How Multisite Vox Church Achieves Reliable RF Wireless

Situated in a region of the USA crowded with television broadcast stations and numerous event sites using wireless mic and in-ear monitor systems that contribute to a challenging RF environment, exceptional RF coordination and distribution is key in setting up a wireless system free of drop out.

The church live streams its services from a portable broadcast campus—where volunteers perform load-in and load-out every weekend

Robert Roy is the central production lead for Vox Church. “We have a very small paid staff for each campus, as far as production-wise. And so equipment-wise, we try to be as efficient as we can, so that we can make the job easier for each volunteer on a Sunday morning.”

One way the church speeds load-in and load-out is through its heavy reliance on wireless mics and in-ear monitors (IEMs). Using more wireless systems, for instance, reduces the time and effort involved in uncoiling and wrapping cables. It also reduces on-stage clutter—an important factor when shooting video.

In a recent effort to improve audio quality and reliability, the church’s technical leadership added technology to solidify signals for its wireless microphones and in-ear monitor systems across all of the campuses, using wireless antennas and signal combiners from RF Venue.

Geno Mulcahy, the lead audio engineer at Vox Church, says using wireless is a time-saver. “Well, that’s the big thing, being a load-in church. We’re moving in, moving out, so time is not our friend,” he says. “So, not to have to spend a half hour coordinating frequencies and doing stuff—that in itself is worth the investment in RF Venue. I have the confidence of just turning on the rack and going.”

Roy says there’s a very small learning curve for volunteers when it comes to wireless, and that RF Venue systems give them the benefit of not having to understand everything about wireless. They can just plug and play, a benefit of finding a single wireless solution that works together well regardless of the make and model of wireless mics or IEMs.

Experience Pays Off

Mulcahy previously partnered with RF Venue in a large-scale wireless RF project and has learnt how critical the antenna and its distribution is to a reliable wireless system.

“Antennas and distribution are the non-fun part of working with wireless, but they’re mission-critical to making any event happen flawlessly,” he says. “The RF Venue products do the one thing that absolutely has to happen with wireless, and that’s make sure there are no dropouts. If you lose audio during a service, especially during the streaming audio that’s going out to other campuses that depend on taking their music cues from us, it’s game over. It’s as bad as losing video.”

The church operates a combination of Shure ULX-D wireless microphones and Sennheiser IEM G4 in ear monitor systems. “RF Venue allows us to use any brand of wireless microphone and IEM system we want, all with solid reliability” Mulcahy adds.

The Solution

Vox uses RF Venue’s Diversity Fin Antenna, a multi-purpose antenna for wireless microphones that’s less susceptible to drop outs, due to a patented cross-polarized design. It provides a diversity solution in a single package by combining one log-periodic dipole array (LPDA) and one dipole antenna in an orthogonal (right angle) configuration. One element captures vertically polarized waves, and the other horizontally polarized waves.

Unlike traditional “paddle” or “shark fin” antennas, the Diversity Fin allows receivers to see a constant signal regardless of microphone orientation, allowing the user to hold a wireless microphone in any position relative to the antenna without signal loss – typical of live performance movement when using wireless transmitters.

The Diversity Fin antennas interface with DISTRO4 and DISTRO9 distribution amplifiers, which feed RF to multiple wireless microphone receivers of any brand. The DISTRO4 has dual inputs that combine the two outputs of the Diversity Fin Antenna for distribution of up to five wireless microphone receivers, along with regulated 12-volt DC power. Six DISTRO4 units can be connected together to feed up to 25 receiver channels.

The DISTRO9 offers dual zone inputs for reception from dual Diversity Fin antennas, and its nine outputs can be used to directly feed wireless receivers or to feed the inputs of additional DISTRO9 units to in turn feed up to 81 receiver inputs.

Further, to help ensure consistent signal with in-ear monitors, COMBINE4 and COMBINE8* IEM combiners combine the outputs of four or eight wireless monitor system transmitters into a single output to feed a CP Beam circularly polarized helical antenna.

*Combine8 only available for 470mhz-608mhz systems.

The Impact

“I nicknamed RF Venue, ‘The Glue.’ They are the glue for my wireless. Antenna choice, placement, and management are the most important aspects of wireless, and RF Venue has made those aspects easy to take care of. They are that last part of the puzzle that you need to have to make sure it’s all together.” Concludes Mulcahy.

“And when my volunteers have success, it motivates them to do more – they want to be involved more when they’re successful. We’ve all but eliminated wireless problems with this solution – and never a single drop out. RF antennas aren’t the glamorous part of audio, but without them there’s no show. With RF Venue, there’s never a dropout.”