Wireless mics

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We are currently in phase 3 (or is it now 4) of the 10 phases of the 600 MHz changeover. I believe the end of this year marks phase 9. T-Mobile has been offering broadcasters cash incentives to hurry the transition ahead of the published schedule as well. As TV stations move to spots below 600 MHz, there will be fewer empty TV channels in which to operate mics (some markets will have none). If you are lucky enough to find empty channels in your market in 2020, it will have more background noise due to intermodulation products from neighboring channels. Good mics have expensive filtering to deal with this problem. Cheap ones do not. Many manufacturers have opened up the tuning range of their mics but not all brands/models offer improved filters.

Diversity reception is a vague term. There are many different types of diversity. There is passive and active antenna diversity. There are also dual independent receiver designs. The latter is way more expensive and more effective. If the deal looks too good, be wary of what you are getting.

BTW, RickyB, professionals spend $3-5K per channel on wireless systems used in high-density RF environments. During SuperBowl week, there are 4000+ requests to operate wireless transmitters around the stadium. Cheap mics need not apply. My buddy handles the wireless for the refs and halftime show. He now needs to use people aiming highly directional antennae at the performers as if they were spotlights to insure he maintains a decent signal to noise ratio. He started doing that BEFORE the loss of the 600 MHz band. It isn't going to get any easier for us DJs once that band is gone.
 
BTW, RickyB, professionals spend $3-5K per channel on wireless systems used in high-density RF environments. During SuperBowl week, there are 4000+ requests to operate wireless transmitters around the stadium. Cheap mics need not apply. My buddy handles the wireless for the refs and halftime show. He now needs to use people aiming highly directional antennae at the performers as if they were spotlights to insure he maintains a decent signal to noise ratio. He started doing that BEFORE the loss of the 600 MHz band. It isn't going to get any easier for us DJs once that band is gone.
Which I'd assume is somewhat offset by the kickback Bose gives the NFL for the HUGE lettering on the headsets. I think it used to be Motorola?
 
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Which I'd assume is somewhat offset by the kickback Bose gives the NFL for the HUGE lettering on the headsets. I think it used to be Motorola?

The story I read was the NFL was using wired headsets for a while then tried to make the transition to wireless with Motorola. But because of their unique needs, there was nothing available off the shelf that was meeting their needs. They approached Bose and asked them if they could design a system just for the NFL's needs. Designing a system for only 32 customers isn't cost effective, unless that customer can put your name in front of millions
 
Hi I'm looking for advice on this topic, thanks in advance for your feedback.

I've been using Sennheiser G2 EW100 on A band (518-554) units for many years and was relieved to know they would still be usable with the FCC changes a few years back. My use is for handheld wedding toasts and other event speeches.

Up until recently I had no issues with the system but in the last month I have started to get drop outs and interference.
On doing scans on the various banks I cannot find any clear channels, whereas before I could always find clear channels.

I do gigs in Los Angeles and surroundings so the airwaves aren't going to get any less crowded moving forward so I need to replace this system.

What are my options?

I've tried the Line 6 XDV75 set and it generally works ok and has better muting than the Senn, and I can configure the mic to sound just like the Senn 835s that are the wired and wireless mics I like. Unfortunately the Line 6 will occasionally exhibit drop outs, especially if there are wireless routers in the area. Changing to another of the 12 channels sometimes helps.

Is there a new option from Shure, Senn or others that folks can attest to working reliably in a crowded airwave environment?

I wont skimp on this area of my equipment, if it will pay for itself (which the Senn has done in spades til now) but if renting a very high end system is the only answer then I will consider that as well. The issue would just be finding a convenient supplier for the rentals since I've never needed to rent previously and will have to research this.
 
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Hi I'm looking for advice on this topic, thanks in advance for your feedback.

I've been using Sennheiser G2 EW100 on A band (518-554) units for many years and was relieved to know they would still be usable with the FCC changes a few years back. My use is for handheld wedding toasts and other event speeches.

Up until recently I had no issues with the system but in the last month I have started to get drop outs and interference.
On doing scans on the various banks I cannot find any clear channels, whereas before I could always find clear channels.

I do gigs in Los Angeles and surroundings so the airwaves aren't going to get any less crowded moving forward so I need to replace this system.

What are my options?

I've tried the Line 6 XDV75 set and it generally works ok and has better muting than the Senn, and I can configure the mic to sound just like the Senn 835s that are the wired and wireless mics I like. Unfortunately the Line 6 will occasionally exhibit drop outs, especially if there are wireless routers in the area. Changing to another of the 12 channels sometimes helps.

Is there a new option from Shure, Senn or others that folks can attest to working reliably in a crowded airwave environment?

I wont skimp on this area of my equipment, if it will pay for itself (which the Senn has done in spades til now) but if renting a very high end system is the only answer then I will consider that as well. The issue would just be finding a convenient supplier for the rentals since I've never needed to rent previously and will have to research this.
Since the 600MHz spectrum is basically gone (and the 700MHz spectrum a few years earlier) .. most of those users have moved to the 500MHz band, so it's more crowded than before. And because you are in a high use area, there are just many more users than say cities in the midwest.

518-554MHz is roughly UHF channels 22-28, so any over-the-air signals from those stations (and some are broadcasting digital sub channels making use of all their bandwidth) are also affecting you.

2.4GHz digital might help .. depends on the venue .. since you'd be sharing it with WiFI, Bluetooth and a few other things.
 
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Could also get a cheap RF scanner ( Inexpensive RF Spectrum Analyzers for Wireless Mics! - (https://dbbaudio.com/2016/inexpensive-rf-spectrum-analyzers/) ) to see whether there are less crowded areas near your venues.

Also, most of the higher end units do a better job of prescanning frequencies, and will try to avoid congestion.

You can check an address here for OTA signals to see what is being used ( TV Fool - (http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29) )

Anything in green or yellow is a candidate for interference .. assuming it's in the "real" channel 22-29 space.
 
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Thanks I will check out the Q-LXD, especially if it is working well in LA. Which Shure head do you use?

I was thinking updating to a newer unit that does a better job of scanning or frequency hopping, but I think I'm done with UHF.
The Line 6 uses 2.4Ghz and it will drop occasionally, so I'm a bit wary of that band but it could just be their implementation.
 
The Line 6 uses 2.4Ghz and it will drop occasionally, so I'm a bit wary of that band but it could just be their implementation.
2.4Ghz = WIFI. In that band, you are competing for bandwidth along with every cell phone and wireless DMX transmitter in the vicinity.
 
I'm researching the QLX-D and finding out it still uses UHF which I thought I needed to avoid.
@jaswrx what is your process when going to a gig, are you doing scans at the start and it finds an open TV channel that it can use?
Have you had any issues with situation changing during the event and having to re scan or is it pretty much locked in once you set and no worries the rest of the event?
 
The Shure QLX-D (digital) system is available in four bands: V50 (VHF), and UHF bands G50, H50, and L50.

The V50 VHF band was originally used to broadcast TV channels 7-13. In some areas of the US, there are still commercial broadcasts on these TV channels. The only case where I'd prefer the V50 VHF band would be for very long-distance wireless, greater than 100 yards.

The G50 and H50 UHF bands are UHF broadcast channels 14-35. These are currently used for digital TV broadcasts, but there are normally wide unused gaps between stations, depending on your local area. Auto-scanning wireless systems should have no problem avoiding them.

The L50 band used to be UHF channels 41-51, but is being phased out for use by wireless mics (prohibited after July 2020). However, there is a gap between bands on channel 45 that wireless mics will still be able to use legally. That's why I'm hanging on to my Sony UWP analog wireless mics that operate on channels 42-45. (There's virtually no one else on channel 45!)
 
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G50 uhf has he most channels open in the la area. I scan when i get to a gig and never change it during a gig.

Where about in la are you.
 
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I should point out that we are only in phase 3 of the 10 phase 600 MHz transition. The best decision today may not be the best decision 3 months from now. The transition won't be complete until July 13 2020. It is very frustrating, even to professional broadcasters. Thankfully I sell a solution immune to all this but alas it is not priced for DJs.