3 Things You Must Know Before You Buy a Wireless Microphone

Those of us in the audio industry often take certain facts for granted. We know that a microphone needs a PA system to plug into, that an amplifier needs a speaker to make a sound, and that different sound systems fit different applications.

For audio novices – which can include everyone from meeting planners to teachers – creating a great sounding (or even merely functional) microphone system without any guidance can be a confusing task.

How can you take the mystery out of buying a wireless mic?

Let’s look at some of the most common sources of confusion that non-engineers encounter. Here are 3 things you must know before you select a wireless mic:

1) You will need a microphone, a transmitter, and a receiver.

A functional wireless microphone system actually consists of three discreet components: A microphone, a transmitter, and a receiver.

A microphone is simply the component the user speaks (or sings) into. It converts the sound waves into electrical impulses which can then be amplified so listeners can hear it. In a wireless mic, the electrical signal passes to a transmitter which converts the signal into radio waves. (It can also convert the signal to infrared light waves, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll stick to radio).

With a handheld microphone, the transmitter is usually built into the body (also known as the capsule) of the mic. In the case of a hands-free microphone like a lavaliere or headset, the transmitter is usually a pack the user wears on their belt.

The transmitter broadcasts to a receiver, which changes the radio waves back into an electrical signal which can then be passed to a sound system. (Arguably, the sound system is a fourth component, but since that’s covered elsewhere, we’ll skip it here).

Without any one of these components, a wireless microphone will not function.

2) You can’t mix & match microphones and receivers.

Wireless microphone systems are usually sold in packages for a reason. Receivers by one manufacturer are often not compatible with mics and transmitters by another (or, sometimes, not even with a different receiver from the same manufacturer).

That’s because each receiver and transmitter broadcast on a specific frequency. A transmitter operating on one frequency won’t work with a receiver operating on another, and vice versa. Furthermore, frequencies are often not adjustable by the user.

Frequency compatibility is only one issue. Users may also encounter problems  like encryption or proprietary digital conversion methods.

Of course, you may be able to find compatible transmitters and receivers from different manufacturers, but this is a tricky business and best left to professional sound engineers.

By far the easiest way to insure compatibility is to stick with the receiver that’s recommended for each transmitter – or to buy a complete package.

3) You can only use one mic per receiver.

Let’s say you’ve purchased your receiver and identified the compatible components. Now you can buy a bunch of different microphones and use them all at once, right?

Wrong. Each microphone needs a dedicated transmitter- and each transmitter, to function alongside the others, must broadcast at a different frequency. You’ll need a different receiver, tuned correctly, to use each mic.

Obviously, the more mics you add, the more expensive your system gets. Fortunately, manufacturers like Nady make affordable multi-microphone systems that are easy for beginners to use.

This only scratches the surface of using microphone systems, which can be a very complicated topic.

Fear not, however, because AudioLink is here to help. Email us or call 1-800-263-0112 for more advice on purchasing and setting up your own microphone system!

Have you installed your own wireless microphone systems at your church, school, or other venue? What problems did you run into? Let us know in the comments!

Hearing Assistance Devices Help Students Stay On Track

Are your kids falling behind at school?

Many students with hearing problems- both diagnosed and undiagnosed- will lose valuable classroom time simply because they can’t hear.

In addition to the obvious problem of not comprehending the teacher’s lessons, there’s an additional (and very common) problem with hearing-impaired students losing focus due to excessive background noise and poor classroom acoustics.

Fortunately, there’s an affordable way for you to combat this problem!

Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) include portable amplifiers that reduce background noise and focus kids’ attention on what they need to hear.

Here are two types of personal hearing assistance systems that can help your kids learn more at school.

1. Portable Personal Amplifiers with Environmental Microphones

Portable personal amplifiers are highly portable devices that use a microphone to pick up nearby sounds and amplify them into a headset that the listener wears.

Many people with mild hearing impairment find devices like Williams Sound’s PockeTalker to be just what they need- an affordable alternative to hearing aids or more expensive wireless listening systems.

For students, a small amount of amplification may be all they need to hear lectures and participate in classroom discussions- especially if they can sit close to the teacher, or if their class meets in a seminar room.

Portable personal amplifiers are particularly well-suited to small group discussions, since they don’t require a separate microphone for everyone in the group- just place the amplifier in a central location where every person can be heard.

One disadvantage of the portable personal amplifier is that the environmental microphone will pick up every sound in the room. In larger lecture halls with poor acoustics, this may make it more difficult to pick out what a single person is saying, especially if they are far away from the listener.

2. Portable Personal Amplifiers with Wireless Remote Microphones

For larger or noisier rooms, students may find portable personal amplifiers with wireless remote microphones to be more convenient.

These devices (such as the Motiva listening system pictured above) allow students to place a remote mic close to the speaker- or even to plug it into the audio output of an existing PA system. The microphone attaches to a transmitter which uses wireless FM technology to broadcast the speaker’s voice to an amplifier attached to the student’s headphones.

With the microphone close to the sound source, background noise is minimized, and the teacher’s voice is much clearer. What’s more, adding additional receivers allows multiple students to listen in on the same lecture.

Need More Sound Solutions for Assistive Listening?

These are only two of the many solutions AudioLink offers for hearing better in schools and other public places. Other options include personal wireless receivers, digital transceiver systems, and much more.

Does your school have an existing listening system? What do you do to help your kids hear in school? Let us know in the comments!

Which FM Receiver is Ideal for You?

Single-Channel, Multi-Channel; Field-Tunable, User-Tunable: in the world of FM hearing assistance receivers, it’s easy to get lost in the options.

Industry-leading hearing assistance manufacturer Williams Sound recently introduced their newest receiver: The R37.

Unlike its predecessor, the R35, the R37 features push-button tuning to automatically zero in on the correct transmission.

But despite this capability, the R37 doesn’t quite qualify as a true multi-channel receiver like the Williams Sound R35-8N.

What exactly are the differences between these receivers? Here are 3 applications you might encounter for your FM hearing assistance system- and advice on which receiver is best for each application.

1. Single-Channel Receivers for Small Tours

Tour guide systems with portable transmitters are a great way to make sure everyone hears what the tour leader has to say. Tour leaders simply put on a belt-pack transmitter, plug in a mic, and tour members listen to the presentation on their personal headphones.

For indoor and outdoor tours with a single guide – or for small venues like churches using fixed-transmitter hearing systems- you can save money by using a single-channel receiver like the Williams Sound R35.

Although the R35 is discontinued, it’s compatible with any transmitter broadcasting on the correct frequency, including those currently available from Williams Sound.

The R35 is tunable, but requires a special tool to do so. This makes it easy to use a tuning tool to set the receivers to the correct frequency and forget about it (and not worry about tour members accidentally resetting the frequency).

On the other hand, manually setting a large number of receivers can get tedious. As your group of listeners expands, consider a receiver with push-button tuning.

2. Tunable Receivers for Multiple Transmissions

FM receivers like the Williams Sound R37 include a single push-button tuner inside their battery case, which greatly simplifies tuning while still preventing accidental channel changing.

To tune into the closest transmitter, users simply press the button, and it automatically selects the correct frequency.

This feature is especially handy for tour groups that may switch guides mid-tour, or for tours moving through a permanent installation that may have transmitters at different locations constantly broadcasting an audio signal, such as a museum with a different program in each room.

In these situations, users can hop to the next transmitter just by pushing the button on the R37 receiver.

But what if your tour or presentation features simultaneous audio programs (such as multiple language transmissions or multiple presenters in a single room)?

3. 8-Channel Receivers for Simultaneous Presentations

For events such as conventions where multiple presentations may be taking place in a large area, users may need to switch between different channels while they’re in range of multiple transmitters.

In these cases, a multi-channel receiver like the Williams Sound R35-8 is the best choice.

These receivers are also a handy way to provide hearing assistance to listeners who don’t speak the same language. At the push of a button, the listener can switch to whatever program he or she wants to hear.

What uses have you found for your hearing assistance systems? Which receivers work best for you? Leave a comment and let us know!

If you’re in the market for a wireless microphone (or assisted hearing system), chances are you’ve checked out both VHF and UHF models.

And, chances are, you’ve noticed some key differences: Not the least of them being price.

What’s the difference between VHF and UHF wireless systems, and which is the ideal choice for you?

What’s the Difference Between the VHF & UHF Bands?

All FM wireless microphones and transmitter/receiver systems operate using radio waves, which (in modern times at least) are measured in cycles per second. These waves are measured in megahertz (mHz, or millions of hertz).

VHF (Very High Frequency) transmissions occupy the frequency bands from 30 to 225 mHz. Some of this bandwidth was once taken up by the pre-digital TV channels 2-13, but now almost all of it is used by low-power wireless devices, FM radio and other communications, emergency providers, and some digital TV stations.

UHF (Ultra High Frequency) transmissions start where VHF ends, and go all the way up to 3 gigahertz (gHz), where microwaves take over.

Should You Choose a VHF or UHF device?

The technological hurdle for wireless devices using these bands is power: UHF requires much more power to generate higher-energy waves. This requirement, in turn, leads to extra cost.

On a practical level, this means that lower-power VHF systems are far more economical than high power UHF wireless systems. In addition to the short-term cost of components, there’s also the long-term benefit of increased battery life.

VHF bands also escaped recent FCC regulations re-allocating radio frequencies, which means that it’s still possible to use an older VHF microphone system, while UHF systems of a similar vintage may use a newly prohibited frequency (specifically, the 700 mHz band).

UHF waves, by contrast, are shorter (and possess higher energy). As such, they are far less likely to encounter interference, and can use smaller antennas to deliver the same quality of reception.

For this reason, UHF wireless microphone systems tend to be the choice for live music venues and other operators for whom sound quality and interference-free performance is key.

To sum it up: If you’re on a budget, operating in a small space, and don’t need to provide audiophile sound, a VHF system is your best choice.

If music-quality sound is important to you – or if you’re operating in a large venue – consider a higher quality UHF wireless system.

A Word on Assistive Hearing Systems

What about FM assisted hearing devices like tour guide and other personal transmitter/receiver systems? Most of these devices operate in the VHF frequency ranges of 72-76 mHz and 216-217 mHz.

These frequencies were allocated by the FCC to minimize interference with other devices, although of these two ranges, 216-217 offers better reception.

Recently, devices like the Williams Sound Digi-Wave system have edged their way into the higher reaches of the UHF band. Users can likely expect to see more UHF listening systems offering improved reception & sound quality in the not-too-distant future.

Have experiences with UHF or VHF wireless microphone or hearing systems? Tell us about them in the comments!

Your organization is planning its next conference, and you’re in charge of providing microphones. There’s only one problem: you don’t have any gear.

What next? Is it better to rent your delegate microphone system, or is it better to buy it?

There isn’t a right or wrong answer to this question. No matter what kind of pro-audio equipment you need, you could be well-served by a short term rental, or you could purchase equipment and save money on future events.

Here are 5 questions to help you decide whether to rent or buy pro-audio equipment for your next event!

1. Can you use the equipment for more than one type of event?

Your event may require equipment with a narrow range of applications- a delegate microphone system, for example, that is really best-suited for conferences and meetings.

On the other hand, less specialized gear like a PA system could serve a wide variety of events from meetings to concerts. If the equipment you’re considering will fill a variety of needs, purchasing may be a wiser choice.

2. How often will you use the equipment?

If you’re certain you’ll be using the same piece of gear again and again, you should consider buying it. If it’s just going to gather dust on your warehouse shelf, it might be best to rent it only when you need it.

3. Who will operate the equipment?

Perhaps you – or someone in your organization – is familiar with operating audio equipment. In this case, you can purchase audio gear without having to worry about whether or not you need a dedicated technician.

If, however, you’re the kind of person whose eyes glaze over at the sight of anything more complicated than a television remote, it may be unwise to buy a piece of equipment that no one will know how to use.

Rental equipment companies – especially those specializing in delegate microphone systems or interpreting equipment – often send technicians with the gear to help out with setup and operation.

4. Will the gear remain useful over the years?

Some pieces of equipment stay useful for decades, while others need to be upgraded every so often. Consider the cost against the lifespan of the equipment — frequently-updated models might be worth renting as opposed to buying. This is an important consideration for high-tech systems such as wireless microphones or computer peripherals.

5. How much money can you spend on audio equipment?

No matter how economical purchasing your equipment may seem in the long-term, you may simply not have the cash to purchase a system outright. If this is the case, then rental may be the ideal option for you.

Should You Buy or Rent Your Audio Equipment?

In many instances, you’ll be best served with a little bit of both: buy the gear you know you’ll use often, and rent what you need to fill in the gaps. By taking into account your current and future needs and capabilities, along with your budget, you’ll be able to determine whether you should rent or buy audio equipment that fits your event.

Have you acquired pro audio gear recently? How did you decide whether to rent or buy? Let us know in the comments!

Have you ever thought that today’s music sounds grating, loud, and remarkably flat?

It’s not just your imagination (or that you’re getting too old): In almost every case, modern radio-ready music is electronically altered to make it sound louder. Record companies compete to have the loudest song on the charts, creating an electronic arms race dubbed the “Loudness Wars” that has crushed the dynamic range from much of today’s music.

What is Dynamic Range?

When you hear live music, soft passages sound soft, loud passages sound loud, and instruments can suddenly jump out of the mix, creating excitement and drama. These phenomena are all part of music’s so-called “dynamic range”- i.e., the amount of breathing room that exists between loud and soft passages.

Until the late nineties, recorded music sounded this way too. But slowly, the abuse of electronic “compression” and “limiting” became commonplace. Compression and limiting reduce the peaks and valleys in music, and cause it to sound louder.

How Did Compression Lead to the Loudness War?

When used properly, compression can make mixes sound tighter, reduce separation between instruments, and make certain passages stand out.

When abused, it shrinks dynamic range to almost zero, causing radio hits to sound like an undifferentiated sonic mess to many listeners.

The short-term benefit, in the eyes of the music business, is having a song that literally blasts out of the speakers louder than everything else: Hence the Loudness War.

The Loudness War garnered a lot of negative attention in 2008, when Metallica’s brick-wall-limited mix of their CD Death Magnetic sparked a fan petition to remaster the album to restore its dynamic range. Since then, unfortunately, the practice has only continued.

Support Dynamic Range Day

Some recording engineers are fighting back. Drawing inspiration from an idea by UK mastering engineer Ian Shepherd, a group of engineers have declared March 25, 2011 to be the first Dynamic Range Day!

The video above illustrates what can happen to music subjected to excessive limiting.

Can you tell the difference between the compressed and uncompressed sound? Do you think this is a good thing, a bad thing, or the inevitable evolution of listening habits through the generations? Let us know in the comments!

AudioLink gave the Tampa Theatre – and hearing impaired cinema fans – a helping hand last week!

Faced with replacing their antiquated low mHz infrared listening system, the Tampa Theatre was considering a newer – and more expensive – high-band IR system.

What they didn’t know was how inexpensive a modern FM system would be compared to IR assistive listening devices. With AudioLink’s advice, the Tampa Theatre upgraded their IR system to a Williams Sound FM assistive listening system.

You may notice that I used the word “upgrade.” That’s because modern FM assistive listening systems not only have a cost advantage over their IR counterparts, but also provide audio that is far superior to legacy FM systems. What’s more, they bypass the interference between low mHz IR systems and lighting systems!

Thanks to Brian and Troy from Sun Rep for installing this system on behalf of AudioLinks- and for supplying fine photos of this breathtaking, vintage theater.

Every awards ceremony needs a podium – and for years, AmpliVox has supplied podiums and lecterns for presentations all over the world.

An AmpliVox podium was therefore a natural fit for Chicago’s WXRT Listener Poll Gala, where VIP guests watched WXRT morning DJ Lin Brehmer announce listeners’ favorite 2010 albums, movies, and concerts.

For this event, however, WXRT (along with AmpliVox and Craftsman tools) decided to try something different – and assembled the podium during the first hour of the ceremony!

Watch as Craftsman’s experts – and Don Roth, Charley Rummel and Cesar Paredes from AmpliVox – show how easy it is to assemble an AmpliVox podium in this video.

Listening to music while you exercise can be a great way to focus your attention on your workout, and keep you from watching the clock.

But cranking your iPod at the gym presents some unique hazards to your hearing.

The vulnerability of ears to noise during exercise is one such hazard.

Others include how loud you listen to your music, and more importantly, the length of time your ears are exposed to loud noise.

Learn how a loud iPod or media player can damage your hearing during exercise – and what you can do about it – by watching this informative video from health website icyou!

Looking for an upstanding diversion to this year’s holiday hustle and bustle?

Check out this guerrilla performance of the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah performed by a100-strong undercover choir at a mall food court.

No matter how you celebrate the holiday season, we at AudioLink Services wish you safe and happy festivities with your friends and family.

Here’s to a happy holiday and an prosperous New Year!