# Shure SLX 4 Receiver Flashing and Outputting Distorted Signal



## Dane Boulton (Feb 4, 2015)

Hey Guys 2 out of 3 of my SLX 4 (P4 Band) Receivers have started flashing and outputting distorted signal as soon as the mic they are paired to is turned on they all run through a Shure UA844SWB RF Distributor to get there signal from the dimmer room of my theatre to two antenans mounted on the stage. 

So I just went in after the long holidays to start working and two of the receivers are flashing and the VU meter is going up and down up and down as shown in the video I have embedded. I have no Idea what caused this. It could have been caused by a user messing with something or something that happened over the holidays while no one was here I have no idea.

As soon as an SLX transmitter is turned on the receivers display starts flashing and if I try and output the sound from the desk I just get a very ugly distorted choppy sound through. 

There are no Incompatiable or FULL error messages on the TX or RX so I am really lost for what to do.
I have tried different channels resetting the units reseting the RF distro and nothing is working

I really need these two receivers working as they are the main workhorse mics in our space and as the school year kicks off they are going to get used heaps.

Cheers,
Dane


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## Chris15 (Feb 4, 2015)

Your P4s are illegal to use as of Jan 1, because of the digital dividend.
You will need to have the school replace them with something that runs below 694 MHz

btw, the ACMA fines for operating an illegal tranmitter are north of 50k per transmitter


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## Dane Boulton (Feb 4, 2015)

Thank You so much for informing me! 
I thought that this was not until april this is a big mistake on my part.

I now have the pleasant task of replacing around 12 SLX receivers and about 20 Handheld Beta 58's and 10 Beltpacks 
I am pretty annoyed about this whole thing as that is a huge amount of money to have to spend so some quick questions hopefully you can help me.

Are the SLX Transmitters Universal?..... So If I go out and by some SLX receivers still within the legal range can I start using them straight away with my old transmitters?

Are you able to some how re chip or reband the receivers to within the legal range?

If there is really no way at all to stick to the SLX system can I make any money out of my old gear?
And what is a good transmitter/receiver combo to replace my old SLX and I kind of really need them to work with the Shure RF Distribution 

Cheers,
Hope someone here can answer


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## themuzicman (Feb 6, 2015)

Dane Boulton said:


> I now have the pleasant task of replacing around 12 SLX receivers and about 20 Handheld Beta 58's and 10 Beltpacks
> I am pretty annoyed about this whole thing as that is a huge amount of money to have to spend so some quick questions hopefully you can help me.



Why do you have almost twice the number of handhelds as receivers? That's a confusing number -- I could understand doubling up bodypacks and HH on receivers just in case you have an act that wants all bodypack or all handheld, but I don't quite get the large amount of handhelds in relation to receivers


Dane Boulton said:


> Are the SLX Transmitters Universal?..... So If I go out and by some SLX receivers still within the legal range can I start using them straight away with my old transmitters?



Not at all. The SLX are fixed frequency transmitters and receivers, they are not freely tunable so when the screen says 1-1, that's the same for both the transmitter and receiver and can't be fixed. 


Dane Boulton said:


> Are you able to some how re chip or reband the receivers to within the legal range?



It's not worth the cost with the SLX, even if you found a place to re-chip


Dane Boulton said:


> If there is really no way at all to stick to the SLX system can I make any money out of my old gear?



sell to a location where they are legal to use


Dane Boulton said:


> And what is a good transmitter/receiver combo to replace my old SLX and I kind of really need them to work with the Shure RF Distribution



sennheiser evolution series


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## Edrick (Feb 7, 2015)

These are for your school correct? Who's the faculty member in charge? Unfortunately with that amount of equipment its probably going to take some bidding and being done by a contractor. I hope they listen to you and don't just try to brush it under the carpet. Best of luck! 

How old is the current system?


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## Dane Boulton (Feb 12, 2015)

Thanks so much for all your help guys!

I'm happy to say that the entire school is in the process of being fitted with Senheiser EW100 G3 systems.
These seem to be a pretty similar level in quality to the SLX and have the top of the line capsule fitted to them.
I also an very excited to get the receivers networked and running with senheisers wireless manager
And can't wait to start running shows with them.
As for the SlX we are not sure at the momment. It will be a shame to see the many pieces of fantastic workhorse high quality equiptment get trashed or sold well below their value all because of the digital dividend.
Again thanks for your help I'll let you guys known how the Senheisers go
Cheers


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## Chris15 (Feb 12, 2015)

Sorry mate, but if you're getting ew100G3s you won't be networking them.
You need ew300 G3 or ew500 G3 to get ethernet...


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## Dane Boulton (Feb 12, 2015)

Ah okay must have misread something. We never had it with the SLX so I'm sure we can live without it. Is this system any good in your knowledge/opinion?
Cheers Again


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## Chris15 (Feb 12, 2015)

There are a pair of them sitting in the rack at my church.
There are a good number of the ew100s and ew300s littered across the UTS campus in the city.

So long as you aren't trying to push them beyond their limits in terms of number of systems in a given bandwidth, you'll be fine.
The metal handhelds seem to wear reasonably well, the power switches will catch out most teachers though...


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## Dane Boulton (Feb 12, 2015)

Okay sounds good
Great to have another person from Sydney on here especially one who uses the same kit. Thanks so much for your help. I was quite impressed with the quality when I first held them. I guess I will have to see how they go soon


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## StradivariusBone (Sep 12, 2019)

I have a an SLX4 doing the same thing as OP. It's partner was working, but after being left on for a while now clips anytime someone talks into the mic. The first one seems like a power issue. It only freaks out when a mic is on its freq. Otherwise the display is just dim. The second was working fine, but now acts like its gain is way too high. This was the only thread that had anything close that I could find. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bZcB4DTHN5AVq47j6


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## mbenonis (Sep 12, 2019)

StradivariusBone said:


> I have a an SLX4 doing the same thing as OP. It's partner was working, but after being left on for a while now clips anytime someone talks into the mic. The first one seems like a power issue. It only freaks out when a mic is on its freq. Otherwise the display is just dim. The second was working fine, but now acts like its gain is way too high. This was the only thread that had anything close that I could find.
> 
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/bZcB4DTHN5AVq47j6



I would suggest contacting Shure Applications Engineering at www.shure.com/contact or (312) 736-6006.


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## StradivariusBone (Sep 12, 2019)

Yeah, that was my next stop. Google-Fu led me here, but I also was told just after I posted that they are not planning to keep the SLXs so it might have been for naught. I was just curious if OP found out what caused his particular issue.


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## FMEng (Sep 13, 2019)

My first suspicion would be a dying external power supply (aka wall wart or line lump). I'll bet that the voltage isn't what it is supposed to be under load.


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## StradivariusBone (Sep 14, 2019)

FMEng said:


> My first suspicion would be a dying external power supply (aka wall wart or line lump). I'll bet that the voltage isn't what it is supposed to be under load.


I had an audio technica that acted like that, I was thinking that was the case with the one that started freaking out as soon as it tried to connect, but the other one was odd. It worked fine for about 15 minutes and then started having issues.


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## DrewE (Sep 14, 2019)

Either a dying power supply or, closely related, a dried up/dying electrolytic power supply filter capacitor somewhere, possibly in the receiver box itself. Not infrequently you (or at least someone moderately adept at electronic troubleshooting) can spot such capacitors based on their having bulged out, leaked, or otherwise showing signs of trauma. Sometimes an ESR and capacitance meter is needed. Sometimes it's best to just replace them as a matter of course in hopes of fixing or preventing problems....


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## FMEng (Sep 14, 2019)

Over the years, I haven't had that much luck find bad caps from physical signs. The ones that fail are most often sitting next to heat sinks. That's easy to spot.


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## StradivariusBone (Sep 14, 2019)

I've had hit or miss luck with bad caps. I had a monitor go once and decided to just get one of those "cap kits" you can find on eBay where you just buy a bag instead of sourcing each cap individually. Turns out the two that failed were ceramic disc smoothing caps on the high voltage output and were the only two not included in that bag and they looked fine visually. Oh well.


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