My new Zaxcom TRX900CL by Jeff Edrich, Mohegan Lake, NY – January 7, 2014

I have used camera links for more than twenty years. My main link for most of that time was a set of VHF – yes – VHF Audio Limiteds’.  They worked faithfully except for a handful of times when competing frequencies were in the area and they occasionally needed to be sent in for retuning, which was expensive and inconvenient.  But over the last couple of years, they started to become less reliable. I decided it was time to get a new set of links for my kit. I purchased two used Zaxcom ENG receivers and a transmitter. The receivers worked perfectly, but the transmitter needed to be replaced. A friend told me he had just purchased the Zaxcom TRX900CL and that it worked incredibly well.  After hearing that, I made up my mind.

I thought it would be a long process to wait for it to come in, but it was in stock at Gotham Sound in NYC. I picked it up after a job and ran a few tests at home.  I love the fact that you can set the output power to 10, 50, or 100 milliwatts. The next day I was working on a show about how to decorate one’s tree and apartment for the holidays. I mic’d the host and the guest and then used the Zaxcom TRX900CL to send it to the camera.

I ended up mixing from a couch all day – love that, ha ha –  Subjects to mixer – mixer to camera – all wireless. It worked perfectly. Every time I had a chance, I’d walk over to the camera and check that the sound was clear. It was like I was going straight to camera with a hard line. By the time the afternoon had rolled around, I felt completely confident in the clear transmission of the Zaxcom TRX900CL.

In additional to sending audio to the camera, the TRX900CL can also record a backup file with timecode on a miniSD card, and send the audio with timecode to an IFB receiver. It has so many additional features that it’s more like a little broadcast center. The form factor is easy to work with and fits wonderfully anywhere in one’s bag. It’s great that the connections are underneath so everything remains nice and clean. I’ve used it for about two weeks, and I feel confident in my wireless link again. I couldn’t be happier with my new TRX900CL transmitter.

Jeff Edrich has been working as a freelance sound person for 25 years with network news magazine shows, documentary, and corporate clients.