Lectro UM100/UCR100 difficulties

greetings all,

a friend of mine [and former location mixer] has graciously donated me
his old lectro wireess systems.
they work great [when they work], but have lately started having a lot
of static and dropouts when more than a few feet away. i can't figure
the ryhme or reason behind it, and am ready to chalk it up to ghostly
'interference.'

i'm planning on testing them pretty thoroughly before my next gig so
any info on testing procedures or whatnot would be much appreciated,
as would any recommendations on purchasing new gear if necessary.
i currently do a lot of ENG [industrials and docs], with the
occasional indy feature now and again, and i would love to keep using
these if possible.

the transmitters are BLK 24 and BLK 25, and i'm mostly in and around
pittsburgh.

cheers!
jeremy

First, check for obvious, loose or broken antennae, good battery, mic
and in-out cable connections. I do not recall if the UCR100 receiver
can scan for open frequencies, if so, do a scan before shooting and /
or see the Lectro or FCC website to find what frequencies are in use,
or more importantly.. not-in-use in your area.) and try 'open'
frequencies based on your findings.
If all else fails, contact the mothership for service info.