I and others have had bad luck using the WiFi dongle. You will be much happier (and more secure) using a wireless router. I'm actually surprised the "dongle" has worked well on you TM16. I'm in agreement that the analog gain trims are problems. I use a TM16 for small events, but if there are multiple acts I end up changing a lot of gain setting, even for acts that all use the same backline gear. That not a problem when every act is throw and go, but if you have a headliner that has performed a sound check early and then a series of acts -wow!
The digital gain adjustment just isn't adequate.
Yeah, I use a wireless router for most of my gigs - it lives in my amp rack. The TM16 usually sat on top of the amp rack, and was connected via WiFi (QSC-supplied dongle) to the router which was usually only a couple of feet away, and in direct line of sight.
The TM30 doesn't seem to work with that USB WiFi dongle, so I'll be cabling it to my router and doing it properly.
I find the analogue trims acceptable, but I did learn on all-analogue gear. For me, the TouchMix desks retain quite a lot of analogue familiarity while still having the digital feature set. It's a compromise I'm happy with, but I can fully understand why others might not like them as much as I do.
First day out with the TM30 was today - recording a choir in a cathedral. Made use of the USB output feed to send a backup recording straight to a laptop, while also writing to a USB hard drive.
Mics were as follows:
- 2x Beyer MC930 around 1/3rd of the way from the choir to the back of the room, spaced apart
- Beyer MC930 & SE Electronics VR1 as a mid-side array, positioned centre and a little closer to the choir for a bit more direct sound for the "mid".
Being able to split inputs to two channels makes setting up the mid-side thing nice and easy - the TM16 would've needed a lot more work.
Initial impressions are good, but I'll know more when I've got things hooked up to some nice speakers to do the mixing.
Chris