11
Setting Up and Using Your
VM1 System
8. Turn on the power to the VT3L or VH3 transmitter; all three Battery meter LEDs will light
if the battery is sufficiently strong. At this point, either the “A” or “B” orange LED on the
front of the VM1 will light (depending upon which antenna is receiving the stronger signal).
9. Set the VM1 Meter switch to “RF.” One or more segments in the VM1 meter should
light. If the “HIGH” segment lights, the VM1 is receiving an optimally strong RF signal and
is placed and positioned correctly. If the “LOW” segment lights (indicating a relatively weak
RF signal), try relocating the VM1 or changing the position of one or both of its antennas.
10. If you want to use headphones to monitor the transmission, connect a standard
“Walkman”-type 30 ohm headphone to the VM1 headphone output and adjust the Level
control until the desired level is reached.
11. Turn on your connected amplifier and/or mixer
but keep its volume all the way down. Next, make
sure that your transmitter is unmuted by setting its
Audio switch to “On.” If you are using the VH3
transmitter or if you are using the VT3L transmitter
with a connected lavalier microphone or headset,
speak or sing into the mic at a normal performance
level while slowly raising the volume of your
amplifier/mixer until the desired level is reached.
If you are using a VT3L beltpack transmitter equipped
with a lavalier microphone, note that correct lavalier
placement is critical to sound quality. We recommend
that you place it as shown in the illustration on the
right—as close to your mouth as possible but off to
one side (to minimize nasality) and unobstructed by
clothing. Bear in mind also that
omni microphones
(mics which pick up signal from all directions) are more prone to feedback problems than
unidirectional (cardioid or hypercardioid) ones; in general, you can avoid feedback by tak-
ing care not to use any microphone directly in front of a PA speaker (if this is unavoidable,
try using an equalizer to attenuate those high- or mid-range frequencies which are causing
the feedback “squealing”).
12. If you hear distortion at the desired volume level, first check to see whether the red
“Peak” LED on the VM1 is lit. If it is not, make sure that the gain structure of your audio
system is correctly set (consult the owners manual of your mixer and/or amplifier for
details). If the red “Peak” LED
is lit, do the following:
• If you are using a VH3 transmitter, use the supplied plastic screwdriver to turn its
Microphone Input Level control (trimpot) slowly counterclockwise (towards the “Min”
position) until the distortion disappears.
• If you are using a VT3L transmitter with connected lavalier microphone or headset, its
Audio Input Level control has been factory preset to provide optimum level for the
particular lavalier or headset model being used and so no adjustment should be
necessary. Any distortion present should therefore simply be a matter of the
microphone being too close to the mouth; try moving it further away. If this does not
solve the problem, use the supplied plastic screwdriver to turn the Audio Input Level
control (trimpot) on the VT3L slowly counterclockwise until the distortion disappears.