Five Simple Tips for Using Wireless Microphones
New users of wireless microphones will quickly find they are far more convenient than wired systems. But users also learn there are far more things that can go wrong with wireless systems. Here are some basic rules to stay out of trouble.
Vintage King, the pro audio dealer, has produced a video on five top wireless basics. The company’s in-house wireless expert, Paul Johnson, takes users through the top reasons for signal loss for wireless mics — no matter where they are used.
Johnson’s tips, summarized from the video, are:
1. Before every new job with a wireless mic, insert a new battery. Dead batteries are the most common reason for problems and once the production is underway, batteries are not so easy to change.
2. Always keep the wireless mic transmitter and receiver in the same room. Obstructions between them can cause signal loss.
3. Keep the transmitter and receiver in the line of sight. Make sure nothing gets in the way of the devices “seeing” each other.
4. Make sure the handheld transmitter’s user doesn’t cover the antenna on the bottom of the microphone with a hand. If this happens, you can easily lose 50 percent of the mic’s signal.
5. When using multiple wireless mics, make sure each mic is on a separate frequency. Otherwise, you can have major problems.
Follow these basic rules, and you are ahead of the game in preventing problems.
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