Zoom F6 Sync Problem
I only recently purchased the Zoom F6 and am having problems syncing with the Tentacle. More often than not when I plug it in to sync to the Zoom-s TC it doesn’t sync, flashing a fast red instead. In this forum I read somewhere about this same error being related to a faulty cable, but I’ve tried several now and the the problem persists, albeit intermittent. Could this be related to the Zooms TC polarity on the mini jack socket? I tried a mono mini jack cable but it didn’t work, so I’m stumped. Any help would be appreciated, or some specific Zoom F6 related instructions on syncing to the Tentacle if the problem is inherent. Thanks a ton.
The tip of the 3.5 mm jack on the Tentacle is Timecode out and should be used to connect to the Zoom; that has “tip” for timecode input. The “ring” on the tentacle is build in mic audio output and should be ignored in this case. So, if you use a minijack to minijack (=3.5mm) cable you can send timecode from the Tentacle to the Zoom.
If you want to go FROM the Zoom to the Tentacle you have to reverse the tip and the ring (which is not the polarity).
Is this the plug needed? Also, I’m trying to find the Gerald Undone post but can’t seem to find it. Could I possibly get a link?
Thanks
For anyone else facing this issue with the F6, thanks to Gerald Undone’s post on the F6 it stems from the TC polarity in the minijack plug, which is the opposite of the Tentacle Sync’s (and the Blackmagic Pocket 4/6K for that matter). Gerald Undone’s workaround is using a minijack stereo to mono adapter, which I couldn’t get ahold of easily, so I went ahead and modified a minijack cable, opening it up and reversing the left/right polarity from connector to connector. This solution lets me jam sync TC to the Tentacle Sync, as well as directly to the Blackmagic, but I’m not sure of the safety of the solution or any potential issues that could arise.