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[Debbie Dunkley]

About this time last year, I started a thread - " My Shure BLX receiver - defective?"

http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php?topic=161349.10

It wasn't defective at all and the simple solution to my problem of RF cutting in and out was to move my Shure receiver one space further away from the closest iem transmitter in the rack. I did this and never had another problem with it......
till this past saturday.

The only thing that had changed from the last time it worked 2 weeks ago to this weekend was that I had replaced the SKB rack it had sat in for a new one. It was actually an SKB  warranty claim and the replacement molded case is the same material as the old one - just a slightly different design. The old one is no longer made.

I found the problem when I tried to use it at the show and after 20 minutes of messing around trying to find a frequency that would work, I pulled it out of the rack to use it and had no issues the whole night.
The next day I put it back in the rack and found I am able to use it fine if I don't turn on the closest iem transmitter which is one space away ( as it has been all year)  fortunately I have 4 iem transmitters in the rack but only ever need 3 at a time so this solution works for me for now.
It is weird that I got the problem back even though the rack case is the same material and size, everything was in the same position as before and that just one more space makes all the difference.

[Luke Geis]

Another reason I am not a fan of wireless.  It is just fickle sometimes and there is usually no rhyme or reason. Once you can source the cause of the problem it is usually easy to mitigate, its finding the cause that is half the fun

You may find that you simply need two wireless racks so you can keep them far enough separated to not be of detriment to one another. What I can say is that I own 4 RF units and they are not racked. I stack them in separate groups. This has yielded the best results for me. A lot of time the case of the RF unit acts as the ground plane for the whips. When there are too many boundaries that ground plane can be interrupted rendering the antenna useless for its purpose. I can tell you that the Sennheiser and Line 6 units I have DO NOT like being placed on a concrete floor even if the transmitter is nearby and in direct LOS. They just like open space.

[Keith Broughton]

About this time last year, I started a thread - " My Shure BLX receiver - defective?"

http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php?topic=161349.10

It wasn't defective at all and the simple solution to my problem of RF cutting in and out was to move my Shure receiver one space further away from the closest iem transmitter in the rack. I did this and never had another problem with it......
till this past saturday.

The only thing that had changed from the last time it worked 2 weeks ago to this weekend was that I had replaced the SKB rack it had sat in for a new one. It was actually an SKB  warranty claim and the replacement molded case is the same material as the old one - just a slightly different design. The old one is no longer made.

I found the problem when I tried to use it at the show and after 20 minutes of messing around trying to find a frequency that would work, I pulled it out of the rack to use it and had no issues the whole night.
The next day I put it back in the rack and found I am able to use it fine if I don't turn on the closest iem transmitter which is one space away ( as it has been all year)  fortunately I have 4 iem transmitters in the rack but only ever need 3 at a time so this solution works for me for now.
It is weird that I got the problem back even though the rack case is the same material and size, everything was in the same position as before and that just one more space makes all the difference.

I suspect that even when it "worked" having IEM transmitters and mic receivers that close together would not have been optimum.
As noted in other RF threads, TX and RX antennas need to be kept apart.
I can't comment on why you were OK for a while and now not, but the fact that separating the units solved the problem shows you need to come up with an antenna spacing solution.

[Rob Spence]

I suspect that even when it "worked" having IEM transmitters and mic receivers that close together would not have been optimum.
As noted in other RF threads, TX and RX antennas need to be kept apart.
I can't comment on why you were OK for a while and now not, but the fact that separating the units solved the problem shows you need to come up with an antenna spacing solution.

To continue, it is likely that the issue isn’t the proximity of the boxes but that of the antenna. A transmitter antenna near the receiver antenna is likely overloading the input stage of the receiver. With a strong local signal, it wins over the desired signal. Remember, in FM, the strongest signal gets captured.

How many iem transmitters and mic receivers do you have?



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Keith Broughton]

To continue, it is likely that the issue isn’t the proximity of the boxes but that of the antenna. A transmitter antenna near the receiver antenna is likely overloading the input stage of the receiver. With a strong local signal, it wins over the desired signal. Remember, in FM, the strongest signal gets captured.

How many iem transmitters and mic receivers do you have?



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I may not have been clear in my previous post but as Rob said, it's the antenna locations that are the issue and not the rack mounted "boxes"
It would be helpful to combine the IEM transmitter outputs and have one antenna located outside the rack on a mic stand.
The mic receivers would be OK, as is, in the rack.

[Dave Garoutte]

I may not have been clear in my previous post but as Rob said, it's the antenna locations that are the issue and not the rack mounted "boxes"
It would be helpful to combine the IEM transmitter outputs and have one antenna located outside the rack on a mic stand.
The mic receivers would be OK, as is, in the rack.

+1
I was going to say to see if Shure has an antenna combiner.
I use one with my 4 Senny receivers and it provides power and a much simpler setup.

[Debbie Dunkley]

I realize that a combiner would be optimum but I can honestly say I have never had any issues other than these 2 occasions a year apart caused by a change of rack case,  where simply moving the unit further away by only one space cured it.
I have 3 iem transmitters on and the mic receiver so total of 4 units.  Chris and the the other 2 guys in the band tell me they get very few problems - the odd RF whoosh from time to time and rarely drop out so they seem to be fine stacked in the rack case. It is only my unit that is a bit more fussy and needs that extra few inches. There's a joke there somewhere.......
Like I said in my first post, this solution works for me "for now", and might not continue to do so for much longer so a combiner is on the cards for me.
I just thought it was weird that we have played many shows - different venues, bars, weddings etc with the set up the way it was in the old rack without issue  but I switch out the rack keeping everything exactly the same -and first show, same issue we had before when moving it was the solution too.
However, if I get any further issues with the mic I will remove the receiver from the rack completely- I have a cool little Gator case it can go in so no worries there. Any iem issues and it will be combiner time.


BTW- mic is Shute BLX and iems are Sennheiser EW300. I know - the iems are superior quality.

[Debbie Dunkley]

Real quick- if I were to choose a better wireless system for my headset, what would be a good move? Bear in mind I only sing backing vocals so I don't need anything fantastic. Also I sing from the audience so there is a tiny bit if latency which we get away with quite well whereas a digital system might be too problematic in that regard.

[Ike Zimbel]

About this time last year, I started a thread - " My Shure BLX receiver - defective?"

http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php?topic=161349.10

It wasn't defective at all and the simple solution to my problem of RF cutting in and out was to move my Shure receiver one space further away from the closest iem transmitter in the rack. I did this and never had another problem with it......
till this past saturday.

The only thing that had changed from the last time it worked 2 weeks ago to this weekend was that I had replaced the SKB rack it had sat in for a new one. It was actually an SKB  warranty claim and the replacement molded case is the same material as the old one - just a slightly different design. The old one is no longer made.

I found the problem when I tried to use it at the show and after 20 minutes of messing around trying to find a frequency that would work, I pulled it out of the rack to use it and had no issues the whole night.
The next day I put it back in the rack and found I am able to use it fine if I don't turn on the closest iem transmitter which is one space away ( as it has been all year)  fortunately I have 4 iem transmitters in the rack but only ever need 3 at a time so this solution works for me for now.
It is weird that I got the problem back even though the rack case is the same material and size, everything was in the same position as before and that just one more space makes all the difference.

+1 to what Keith and Rob said. As for the "mystery" of why this would happen, I wonder if all of the antennas ended up in exactly the same position as they were in in the old rack? It wouldn't take much...

[Keith Broughton]

I realize that a combiner would be optimum but I can honestly say I have never had any issues other than these 2 occasions a year apart caused by a change of rack case,

Just because it "worked" doesn't make it a good setup.
I would bet that if you really dug into it, you would find a lot more available frequencies on your mic receiver with the IEMs turned off.
If you only have 1 receiver, make that a remote antenna setup.

[ProSoundWeb Community]