Wire-Lists

Preparation and monitoring are big parts of any production that involves sound, and all productions involve multiple pieces. Even in a wireless world, you are still having to place, adjust and touch every piece of that system: microphones, amplifiers, the mixing set-up. And now, having to do that while maintaining cleanliness and appropriate distancing just multiplied the hands-on portion of your entire crew’s jobs. Distance isn’t your friend when it comes to sound, because as you know, increasing the distance between your transmitter and receivers can create unwanted noise. These are all non-issues if you're using a Dante-enabled system!

Signal to noise (s/n) ratio is the level of signal power in relation to the power of noise surrounding that signal, measured in decibels (dB). With wireless systems, the quality of your sound is largely dependent on achieving the highest signal to lowest noise ratio possible. So how can we do this? First, we need to look at the cause and type of noise in question. "Noise" is any type of competing signal interference – unwanted tones, static, even other frequencies - within the physical space. If you’re using wireless microphones, your noise may also be a result of channel noise in the FM process. “FM,” because all analog wireless systems use frequency modulation to send audio signals. A component of the FM process is the Capture Effect: wireless receivers will always demodulate (turn into audio) the strongest RF signals within a given frequency, and that includes sounds that you don’t want.

In order to combat the noise, you’ll need to look at the physical space you’re operating in, which is your working environment and also any equipment in your environment. Four tips to consider:

One of the things that makes wireless microphones so great is what they don't have - wires! Working wireless gives artists with elaborate stage shows, like Pink, true freedom of movement on set. But as awesome as wireless mics are, they are not without issues. In this List, we'll discuss five common glitches that you might experience with wireless microphones (and their receivers) and how to fix them.

Blocked Signal

One of the most common problems with wireless mics is signal blockage. A wireless mic is a transmitter, and anything in a wireless set-up between the transmitter and the receiver can block the signal. The typical culprits are walls or solid/dense objects on set, so you may need to move your receiver, or your external antennas if you use them, around to find a line of sight path for the RF signal. The human body can also absorb signals, which can be problematic for belt-pack units if not placed carefully. Same goes for handheld mics: make sure that they are being held properly so that the antenna is not covered by the hand. We explain this in more detail in Wire List #8.

Have you ever been working with one of our systems in the 486-495 MHz range and they’re just not synching up? You might have performed a frequency scan prior to choosing your settings, so you’re sure you’ve chosen everything correctly. Or did you? You may have run into the not-common-but-it-happens Block 19/470 Overlap.

What Is The Overlap?

As we detail in our transmitter manuals, there is an overlap in the frequency range of 486.400 - 495.600 MHz. We designed this intentionally, in order to maintain compatibility with receivers that tune across a single band. The problem only makes itself known in specific instances where you are tuning within the A1 Band on either Block 470 or 19 and one device is set to block 470 and the other one is set to block 19. This can occur when the devices are tuned manually.

4 Tips For Keeping It Clean and 2 Tips For Getting Back To Business And Staying Distanced

Keeping things clean has been a hot topic lately, and social distancing also looks like it will be here to stay for a while. Most of us use lavalier mics, which require touching the talent. As we start to get back to work, how can we adapt what is a very hands-on job to be more hands-off and give our clients the safety and peace of mind that they deserve?

The AQTIS and IATSE in Canada are in the process of writing sanitary guidelines for productions undertaken there. Written by Daniel Fontaine-Bégin, Tony Fortin, Simon Poudrette and Stephan Roy, the guidelines recommend: