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[Lance Richens]

Is there a better choice or value than the Shure antenna systems?

[Ray Aberle]

Is there a better choice or value than the Shure antenna systems?

XLS? Or SLX?

People talk a bunch about the RF Venue unit. I've not used it myself (we're a Shure dealer, so getting the UA844+SWB are easy and cheap for us to get!) but there have been good chatter about them on here.

I don't know what the cost basis is on the RF Venue unit versus the comparable Shure unit.

Ray

[Lance Richens]

XLS? Or SLX?

People talk a bunch about the RF Venue unit. I've not used it myself (we're a Shure dealer, so getting the UA844+SWB are easy and cheap for us to get!) but there have been good chatter about them on here.

I don't know what the cost basis is on the RF Venue unit versus the comparable Shure unit.

Ray

SLX

[Lance Richens]

XLS? Or SLX?

People talk a bunch about the RF Venue unit. I've not used it myself (we're a Shure dealer, so getting the UA844+SWB are easy and cheap for us to get!) but there have been good chatter about them on here.

I don't know what the cost basis is on the RF Venue unit versus the comparable Shure unit.

Ray

Looks like the two are pretty comparable in price

[Alec Spence]

Is there a better choice or value than the Shure antenna systems?

If cheap is your key driver, you might like to read these blog posts

[Brian Adams]

One thing to consider is that usually the manufacturers own distro can power the receivers, which eliminates the need for multiple power supplies. I think that's a huge benefit to using a Shure distro for your receivers. Used UA844's can be found at a good price occasionally. Just keep an eye out, and make sure they include the power supply and all the cables you need. Note that the original UA844 only has 4 outputs, so if you plan on adding receivers you might want to consider the UA844+, which has a fifth output that can cascade to another distro (or receiver).

The RF Venue distro should also be able to supply power to your receivers, but I don't know exactly what power cable/connector combination it comes with. The Shure unit comes with exactly the right cables for your receivers.

[Ray Aberle]

According to the website, the RF Venue does supply the power, but I also don't know what cables it comes with.

Absolutely on getting the UA844+ model-- that cascading out port is certainly nice. I believe with the SLX model you will want the regular (not the LC) version - "LC" is "Less Cables," it doesn't have the locking power cables that the SLX/ULXD receivers need. It just comes with the 'slip in' connectors that units like the QLX-D want. It also doesn't come with all of the BNC cables you need, since they assume you have them with the receiver (the QLX-D single channels come with BNC cables; the single channel ULX-D does not.).

Any good dealer will hook you up with a nice price.

-Ray

[Lance Richens]

Thanks for the help everyone. I believe I am going to go with the Shure UA844+swb system. Which antenna would you recommend?

[Lance Richens]

PS, I will be buying tomorrow. Good chance for someone here who deals shure to make a sale....

[Brian Adams]

Thanks for the help everyone. I believe I am going to go with the Shure UA844+swb system. Which antenna would you recommend?

The UA874 is a great active directional antenna, that pairs well with a distro. I use them almost exclusively with my systems. They might be overkill for your situation though, especially if you're using them only in small venues, and I'm guessing they're over your budget as well. If you want something like that, I could certainly send you a quote, as could many others on this forum, although it would probably work better if you chose a specific vendor (or two) and asked them directly for quotes.

The normal Shure half-wave whip antennas are probably fine for your application, and they turn up cheap on eBay pretty regularly. Depending on the frequency range you need, it's possible that I or someone else on the forum might have a pair sitting around that they'd let go for next to nothing.

[Jean-Pierre Coetzee]

Regarding the Shure vs RFVenue, in South Africa they are both distributed by the same distributors and they can give me the RFVenue unit much cheaper than the shure unit.

This was on the old UA844 while the RFVenue distro had the additional cascade port so it was nearly a no-brainer. Maybe RFVenue caused shure to adjust their price and add the cascade port in the newer model?

RFVenue also has a lot of antennae options so might want to have a look there but you can't go wrong with the UA874, got 2 of them and they are great.

Just if you go with whip antennae make sure you use the half wave, the quarter wave will not work remotely at all.

[Lance Richens]

Thoughts on the PA 805swb for the antenna?

[Keith Broughton]

Thoughts on the PA 805swb for the antenna?

They are a good antennas but if your use is in small venues, and the receivers are fairly close to the transmitters, you would do fine with the 1/2 wave "sticks" (up in the air) and save money.
Also keep in mind that with this type of directional antenna, if you use short runs of high quality coaxial cable, you don't need the "amplified" version.
RF Venue also makes a single antenna that has the diversity capability.
http://www.rfvenue.com/rf-venue-diversity-fin-antenna

[Lance Richens]

Thanks. Great information. So to run the UA874 with the IS 844, will I need the UA221 combiner or will I need two UA874's?

[Ray Aberle]

You could run one, but I would recommend two antenna. Using the UA221 won't do anything because if one antenna loses signal, you don't have anything to change over to. (You're getting the same signal to both places, in other words.)

(And sorry for not shipping out that UA806 quickly; last weekend was crazy busy for us!)

-Ray

[Lance Richens]

No problem on the 806. Since I have only one 874 I will have to just use the front mount antennas. I was hoping that I would only need one

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