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[Jim Turner]

I did two events in the same hotel ballroom this weekend.
Same event coordinator, lighting provider and band...
Each night a different corporate holiday party.
Nothing changed... except the guests.
Friday Wifi was rock solid but had a few breif wireless mic dropouts.
Saturday eve RF was good but Wifi was really hit and miss.

WTF? Nothing changed.

I've just convinced this dorkestra to give up their enormous antiques roadshow analog FOH and now have them on a Mackie DL32r.
My back likes tablet mixing... Me? Not so much. But...

Is there a best, most reliable, bullet proof, professional WAP that just works?
What gives you the best reception?
I'm gonna try to rig the WAP onto a mic stand and get it up so I can see it over the crowd Tuesday.
I'll post pics of what I come up with.
Meanwhile...
What works best for you?

Cheers!

[Keith Broughton]

I did two events in the same hotel ballroom this weekend.
Same event coordinator, lighting provider and band...
Each night a different corporate holiday party.
Nothing changed... except the guests.
Friday Wifi was rock solid but had a few breif wireless mic dropouts.
Saturday eve RF was good but Wifi was really hit and miss.

WTF? Nothing changed.

I've just convinced this dorkestra to give up their enormous antiques roadshow analog FOH and now have them on a Mackie DL32r.
My back likes tablet mixing... Me? Not so much. But...

Is there a best, most reliable, bullet proof, professional WAP that just works?
What gives you the best reception?
I'm gonna try to rig the WAP onto a mic stand and get it up so I can see it over the crowd Tuesday.
I'll post pics of what I come up with.
Meanwhile...
What works best for you?

Cheers!

I started using WiFi  in the 5 gig range instead of 2.4.
Seems better in more places....for now.

[Rob Spence]

While nothing you did changed, as you say, the guests changed so they may have been interfering more. Or, something else in the hotel changed. Another wifi setup in another function room or restaurant?

What is your setup? What wifi device are you using, which RF band, and how do yo have it located?

I use remote mixing all the time but I use a unit that is large so perhaps has a good antenna, I place it away from other possible interference and try to keep line of site to it. If I am worried about coverage further away, I made a bracket that lets me mount it on a mic stand to get it up high.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Henry Cohen]

RF is RF regardless of the spectrum, and that means adhering to best practices as best as possible given the situation (with minor variations based on frequency/wavelength). That might even mean coordinating channel assignments and power levels with other vendors.

Congestion: As Keith pointed out, 2.4GHz is very congested spectrum once the general public (audience/attendees) arrives. The 5GHz WiFi bands less so. Using a WAP that operates in the 5GHz band will give you a better chance at finding a relatively clear channel. If your particular client device doesn't have a 5GHz radio built in, there are a number of USB/WiFi adapters that do.

Propagation: WAP or its antennas should be high up, above head height and any other obstructions. Start out with the idea of unobstructed line of sight.

Equipment quality: If you're using this equipment in a professional application, use professional ("enterprise") quality equipment. Ubiquiti is a general favorite right now and at a rather good price point.

Appropriateness for the application: Wireless will never be as reliable as a wired connection. Whether a mic or system control, if you can run a wire (or fiber), you'll decrease chances for problems. 

[Keith Broughton]

Wireless will never be as reliable as a wired connection. Whether a mic or system control, if you can run a wire (or fiber), you'll decrease chances for problems.

First rule of wireless...if you can use a wire ...do so!
I've done gigs where I have 5 people sitting in chairs (times 3 rooms close together)for an interview and the client just HAS to have wireless mics. Tried to convince them that wired is better and less expensive but, no. Have to have wireless.

[Kevin Maxwell]

First rule of wireless...if you can use a wire ...do so!
I've done gigs where I have 5 people sitting in chairs (times 3 rooms close together)for an interview and the client just HAS to have wireless mics. Tried to convince them that wired is better and less expensive but, no. Have to have wireless.

I agree that there are too many people that want wireless where it isn’t needed and it drives me nuts. I always try to figure out why and have realized a few things. First they just don’t want to see the wires and it makes it easier to rearrange a stage if all or most of the mics are wireless. In the case of the people sitting in chairs for a panel discussion they want the people pre-wired so they can just sit down and talk and at the end just get up and walk away. It does help in that usually someone can spend the time getting the mic on the presenter in exactly the place you want it and dress it up nice. How many times does a presenter put a mic on themselves that you left hanging over the chair and get it in the right place and looking neat.

As far as WiFi drop outs how badly does it affect what you are doing? I have done WiFi control for some events, sometimes just to be able to tweak the levels going to the different zones during setup and on smaller gigs to control a Mackie DL1608. A couple of the gigs were outdoor Christmas tree lighting ceremonies. I loved being able to walk around and not have to worry about people tripping on wires. But I am in Connecticut about 60miles from midtown Manhattan and it gets cold at that time of year. So I wasn’t sure if I was having minor WiFi dropouts or if my fingers were so cold the iPad wasn’t responding properly to my touch. Or if it was the mix of rain and snow that was making the iPad unresponsive. Also my arm starts so cramp up from trying to constantly hold the iPad in place to mix on it. I think I have to do a small show in 2 weeks were I will be using the DL1608, at least it will be indoors. I try to get the WAP on one of the speaker stands to give it some height. I have to remember to bring a long enough cat5 cable so I can do this.

As Henry said “RF is RF regardless of the spectrum” so I try to keep that in mind and do all of the same kind of things I would do with wireless mics so they keep working were you want them to. 

[Scott Holtzman]

I did two events in the same hotel ballroom this weekend.
Same event coordinator, lighting provider and band...
Each night a different corporate holiday party.
Nothing changed... except the guests.
Friday Wifi was rock solid but had a few breif wireless mic dropouts.
Saturday eve RF was good but Wifi was really hit and miss.

WTF? Nothing changed.

I've just convinced this dorkestra to give up their enormous antiques roadshow analog FOH and now have them on a Mackie DL32r.
My back likes tablet mixing... Me? Not so much. But...

Is there a best, most reliable, bullet proof, professional WAP that just works?
What gives you the best reception?
I'm gonna try to rig the WAP onto a mic stand and get it up so I can see it over the crowd Tuesday.
I'll post pics of what I come up with.
Meanwhile...
What works best for you?

Cheers!

Jim, RF practices have been is discussed at length.  Did you review any of those threads?

Did you scan the room and select the best channel.  Rob pointed out that the 5ghz band is usually quieter.

My guess is that you used a consumer grade router, positioned low,  did not scan the room and are now annoyed at the tech.

The worst part is you put your client through this disaster and have forever tainted their perception of the technology. 

Your performers are not your lab,  Test and learn on your own dime.



Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk

[Stu McDoniel]

Channel overlaps in the 2.4GHZ range.   If you insist on using the 2.4GHZ then try channel  1,6, or 11 because those channels do not overlap.
Otherwise get a router you can have a strong 5GHZ signal with like the Netgear Nighthawk.
The 5GhZ range does not have the channel overlap and you have plenty of non overlapping channels
Picture wifi like a hub and the more users you have and overlap of channels
the slooooower things get and you even experience drop outs etc.

[William Schnake]

I did two events in the same hotel ballroom this weekend.
Same event coordinator, lighting provider and band...
Each night a different corporate holiday party.
Nothing changed... except the guests.
Friday Wifi was rock solid but had a few breif wireless mic dropouts.
Saturday eve RF was good but Wifi was really hit and miss.

WTF? Nothing changed.

I've just convinced this dorkestra to give up their enormous antiques roadshow analog FOH and now have them on a Mackie DL32r.
My back likes tablet mixing... Me? Not so much. But...

Is there a best, most reliable, bullet proof, professional WAP that just works?
What gives you the best reception?
I'm gonna try to rig the WAP onto a mic stand and get it up so I can see it over the crowd Tuesday.
I'll post pics of what I come up with.
Meanwhile...
What works best for you?

Cheers!

We put our router in our lighting truss.  We are using an Apple Airport Express with 5 MHz.  Works every time.  We do turn it off over night.

Bill

[Chrysander 'C.R.' Young]

In my day job, I am a network admin for a small ISP and have used every piece of wireless gear you can imagine from consumer WiFi stuff to licensed microwave gear.  I have come to this conclusion:

If you are 100% reliant on WiFi (2.4 or 5GHz) communication to make your show work, you are a fool. 

The biggest thing people forget is that these bands are in use by lots more devices than just WiFi.  The ISM bands have a multitude of other users than just short range communications.  Add in a room full of electrically noisy phones, tablets, and bluetooth devices, the network connection that worked fine at sound check is suddenly useless.  Also, if you have the fortune of being within a few blocks of an industrial device that uses the ISM band that you are trying to use, forget it.  Oddly, one of the best devices to render the 2.4GHz spectrum nearly useless is a land line wireless phone with DSS.  They randomly hop frequencies several times a second all over the band and have good antennas.  Yay, instant jammer.  Also, the old sulfur vapor lamps use 2.4GHz RF to excite the vapor into plasma.  One of those babies in the loading dock means no one was Wifi.

For my personal XR18 rig, there is ALWAYS a hard-wired laptop on hand and operating, just in case. 

[ProSoundWeb Community]