s and most wont see the problem as they just do the cal once and never again.

[Chris D]

I really haven't heard of microphone problems. With my own personal experience, I've used my microphone with my C1 many times re-calibrating when I changed things, (maybe 5 times so far) and it's worked great each time.

[Jariten]

No MIC problems here either...

used about 5 times also...



T.

[Kingdaddy]

I guess I’ve just been unlucky, it is strange though that a professional reviewer mentioned this "leaving the battery in" problem. Although I wont know for sure until I get my new mic, if it works then I'll have to believe that there is something wrong with the design and quality of the microphone, if it don't work then I have a problem with the C2. I should get the mic soon I ordered it nearly 10 days ago, I’ll post back the verdict.

[Kingdaddy]

Well I got the new Mic, still dont work. I get the same kind of readings as before, 8ms then something like 30ms then 18ms, no 2 are the same. I'm told by Parasound that 1ms is approx 1 foot, so this thing is no where close, looks like a bad C2.

[DrBoom]

I've noticed that the mic is very battery dependent, for instance I get your kind of readings when I use a rechargeable NiMH battery even when it's fully charged.
My guess is that it's because a rechargeable battery is only 1.2V instead of 1.5V for alkaline batteries.

[Kingdaddy]

Yes you are right, I thought this as well so I tried new Alkaline batteries, 3 different ones to be exact. Also the fact that it will go through the Auto-Level mode successfully is another indication that the Mic is OK.

[Jariten]

Humm
not sure you mentionned it before...
what kind of speakers do you have?

I've had problems in the past due to some strange response curve from the speakers at 1kHz.
Some measurements were fine..some were completely out.

I've had my C1 (and prior to that an AVC2500) and I've NEVER had a problem calibrating since I used M&K speakers all around

maybe you should look into that...

T. :T

[netdeveloper]

The mic works really well for most cases, except when you have ambient noise. If there is a lot of ambient noise, try to calibrate your system at night. Also, place your mic over pillows (do not hold it). If you have a clock in the same room as the system, you may want to remove it's battery or move it to another room. If your results still don't seem accurate, check your connections. It could also be that a high gauge speaker wire is causing you to lose the signal. I personally use 8 AWG, though you can use upto 12 AWG.

[Kingdaddy]

Well I guess it was a processor problem, the new Halo works perfect every time. The most noticeable characteristic is that the new Halo always shows a "very low" ambiant noise reading, with the other it always said “56db ambient noise high” no matter how quite it was. Glad to finally have a full working auto cal, the acoustic distance is very consistent now, and no hesitation, the other would take 45min to finally give up and abort with "calibration failed" at the end.

Now to get the RS232 port figured out so I can automate on my computer, anybody got any info on the port and commands supported?

[MarkStega]

I contacted Parasound tech support & they sent me two documents that covered the RS-232 interface. I built an RS232 driver for the Charmed Quark automation package and it ships with the current version (1.2) of CQC. (See www.charmedquark.com) for details.

You can actually look at the CQC driver that I wrote to see how the protocol really works (or, better yet, you could buy CQC and use it as the controller for your theater automation, getting a tested Halo controller 'out of the box').

[Chris D]

If you look on the Parasound website, they have RS-232 codes for Halo equipment that may come in handy. I'm interested to hear what you set up. And Mark, you may want to start a separate thread talking about your setup! Me, for now, I'm just using the port to connect my laptop and use the Parasound programming software.

[Kingdaddy]

Thanks Guy's, I already have Main Lobby and DVD Lobby, I would like Main Lobby to be the control for the Halo, but I'm sure there would need to be a plug-in or something to make this work. If I have to buy yet another control software package I might just hold off on this, it would be to cumbersome to have multiple programs to control my Halo and other gear.

[Brian]

For an inexpensive way to automate, check out some of these links:

http://www.usbuirt.com/

http://www.girder.nl/index.php

http://www.housebot.com/

http://www.homeseer.com/

Once I get my wireless network set up at home in the upcoming weeks, I'm planning on trying out the usb uirt and girder or housebot.

[Dean Roddey]

In terms of what is all included in the package, CQC probably provides more integrated functionality than any of those options, with a good set of front end and back end functional, all highly integrated, secure, and fully network enabled. With those packages, you are likely to have to combine multiple apps to get a really full reatures system. It's already pretty complex to get a good automation system set up, so having to learn just one software package and to be sure it all works well together (and will continue to work well together) is one of those 'you get what you pay for' type things.

[T()()L]

I have tried this mic setup,and it fails every time so my tip is NOT to use this mickey mouse gimmick at all,imagine a guy setting up his brand new processor with this mic and leaves it that way (doesnt understand the importance of correct speaker distance etc so he doesnt correct it "if wrong" in the setup) and he uses the setting the auto calibration gave him,guess that guy is in for a suprise,BUT he has now spent 4000$ on this unit so it suppose to sound god,all test he can read on the internet says so,but all hes friends says that this halo c1/c2 processor sound shit....what will he do,what reputation will Parasound get from a lousy setup processor...?

My tip is that Parasound should remove this gimmick and spend the money on software upgrades.

My tip 2 is messure the distance from each speaker manually(selectable in foot/meters in setup) and write it down.

My tip 3 is to go to Radio Shack and buy the ANALOG "sound level meter" and then use DVE (digital video essentil) or the built in noise to get the correct level setting.

Dont get me wrong here,i LOVE the sound this unit have (i have the C2) had an Meridian 561 before and this unit kills that one in every aspect hands down (except for speaker distance lenghts)

So all in all do it RIGHT,do it MANUALLY.

Brg Nick

[Kingdaddy]

I'm really hoping that I can get Main Lobby to work with this via RS232, many of the other apps are IR based, but I do have USBUIRT device now but haven’t quite figured it out. There is just too much a learning curve for the time I have, and I have no desire to buy any more hardware, software however is ok if it's under $60. I still cant see having several programs to control my system, one to control the CX777ES DVD Changer and another to control the Halo, just to cumbersome, I need one program to rule them all.

[Kingdaddy]

I have tried this mic setup,and it fails every time so my tip is NOT to use this mickey mouse gimmick at all,Brg Nick

Your processor might have a problem, mine did, the new one works perfect every time and this auto-cal accruement is well worth it.

My tip 2 is measure the distance from each speaker manually(selectable in foot/meters in setup) and write it down.Brg Nick

The Halo does not measure physical distance, it measures acoustical distance which is far more accurate for getting the steering logic to operate at it's fullest potential, that’s why it gives you a much longer distance to the subs then it physically is. The rule of thumb is 1ms per foot, but to account for delay of the lower frequencies the processor delays the other speakers to be acoustically aligned with the sub, at least that’s my understanding from talking to the Parasound tech, and reading the manual.

[T()()L]

You have some points there (my C2 have failed badly and is now on its way to san fransico) maybe i had a bad unit,although it sounded so extremly god...(manually setup)i will try auto cal again when i get it back and post in here.

I do not understand the aucoustically delay for lower frequencies,man if that is so you should be out of lipsync,if you watch a movie.would be sounded like an old Bruce Lee movie (he talks and the sound comes later on : ) )

I think you should setup the 5. speakers first thats the most important,then let your .1 sub talk (i have severe trouble with my velodyne HGS-18))have tried diff eq`s but no luck room boundrys roule...you can not chase them away : (


Brg Nick