Here is my story about how my UM400a TX took a beating and kept on ticking.
Years ago when I was just starting out. I was working on a project in Disneyland. It entailed following around a family of 4 with two small kids. I had just gotten my first Lectro set which was a 411a receiver and 400a transmitter. I was told that the two parents wouldn't be speaking much, and that the dialog from the kids was the most important. So I gave the 400a to one of the kids, and a Sennheiser g3 to the other. The parents got g3's as well.
About halfway through the day, just after lunch when I was walking over to turn the transmitters back on. I came upon the two kids swinging their transmitters around their heads by the lavalier cable. Naturally, time slowed down as I absorbed this situation with super human speed. Before I could get to them however, the kids both ended up smashing the transmitters against the pavement.
The g3 broke into 3 or 4 pieces. No if, ands, or buts about it. It was broken. The UM400a on the other hand, was miraculously intact. Only some of the black paint got scratched off of the corners. Still, I was expecting that it wasn't going to power on anymore. But again miraculously, it did. And then I figured that it almost certainly wouldn't be transmitting properly, but it did. In fact, except for a little bit of the paint scratching, it was unscathed. And let me stress that these transmitters hit the ground violently. I can't blame the g3 at all for breaking. But what I can absolutely do is praise the 400a for being a literal bomb proof tank.
It saved us that day because I only had one spare wireless channel beyond the 4 that were already in use. It took a decent amount of assurances that repairs/replacements would he covered in a timely fashion before I let those kids wear the mics again. Thank you Lectrosonics!
Jared Elkin
Production Sound Mixer
Tell us your “Not Fragile” story and get some Lectrosonics swag!
The Gnarly Files are now the “Not Fragile” stories, and we want to hear your experiences with our products that have taken a beating and still produced great sound. If we use your story, we will mail you something cool from Lectrosonics.
Your stories and support are why we strive to make the best products we can and make them “Not Fragile.” Send your story to
We look forward to adding your stories to our archives of quality product stories.
