Taking the plunge to free yourself of wires and enjoy the freedom of wireless microphones is quite tempting. Although if you’re not careful, the wireless path can bring about challenges not seen before.
The wireless landscape for our entertainment world has some twists and turns. The “chunk” of bandwidth allotted for wireless microphones and wireless in-ear systems shrinks every year. Tip: Be sure to double check the range of the unit. Stay within the 470Mhz – 614Mhz. Avoid anything in the 700 Mhz range.
Although I’ve written more complex articles tacking the wireless beast, this short article aims to recommend some quick wireless microphone best practices and affordable recommendations for the wedding DJ, singer or simple corporate gig.
Static and Drop Outs!
The two most common complaints I hear when helping troubleshoot budget friendly wireless is “static” and “drop outs“. Both problems are closely related to poor reception from transmitter to receiver and channel selection.
How to make it better!
- Line Of Sight – keep the receiver off the ground and high enough to “see” over people.
- Antenna Orientation – Orient the antennas in a 45 degree “V” shape.
- Fresh Batteries — wireless transmission needs proper power — low batteries are no help. I recommend quality alkaline batteries like [amazon_textlink asin=’B00GTYF1ZU’ text=’Duracell ProCell ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’soundapi-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’70c63ca6-d96a-11e7-b8d1-7d81815708a8′] or [amazon_textlink asin=’B00006LHDI’ text=’Energizer Industrial’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’soundapi-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’75cf2ce4-d967-11e7-8d57-b7a497af35db’].
- Scan – If available, use the scan function every time you set up and use your microphone.
My Recommendations
(Tip: Be Sure to check out Amazon’s used options to save some $$!)
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B01NAS7Q9Q’ text=’Sennheiser XSW 1-825′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’soundapi-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2414ef77-d967-11e7-97b8-272eb99d518b’]
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B074F3GYGN’ text=’Audio-Technica ATW-2120b ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’soundapi-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8c3ad9bd-d969-11e7-b592-abce019d03d7′]
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B01CIUS1IM’ text=’Shure BLX24′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’soundapi-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c1a74e27-d969-11e7-b24b-61544bb9f37f’]
[amazon_link asins=’B00BRQ5AK6,B074F3GYGN,B01NAS7Q9Q’ template=’ProductGrid’ store=’soundapi-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’183e5b30-d96a-11e7-8fb9-19f75a2d3055′]