Walpole, MA – January 9, 2025 – RF Venue, a leader in professional wireless audio solutions, has unveiled its latest innovation: the CP Stage antenna. Designed to address the growing demands of wireless audio applications, the CP Stage promises a discreet, superior performance for wireless in-ear monitors (IEMs) and microphones, making it a valuable addition for live sound professionals.

Chris Regan, Chief Innovation Officer at RF Venue, emphasises that traditional “paddle” antennas no longer meet the needs of modern audio setups. The CP Stage builds on the success of the company’s CP Beam and CP Architectural antennas, offering a rugged, weather-resistant design ideal for both touring and permanent installations. Whether rain or shine, the CP Stage excels at capturing wireless microphone signals, ensuring a seamless experience for live performances.

Field-tested in Latin America, RF specialist Alejandro Peralta Almaguer of LiveS lauds the antenna for its performance, design, and affordability. “Compact, easy to transport and discreet on stage; CP Stage worked flawlessly in Mexico City’s crowded RF spectrum,” he says.

The CP Stage antenna is now available for purchase, both individually and in convenient multichannel upgrade packs through New Zealand distributor JPRO. More product info on CP Stage can be found here.

Established in 1959, Onehunga High School has long been a cornerstone of its community. Nestled in Onehunga overlooking the picturesque Manukau Harbour in Auckland, the school’s deep roots are reflected in its strong sense of tradition and continuity, with many second and third-generation students passing through its halls. A legacy highlighting Onehunga High School’s commitment to providing lifelong learning opportunities for the local community.

Recognising the need to modernise its facilities to better equip students for the future, the school recently completed a major redevelopment, introducing several advanced facilities. Two new teaching blocks were built – one with a dual-basketball-court gymnasium, exercise room, locker rooms and teaching spaces, and the other dedicated to science and technology.

The school develops culture, character and interpersonal skills through encouragement, commitment, discipline and personal responsibility. This is done by actively engaging students in a diverse range of activities, including sports and performing arts. It was decided that the new gymnasium would be used as a multipurpose venue to cater for its various events and a key requirement to achieve its objectives would be a flexible, high-quality audio system that ensures clear, powerful sound and excellent coverage throughout the space.

The Solution

Trusted technology partner Connect NZ was called upon to design and install a high-definition LED wall and a high-performance audio system capable of meeting the multipurpose audio requirements for the school.

With the range of activities including sports, cultural events, music and performing arts, system designers selected JBL Professional CBT 1000 high-powered line array column loudspeakers with CBT 1000E low frequency extensions for the gymnasium.

JBL CBT 1000 is a high performance adjustable coverage line array column that is engineered to distribute more sound to the far area of a room allowing for optimal sound distribution and delivering consistent powerful audio throughout the space, ensuring even coverage from front to back.

With limited room for traditional subwoofers, system designers specified JBL CBT 1000E low-frequency extensions for their extended bass response down to 38Hz, providing enhanced sound control and increased output levels that allow the school to achieve a full, dynamic audio experience without compromising on space or performance.

The loudspeakers are powered by a Crown DriveCore CDi21200 amplifier. Designed to make installations easier, Crown CDi DriveCore amplifiers are equipped with speaker presets to fully maximise the capabilities of the CBT 1000 speakers. CDi amplifiers streamline ongoing maintenance and control with robust network management, advanced digital signal processing and a user-friendly front-panel interface with colour display. Energy efficiency is a cornerstone of the CDi range, thanks to GreenEdge Technology, which incorporates power-saving features and an auto-standby mode to reduce environmental impact and operational costs.

Because the multipurpose gymnasium would also be used for school assemblies and live music performances, reliable AKG wireless microphones were chosen along with an external RF Venue DFIN ‘diversity fin’ antenna for reliable RF reception throughout the space. The Diversity Series of antennas eliminate dropouts compared to traditional whip or paddle antennas by combining two antenna paddles into one (with two RF inputs), simplifying RF setup and reducing coax cable clutter.

System Features

• CBT-1000 High Performance Adjustable Coverage Line Array Column that sends more sound toward the far area of a room to make front-to-back sound levels more consistent.
• CBT-1000E Extension for CBT1000 provides extended bass response and pattern control and increased sound output levels for superior audio performance.
• RF Venue Diversity Fin Distro4 Package includes Diversity Fin Antenna (DFIN) for Wireless Microphones, DISTRO4 Antenna Distribution System and relevant coaxial cables
• AKG C555L wireless condenser headset mic
• AKG DMS800 Dante enabled wireless microphone system
• Bluetooth wallplate with Dante
• Crown CDI21200 best performance-for-value amplifier with pre-loaded JBL speaker tunings to help make installations quicker and easier.

The Impact

“We needed a high-performance audio solution that is reliable and could cover long distances. The JPRO design along with the JBL CBT1000 line array column loudspeakers have enhanced the Onehunga High School gymnasium,” says Rakesh Choudhary, Business Development Manager at Connect NZ.

“What truly stands out is the speaker’s consistent tone quality, whether at soft or loud levels and its ability to deliver clear audio in various performance settings in a large open space. Its IP55 marine-rated capabilities provide added peace of mind against humidity and dust, keeping the system reliable for all occasions. It’s been the perfect solution for the multipurpose requirements of the venue and we’re delighted with the results.”

Wireless receivers typically search for the strongest matching signal, irrespective of its quality, which means that the RF signal environment should be as clean as possible. This environment is referred to as the signal noise floor, which is the amount of background RF (Radio Frequency) noise present before any required signals are received.

USING BANDPASS FILTERS

While the implementation of best wireless audio practice such as frequency coordination with effective antenna distribution and antenna placement is always encouraged, there are RF tools available that can lower the noise floor in the RF spectrum and prevent the RF receiver overloading.

Lowering the noise floor is achieved by using a bandpass filter to reduce and filter out unwanted frequencies on each side of the desired frequency range. It is simply inserted in the antenna signal path and allows a specific range of frequencies to pass, while restricting the frequencies on either side outside that range. If a diversity system is used, a bandpass filter should be inserted on each antenna line.

REDUCING INTERMODULATION WITH BANDPASS FILTERS

Using bandpass filters can effectively reduce intermodulation problems when using several IEMs and wireless microphone systems together.

RF Venue bandpass filters have been designed to work with any brand of wireless system, provided that the correct frequency band is selected.

If you need assistance in configuring your wireless microphone setup and would like to implement best practice measures using correct antenna distribution, please contact our team of experts at JPRO today!

If you have a question about using bandpass filters in your system, or need assistance with your wireless microphone setup, contact our specialist Team at JPRO today!

Written by Andrew Sorrill with information based on RF Venue blogs.

Bibliography:

• Unplugging the Mystery Behind (and Inside) Video Wall RF Interference
• Bandpass Filters Are Your New Friend
• Improve Microphone Signal-to-Noise Ratio
• Bandpass Filters

The Opportunity

The redeveloped O’Connells Pavilion Shopping Mall was recently opened in the resort city of Queenstown on New Zealand’s South Island after five years of planning and construction.

The developer has leased two floors of the four-level building to global luxury travel retailer DFS Group for its “Resort Galleria” concept. The area includes a food hall named Eatspace that can accommodate 230 people.

AV systems integrator Strawberry Sound was tasked to outfit the audio and visual requirements of the venue which included a wireless microphone system. “We experienced a challenge in relation to where the customer mostly wanted to use their wireless microphone system,” says Reuben Pearce, Director at Strawberry Sound Queenstown. “The electronics cabinet is located in the opposite corner of the building, behind a concrete wall, and that could result in significant RF dropouts.”

The Solution

Reuben explained that with Queenstown being one of New Zealand’s top travel destinations and the renovated mall a major shopping destination, all of the technology had to fit the facility’s visual aesthetic. “We needed an architecturally appropriate product to use on an exposed ceiling,” he adds. “We had recently been introduced to the new Diversity Architectural Antenna by RF Venue distributor JPRO and it became clear that this would become an essential part of providing reliable wireless audio in an aesthetically pleasing format.”

System Features

RF Venue is a leading global manufacturer of wireless audio essential accessories. The Diversity Architectural Antenna is a high-performance antenna system for wireless microphones that features a slim profile enclosure, can be installed in any position on a wall or ceiling and can be painted to match any interior. Using a unique patent-pending dual-feed antenna design, both A and B diversity connections are provided, so there’s no need to install two separately spaced antennas, resulting in a more professional look that room designers and architects appreciate.

The Diversity Architectural Antenna was supplied through New Zealand distributor JPRO, one of New Zealand’s leading and most experienced professional audio and AV distribution companies.

“At JPRO, we understand that RF dropouts can ruin the most perfect production,” observes Andrew Sorrill, Marketing Specialist at JPRO. “We recommend the use of RF Venue products to our customers for any small, medium or large-scale wireless project because they perform reliably with all wireless audio brands, ensuring no dropouts.”

The Impact

Reuben Pearce says the result was what was expected: “Reliable wireless coverage from day one,” he says, with exceptional RF connectivity with zero dropouts throughout the space. “Our technicians were able to get in and out efficiently and deliver exactly what the client needed.” Expected, he says, because “we’ve used RF Venue products in prior projects, so we know we can rely on a good result. They simply do as they say they do on the box. RF Venue have a direct and reliable solution to what could have been a very real wireless problem.”

In Concert Productions (ICP) is a production leader in the Atlanta, Georgia and Southeastern US markets. Providing solutions in live events, corporate and broadcast audio services for a wide variety of television program productions, including Family Feud, Titan Games, Judge Steve Harvey and Dancing With Myself, as well as cutting-edge televised sports like Fan Controlled Football.

Key to ICP’s arsenal of tools are reliable wireless audio essentials from RF Venue. Thanks to ICP’s use of these products, the shows have never experienced a wireless audio dropout, putting producers’ minds at ease and making filming and editing a breeze.

The popular game show Family Feud, filmed at the Trilith Studios in Fayetteville, GA, uses four RF Venue Diversity Fin Antennas, covering all four sides of the studio stage. The four antennas, picking up multiple channels of Shure Axient wireless microphones, are routed to an RF Venue DISTRO4 Antenna Distribution System.

“Rock-solid and cost-effective,” says Jay Rabbitt, ICP President. “These are two things that daytime television production demands, and RF Venue always delivers.”

ICP recently wrapped 20 episodes of the 2022 season of Judge Steve Harvey, featuring the titular actor, writer and impresario. Dropout-free wireless audio is assured by the use of an RF Venue DISTRO4 Antenna Distribution System receiving signal from four RF Venue Diversity Fin antennas.

“The action can be pretty fast paced, and participants move around the set, so the wireless signals have to be consistently strong,” says Rabbitt. “RF Venue gear never misses a beat.”

On NBC’s new primetime hit Dancing With Myself, contestants occupy stacked metal boxes as they perform, a situation that can wreak havoc with multiple channels of wireless audio. Over 12 channels of mics used by the contestants and audience interviews are totally protected, thanks to the use of RF Venue 4 ZONE antenna combiners and four Diversity Fin antennas used to cover the set and the outdoor judges’ tables.

“I can have all of the wireless channels coming to me for a combined input and output for the show’s audio,” says Rabbitt. “And as a bonus, it does that at a fraction of the cost of anyone else’s equipment.”

Another show testing the limits of wireless sound was BET’s 2021 Next Chance Girl Group which put aspiring vocalists together in a 14,000-square-foot house on 18 acres. On site, four 4 ZONE antenna combiners were connected to a fifth 4 ZONE unit collecting audio from throughout the house and grounds.

“The system was on 24/7, constantly covering the house and grounds,” says Rabbitt. “Never a dropout, never a missed mark.”

Fan Controlled Football is the latest way Americans can assuage their addiction to football during the NFL’s off season. And if they like miked-up players, they’ve come to the right place: All 18 members of both teams are wired for sound throughout the game. Four of RF Venue’s 4 ZONE units are used to combine the wireless microphone signals collected from across the 300 X 100-foot gridiron, and they do so flawlessly, says Rabbitt.

“We also had another six channels of handheld wireless mics and broadcast lavaliers, and this was all played across the street from a group of mobile-phone cell towers and broadcast television antennas. And you guessed it: not a single dropout during the entire three-month season. RF Venue is simply bulletproof when it comes to wireless, no matter where or how we use it.”

RF Venue, a global leader in antenna and RF wireless communication products, has revealed its Architectural Antenna, a new aesthetically pleasing diversity antenna for use with wireless microphone systems.

The patented cross-polarised Diversity Architectural Antenna is based on the highly successful Diversity Fin Antenna in a virtually invisible footprint.

RF Venue’s diversity antennas provide an ideal easy to install solution to the problem of wireless microphone signal dropouts, and other interferences that are common when using many wireless microphones together with separate paddle antenna pairs.

The Diversity Architectural Antenna installs in minutes, with mounting plates and all necessary hardware provided. Connecting an in-wall or in-ceiling coaxial cable pair to the rear-mounted BNC jacks completes the installation. The flexible installation kit is designed to accommodate multiple mounting configurations including junction boxes, sheet rock, studs and ceiling tiles.

Diversity Architectural Antenna printed specifications indicate that it has been tested with wireless systems between 470-616 MHz, however it is not limited to this range. RF Venue have given assurances that the Diversity Architectural Antenna will work in the 470-698MHz spectrum like other RF Venue antennas.

The Diversity Architectural Antenna is distributed in NZ by JPRO and is now available in New Zealand as of September 2022.

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.”

The RF Workshop is suited to anyone that has worked with, specified or installed wireless microphones and in-ear monitor systems (IEM’s).

“With restrictions on events being reduced leading up to Christmas and as we enter the holiday season, we thought it would be an appropriate refresher course for experienced operators and helpful to those who have not yet attended an RF Workshop,” says Tim Robertson from JPRO.

The online event is scheduled for 21 December and will be held in two sessions. The intermediate workshop at 10:30am is targeted towards integrators, houses of worship and schools. The advanced workshop at 2pm is for audio techs, hire companies and users who have experience in RF coordination for events. Each session will last approximately one hour.

As part of the drastic measures taken to curb the spread of the virus, events took place entirely behind closed doors in the Japanese capital which was declared a state of emergency over the pandemic.

The Games saw 339 events take place in 33 sports, including new sports such as surfing, karate, rock climbing, skateboarding and baseball/softball.

Coordinating and monitoring radio frequencies for wireless microphones and in ear monitors for an event of this size requires many months of careful preparation. RF Engineer Steve Caldwell, based at the NW Group in Sydney Australia, has managed RF at every Olympics since 2000 (with the exception of Beijing). Steve relies extensively on the RF Venue CP Beam helical antenna in his RF system designs.

The lightweight CP Beam helical antenna is easy to transport and folds down to be packed away in a 3RU rack drawer

So what does it take to flawlessly pull off such a huge event?  Setup commenced 4 months prior to the opening ceremonies.  For the program’s wireless mics, Steve and his team deployed 72 channels of Shure Axient AD4Q receivers arranged into 24 channels of Quadversity at the mains position at FOH, and 24 channels in a backup location under the performance stage in diversity mode. 

On the IEM side, Steve used 16 channels of PSM1000 for the high level performers along with 64 body packs.  8 channels of Sennheiser SR2050s were used for the level 2 group performers along with 160 EK300 body packs.  The mass cast (numbering in the thousands) carried FM broadcast packs.  Any guesses how many batteries that might take and how many power “on” switches had to be checked?

The RF Venue CP Beams were used as the primary receiving antennas for the radio microphones at all 4 Ceremonies, as well as the rehearsal periods: A pair of CP Beams at the FOH position on the western side of the stadium and another pair, connected by an RF over Fibre link, on the north-east side of the stadium.

The two pairs of CP Beams fed the inputs of the Axient Digital receivers, which were used in Quadversity mode. A third pair of RF Venue CP Beam antennas was used on a separate receiver position under the performance stage.

“Two brands of antenna and models were installed at FOH, however the CP Beams were chosen after significant testing, due to their excellent front to back ratio and ideal beamwidth pattern,” says Steve Caldwell.

After careful planning and coordination, everything worked flawlessly with no drop out.

“All radio microphones used across the bandwidth exhibited excellent coverage due to the helical antennas, with very low interference as a result of the RF Venue CP Beams excellent front to back ratio,” says Steve. “This effectively eliminated most RF noise sources from the stadium concourse behind. All antennas were exposed to full weather conditions for 4 months during the time of the Olympics set up, with no issues of any kind.”

RF Venue, manufacturer of antenna and RF distribution solutions for all brands of professional wireless microphone and in-ear monitoring systems, held a webinar entitled Why Wireless Mics Drop Out and How to Prevent It.

Check out the full recording of the live session using the link below.

Understanding Local Interference and Range
Loss of range is typically caused by localised interference, like TV stations, motors, LED lighting and more. Find out how directional antennas and bandpass filters can work together with high-quality coax cables to help mitigate this problem.

Understanding Multi-Path Interference
Multi-path interference is caused by reflections of a transmitter’s signal, primarily by metal objects in a venue and other boundaries. These reflections flip the polarity of the signal and arrive out of phase which causes cancellations in the receiver’s antennas.

Understanding Cross-polarisation Fades
Cross-polarisation fades (aka antenna dropouts) happen when the antennas are not oriented correctly to match the transmitters. Learn how the proper use of antennas can maximise your system’s efficiency.

You may also be interested in the new affordable 8 Channel In-Ear Monitor Combiner, COMBINE8.

COMBINE8 actively combines signals of up to eight in-ear monitor transmitters into one single transmitting antenna, reducing clutter, signal interference and lowering the probability of intermodulation artifacts

RF Venue Combine8 is designed to work with all brands of IEM that are set to transmit at 50 mW or less. It provides DC power for up to 8 IEM transmitters with an external power supply, removing the need for wall warts.

JPRO are the official distributors for RF Venue products in NZ. As always, if we can be of any assistance with your wireless audio project, or answer any questions relating to your RF queries, or if you would like to demo RF Venue, please contact us.

Making the move from floor wedges blasting in your face to In Ear Monitors (IEMs) can greatly improve your on-stage performance as well as the listening conditions for your audience as they will now hear a more true mix from the PA system.  You can virtually eliminate feedback and you can also incorporate things such as click and backing tracks without your audience hearing them.  It should be noted this can be of great value when you are streaming your performance online as you will be eliminating a lot of unintentional bleed.

However, adding 4, 6 or 8 IEMs to your wireless microphones causes added strain on that system and can lead to unreliable performance and poor sound quality if you add 8 additional antennas.  Simply put, the more antennas you have, the more potential problems you have.  Fewer antennas is always preferable to an antenna farm.

Adding an IEM combiner is simply the correct way to do it.  In the past combining more than 4 IEM transmitters meant linking multiple combiners or purchasing a very expensive combiner.  But today RF Venue is very pleased to announce the new COMBINE8 IEM combiner.  You can now combine up to 8 IEM transmitters in a single rack space and at a lower price than pairing up multiple 4 channel units.

COMBINE8 actively combines signals of up to eight in-ear monitor transmitters into one single transmitting antenna, reducing clutter, signal interference and lowering the probability of intermodulation artifacts.

RF Venue COMBINE8 is designed to work with all brands of IEM that are set to transmit at 50 mW or less. It provides DC power for up to 8 IEM transmitters with an external power supply, removing the need for wall warts.

PERFORMANCE TIPS:

Antenna combiners can greatly lower Intermodulation (IM) products that can interfere with your receivers and reduce the number of open channels you might have to tune to. IM products can also be reduced by setting your IEM and wireless mic transmitters to their lowest power level that works in your venue. Power causes problems so the less you can use the better.

Unless you are using your IEMs across a football field you almost never want to run them at full 50 mW power levels.  30 mW or better 10 mW will provide better performance and less interference.  While that may seem counterintuitive, remember that the CP Beam antenna has almost 10dB of gain so even after you have backed off the transmit power you will still have more power than the stock whip antenna but with much lower distortion in your signal.

Don’t forget to separate your IEM antenna from your wireless mic receiver’s antenna by at least 6 feet since one antenna is pitching and one is catching.  Think about this the same way you do when you place microphones away from speakers to avoid feedback.

Another tip to optimizing your setup is to stagger your transmitter’s channel frequencies across even and odd input pairs.

Picture that you have 8 channels from low frequency to high frequency.  We’ll call transmitter channel 1 the lowest frequency and channel 8 the highest frequency.  When you assign your transmitters to the chosen frequencies (hopefully selected with the aid of a frequency coordination program) put TX channel 1 into input 1, put TX channel 5 into input channel 2, 2 with 6, 3 with 7 and 4 with 8.  This will likely help reduce the likelihood of intermod buildup depending on exactly the frequencies you have selected.  Check out the photo below.

Availability

The RF Venue COMBINE8 is distributed and supported in New Zealand by JPRO and is now available.

If you would like a demo of RF Venue products, please contact us using the demo link below.

NOTE: Some printed specifications may indicate that COMBINE8 has been tested between 470-608 MHz, however it is not limited to this range. RF Venue have given assurances that COMBINE8 will work in the 470-698MHz spectrum like other RF Venue products.

DISTRO9 HDR’s proprietary architecture can connect up to 9 wireless microphone receivers with two zones of antenna coverage built-in. With superior gain flatness and high dynamic range across VHF, T-Band, and UHF, the DISTRO9 HDR comes ready for multi-band wireless microphone operation in a compact 1RU footprint.

Any of its clean, low-noise diversity outputs can be cascaded to another DISTRO9 HDR, for up to 17 channels of wireless microphones in just 2RU of rackspace. Multi-zone installations are easy with the DISTRO9 HDR’s two zone antenna inputs, providing coverage for large areas or multiple rooms, each with switchable DC power available for in-line amplifiers or active antennas.

Availability

JPRO is the authorised NZ Dsitributor for RF Venue. The DISTRO9 HDR is now in-stock to demo today. To learn more about what the DISTRO9 HDR can do for your next wireless project contact JPRO today.

2.4 GHz microphones operate in 83 MHz of spectrum between 2.400 GHz and 2.483 GHz. By comparison, most wireless microphones today operate at lower “UHF” frequencies between 470 MHz and 698 MHz.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of wireless microphones that operate in the 2.4 GHz ISM band.

Pro’s

Simple to operate (under ideal conditions)

The selling points for most of these models are “easy,” “easy,” and “easy.” The predictable locations of WiFi channels allow 2.4 GHz mics to sniff out where occupied frequencies are and are not, and they are also great at communicating with other mics and self-coordinating (this is probably because 2.4 GHz microchips ship with more advanced radio protocols than off the shelf UHF chips).

2.4 GHz chips do not use FM modulation, and they are (at least the ones we’ve seen) all digital, so they are less susceptible to the intermodulation artifacts that plague multi-channel UHF FM systems. Mics from professional grade manufacturers like Shure, Sennheiser, AKG, Line6, and AT have tuned their modulation and circuitry to bring latency down to acceptable levels, as opposed to simply sending audio over WiFi.

International compliance

Properly manufactured 2.4 GHz microphones can be used in nearly every country without a license, in the same frequency range. UHF frequency bands are not synchronised across international borders, and the rules for wireless microphones vary from country to country. In some countries like the U.K. operating professional UHF equipment requires a permanent or temporary license, and half of the equipment sold in the UK in the 700 MHz band is illegal to use in the United States. 2.4 GHz mics give users a free pass from all the regulatory confusion.

Latency

Since all professional grade 2.4 GHz mics are digital, latency is a bit higher than UHF analogue. But the delays aren’t all that bad on digital microphones, and don’t really stand too far behind UHF digital microphones. In fact, Line6 has latency that beats some UHF digital mics. Latency on 2.4 is only an issue when shows are being recorded for broadcast, or a picky artist starts complaining about monitor delay.

IT Department Wrath

2.4 GHz is the same band that most WiFi devices use. You can’t always expect to waltz into a facility – especially a secure one – and power up a 2.4 GHz device without someone from the IT department hunting you down and telling you to put it away. WiFi in corporate and stadium settings is carefully calibrated and, usually, completely full. IT professionals have tools that let them know if something is interfering with their network.

Bottom Line

2.4 GHz microphones are a great choice for those who only need a few channels and want hassle free setup. For those who need lots of channels and ultra-low latency, top-tier UHF mics are still the best choice.

2.4 GHz audio fidelity from reputable manufacturers should be more than acceptable for most applications.

While they may provide additional long-term security over 600 MHz microphones – which will soon be illegal – they do not guarantee complete immunity from interference. A vast sea of other devices uses the 2.4 GHz band, and their numbers will only increase as the Internet of Things explodes.

Need a High Performance 2.4 GHz Antenna?

Inspired by the popular UHF CP Beam antenna, this lightweight, miniaturised helical antenna is built for maximum gain in the 2.4 GHz band. Painstakingly designed and tested in the RF Venue laboratory, it provides significant performance improvements over other non-audio 2.4 GHz directional antennas that are intended for networking devices.

Hell, I know I do. But here’s the deal: active antennas can really do a number on your system if you aren’t using them right. This article should get you up to speed on the active vs. passive debate.

First, two definitions:

Active antennas are any antennas with integrated signal amplifiers built right into the unit, like the AKG RA4000B-W.

Passive antennas are antennas that have no amplification stages, like the CP Beam.

An active antenna is a passive antenna that simply includes an onboard amplifier. There is no difference between the antenna element of an active or passive antenna of the same type; the only difference is whether an amplifier is included.

Active antennas can be used for both receiving and transmitting applications, but they are most often seen as receiving antennas. When used to receive signal, the integrated amp boosts the RF picked up by the antenna and allows much longer remote cable runs.

When used as a transmitting antenna, active antennas increase the RF power above and beyond whatever output power the transmitting device is using.***

The only practical reason to use an active antenna is to compensate for cable loss in receive applications. All RF signal loses strength (attenuates) as it passes through coaxial cable. The longer the cable run, the larger the loss. 100’ of RG8X will steal anywhere from -8 to -11 dB, depending on a few factors, like frequency. The amps on active antennas are designed to compensate for this loss by boosting the signal right behind the antenna before sending it down the line, so the gain at the receiver is closer to unity gain.

All too often, we’ll find a small theater or school or church system is using an active antenna at the side of a stage with a +12 dB amplifier on a 50’ or 25’ run. This gain is in addition to the + 6db of gain the paddle antenna itself imparts. With their transmitters at 30-50 mW, the front end of the wireless receiver gets overloaded and all hell breaks loose (except in a church, where hell is kept safely at bay).

We always encourage our customers to buy passive antennas, and then only add in-line amplifiers to make up for transmission line loss if they are doing very long cable runs of more than 100 feet.

With the introduction of low-cost RFoF technology, active antennas and in-line amplification are becoming increasingly obsolete. In the past, if an installed system required a cable run over 100’ there were only two options: use expensive plenum rated coax, or use some combination of active antennas/in-line amps and carefully manage the gain structure to avoid overload or coax line loss. With fiber optic transmission, signal can be sent miles with little to no loss at all.

***Use caution when deploying active antennas in transmit applications. In the VHF/UHF broadcast bands, most transmitters already operate at or near the maximum output power allowed by the FCC. Adding an amplification stage before the transmitting antenna risks exceeding those limits, so unlicensed UHF users should never include an active antenna in the signal chain of an IEM or intercom system. Plus, an active antenna’s amplifier would need to be bi-directional to function in a Tx setting. Not all of them use bidirectional amps.

Originally published by Alex Milne for RF Venue