Abolishing your wireless woes!

Wireless mics are a gamechanger. They give you freedom to move around on stage, reduce cable clutter and are a must for questions from the audience. We've just put the finishing touches on this snazzy 4-way mic rack featuring Shure SLX Ch38 systems and UA844 RF distribution, with SM58 handheld capsules and WL93 lavalier mics. There's a bit going on, but it basically means that you get up to 4 simultaneous mics in any configuration you need, with premium Shure sound quality. We're rather smitten with it!

With the extra flexibility that wireless affords, comes with a bit more technical demand, but we always try to make it easy! Here we'll run through some common pitfalls with wireless, and how we avoid them.

• Radio Interference Especially in the UK, the radio spectrum can be very crowded. Frequencies are licensed by Ofcom (all hires from us are covered under our CH38 PMSE license), but you may still run into interference, whether that's from other users nearby or intermodulations from neighbouring frequencies. These are like harmonics, which can cause noise and artefacts on un-coordinated frequencies. To combat this, the SLX receivers themselves can automatically select the clearest frequencies for a quick setup. For locations with more radio activity, we prefer to perform a manual scan and co-ordinate frequencies with software from Shure, specifically designed to reduce interference in busy environments.

• Poor antenna reception When we've been asked to help fix wireless problems with equipment not working, we often find that the culprit is poor antenna placement. We find that it's always best practice to place antennas as high up as possible, in a place that has direct line-of-sight with the transmitter, and about 45° angle if using two whip antennae like with our diversity receivers. This allows the antennae to pick up the transmitter no matter it's orientation, especially useful for speakers or singers who move around a lot (which is part of the point of using wireless in the first place!)

• Feedback With all the freedom that wireless allows, a bit of preparation can go a long way. With mics that don't move around, such as lectern mics or those on a stand, the sound engineer can ring out and tune the system fairly easily, as the placement of sources is set. When the mic can move around though, it's often difficult to know where the speaker or vocalist is going to go. Practised pros may know to steer clear of walking in front of the PA, but you can't always rely on that. There may also be certain spots in the room where audio frequencies can build up and cause feedback out of nowhere. In this situation, the technician will have to test the mics all around the stage or room, a process that might take a bit longer than otherwise. Make sure there's plenty of time for this before the event, or it could lead to a nasty surprise! We will always factor this into our advice for timings, so that no-one is caught unawares.

Wireless is brilliant and can take your production to the next level, and we will always do our best to provide you with the best solutions. Talk to us about your event, and see what our professional systems can do for you!