Microphone Suppliers/Installers

[webby74]

Hi 

 

We just had our hall Audio Visual setup redone. It's all working well for visual, but we could do better for our Microphone setup. We have a Wireless Microphone setup that was donated to the school, but it not perfect and can be temperamental. Looking to add a better solution that would work for Assemblies, Visitors and school productions.

 

Can anyone recommend a good installer? Based in Hampshire, south coast.

 

Many thanks

[nicholab]

Assemblies, the trusted condenser AKG C 747 (+48 Phaton power) on a goose neck from the lecture is always good. Radio mics are a pain to manage feedback, a head-worn is the cheapest way of getting it working, and license frequency our the best units.

[Andrew_C]

That's quite a "how long is a piece of string" question...  You need to refine your aims.

 

Whitwam in Winchester are VERY good, but  you'll pay premium prices.

[webby74]

14 minutes ago, Andrew_C said:

That's quite a "how long is a piece of string" question...  You need to refine your aims.

 

Whitwam in Winchester are VERY good, but  you'll pay premium prices.

The staff member who used to be responsible for Audio has left and it has fallen to IT to manage. We don't have experience in this area, but need to manage it. We have wireless Mics in the hall, a lapel/headset and a hand hold mic. However it can be temperamental. We had staff and visitors say that it cuts out. We've tried adjusting levels and gain but it doesn't completely resolve issues. I think it can be sometimes partly down to the user and technique. We had visitor recently who did some singing and it could not cope.

 

We have some old stage drop mics that don't seemed to work great either.

 

What I'm looking for is a supplier/installer who could come out and meet with IT and Performing Arts dept and discuss our needs and give advice.

 

 

[TLARWise]

Might be worth dropping a post in the Blue Room forum as this is more up their alley.

[itskdog]

3 hours ago, webby74 said:

The staff member who used to be responsible for Audio has left and it has fallen to IT to manage. We don't have experience in this area, but need to manage it. We have wireless Mics in the hall, a lapel/headset and a hand hold mic. However it can be temperamental. We had staff and visitors say that it cuts out. We've tried adjusting levels and gain but it doesn't completely resolve issues. I think it can be sometimes partly down to the user and technique. We had visitor recently who did some singing and it could not cope.

 

We have some old stage drop mics that don't seemed to work great either.

 

What I'm looking for is a supplier/installer who could come out and meet with IT and Performing Arts dept and discuss our needs and give advice.

 

 

 

Check the frequencies you're using. The legal frequencies without a licence from Ofcom (£75 for 1 year, £135 for 2 years) are 863-865Mhz, and >865MHz are used by mobile phones, so you get a lot of interference if the system isn't tuned correctly. Official page from Ofcom: Wireless microphones and monitors

 

You can fit 4 mics in that frequency range, and 10 in the licenced range (but you need separate equipment for that on both the transmitter and receiver that are tuned to that different range)

 

You can also get more expensive digital mics that operate in 2.4GHz alongside Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc., and are individually paired to the receiver like Bluetooth, rather than tuned like a radio like a typical analogue transmitter.

 

We had issues at one point with our installers tuning the mics to use all the channels on the Trantec systems they got us, which took us into the mobile phone range, frequently causing interference. I consulted the manual for the mics and found which frequencies each channel used and found that the first 4 channels were legal in the UK, so we now switch receivers on and off when we need more than one mic in a hall to ensure there's no bleed into other halls.

Edited May 15 by itskdog
tpyo

[SamanthaD]

Cutting off sounds more like an RF issue rather than a level / gain issue. Are your antenna extended and vertical? Clear line of sight? Are the receivers on stage or at the back of the hall, or in another room altogether? If using Channel 70 (863-865 MHz) then it might be someone else in the area using the same channels, or an intermodulating channel. Maybe your mics are intermodulating with each other?

 

So many possible issues that without any further info diagnosis would be really hard. A photo or two of your units would help, powered on if possible to show frequencies etc.

 

Can't think of any local installers around that area, but Henley Theatre Services are just over the border in Henley-on-Thames and should be able to sort you out. For this I'd suggest going more with a theatrical company rather than AV - most AV companies are more boardroom / classroom focussed than live event style setups which this falls more under.

[Andrew_C]

Something that ought to be said "Microphones aren't magical - they need setting up, and controlling, to get anything useful out of them".  A fixed mic on a pulpit or lectern might work most of the time, but handhelds and body worn?  No chance!