RF and Handi-Coupler

[Hart]

Here's an odd one, from my VO studio.

A friend gave me an Exacibur HC-1 Handi-Coupler yesterday. Decided to hook it up today. Sending audio out (meaning me out to the phone) works great, no problems.

Trying to get audio from the phone into the mixer (my headphones are the end result of course) has become a nightmare. I started off with a TS cable and couldn't get sound from the phone coupler to the mixer via a line in.

So then I switched to a TRS - XLR going into a mic pre on the mixer. That almost works if I jack the gain all the way up. I can barely hear the caller, and there is a loud buzz, Here's the kicker: Somehow, I'm picking up a radio station better than anything else. I don't have a tuner in here. Weird, you gotta love RF.

For you techie types, what do you think? Should I make up a TRS to TRS cable and try that instead or would that not even make a difference? I hate to run get the connectors and whip up a cable if it won't matter.

I'm going to reroute the phone line to make sure I'm nowhere near anything that might cause problems. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[steveanthony]

Here's the word from BradleyBroadcast.com:

Use the Handi-Coupler on remotes and around the station: on-air, production, the newsroom, the sales office, and in the sports kit. The HC-1 connects in series with the handset of any telephone using modular connectors.

Please note: This is not a telephone hybrid. It is not suitable for conversing with telephone callers on-air. If you want to put a phone caller on the air or record two-way interviews, consider one of the products on this page referred to as a "hybrid".

I ran into the exact same issue with the Excaliber. A friend recommended it to me. I wasn't familiar with the difference between a coupler and a hybrid (and evidently, neither was he) at the time. After returning it, I wound up getting a Gentner SPH-3 hybird.

[Hart]

Steve,

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, you can pretty much have audio going one way or the other, but not both at the same time. It's definately not a hybrid. But as a freebie I thought I would give it a go until (or perhaps if) I need a hybrid.

B