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[Rain Jaudon]

Client has 4 Shure PGX24/Beta 58 (ch H6) wireless microphones and wants to upgrade. Seems the systems are performing poorly and are not consistent week to week.  (could be strange frequency interference since they are on a Navy Base - Could also be some operator error.)

I have Audix, Sennheiser, Shure, and AKG at my disposal.

FOH is roughly 40-50' from the platform so we aren't talking about a large distance to transmit.  The only other unit in the room is a Williams Sound assisted listening transmitter (low on the spectrum). 

I need some direction in both microphone selection and receiver choices.   As typical of a Base Chapel as you can imagine - mics are used for public address and singing.  And no, I'm not locked into a budget at this time.

Thanks in advance,
Rain

[Jonathan Johnson]

I have Audix, Sennheiser, Shure, and AKG at my disposal.

Is this defined by approved procurement channels? In other words, are you limited to certain approved manufacturers, models, or milspec requirements?

[Rain Jaudon]

Is this defined by approved procurement channels? In other words, are you limited to certain approved manufacturers, models, or milspec requirements?

No, these are the only lines I'm opened up with.  I think they had Marcad Shure units before the PGX models were installed back in early 2009.

[Justin Bartlett]

Client has 4 Shure PGX24/Beta 58 (ch H6) wireless microphones and wants to upgrade. Seems the systems are performing poorly and are not consistent week to week.  (could be strange frequency interference since they are on a Navy Base - Could also be some operator error.)

I have Audix, Sennheiser, Shure, and AKG at my disposal.

FOH is roughly 40-50' from the platform so we aren't talking about a large distance to transmit.  The only other unit in the room is a Williams Sound assisted listening transmitter (low on the spectrum). 

I need some direction in both microphone selection and receiver choices.   As typical of a Base Chapel as you can imagine - mics are used for public address and singing.  And no, I'm not locked into a budget at this time.

Thanks in advance,
Rain

I've found the Sennheiser G3 stuff to be rock solid for our use (comparable scale to yours).  They seem to be the best bet in the "budget" range (<$1,000 per channel).  Up from there would be the Sennheiser 2000 series or Shure UHF-R; both are solid bets at something like $1,500-$2,000 per channel, depending on capsules etc.

For capsules - we use Sennheiser e865 capsules for "singing" vocal mics; the supercardioid pattern noticeably improves gain before feedback and stage bleed (i.e. drum kit).  We use the e835 capsule for "announcement" handheld mics, as the wider pattern is more forgiving of poor mic technique and stage bleed/GBF is not an issue for this use.

A lot of people like the e935/e945 capsules; I've used them once or twice and liked them, but I like the e865 (which is a condenser) better; your mileage may vary.

If you're looking for something more "elegant," the Shure KSM9 is a fantastic mic, and I'm told the Sennheiser e965 is comparably impressive, but they get pretty spendy.

[Brad Weber]

Client has 4 Shure PGX24/Beta 58 (ch H6) wireless microphones and wants to upgrade. Seems the systems are performing poorly and are not consistent week to week.  (could be strange frequency interference since they are on a Navy Base - Could also be some operator error.)

H6 is the 524-542MHz band, Groups and Channels are selected on the receivers with the two digit display on the receivers showing the Group (0-9) as the first digit is and the Channel (also 0-9) as the second digit.
 
The reason this may be important is that before looking at purchasing new units you might want to make sure that what they have can't possibly be made to work.  There may have been some changes in external RF sources that could be addressed by retuning the existing systems.  Or there may be some adjustments or options for the antennas that would help.  If you have not done so already I would try those before being sure that new gear is needed or will solve the problems.

[Rain Jaudon]

I'm installing a confidence monitor and a bunch of TVOne gear soon on site and plan on troubleshooting the existing wireless Shure PGX system.

How much reality does a manufacturer's posted RF Output Level hold these days?

Shure PGX states 10mW
Sennheiser 10/30mW  (10 min, 30 max I assume)
Audix 50mW (max)

Client also asked about the PGX Digital system Shure just released but I've not found any real world reviews on it to speak of.

PGX digital costs around what the standard PGX runs.
Audix wireless OM6 is a few hundred more.
Sennheiser ew-500 with the e965 of course is twice the cost of the Audix. (4x the PGX shure)

[Brian Ehlers]

How much reality does a manufacturer's posted RF Output Level hold these days?

Shure PGX states 10mW
Sennheiser 10/30mW  (10 min, 30 max I assume)
Audix 50mW (max)

Ignore the transmitter power specs.  The performance of wireless mics is far more dependent on the receiver's ability to accept the desired signal and reject others than it is on the transmitter power.  And making a better receiver is generally more expensive, so you get what you pay for.

However, installation, frequency selection, and attenna distribution are as important as the model of transmitter and receiver.  Before spending any money on new equipment, make sure you've thoroughly debugged the existing equipment.  I don't know if your problem is with the way your equipment is set up or with outside interference, but I bet you can get it to work flawlessly.  And if you don't even try, then there's no guarantee the new equipment won't have the same problem.

[Arnold B. Krueger]

Client has 4 Shure PGX24/Beta 58 (ch H6) wireless microphones and wants to upgrade. Seems the systems are performing poorly and are not consistent week to week.  (could be strange frequency interference since they are on a Navy Base - Could also be some operator error.)

I have Audix, Sennheiser, Shure, and AKG at my disposal.

FOH is roughly 40-50' from the platform so we aren't talking about a large distance to transmit.  The only other unit in the room is a Williams Sound assisted listening transmitter (low on the spectrum). 

I need some direction in both microphone selection and receiver choices.   As typical of a Base Chapel as you can imagine - mics are used for public address and singing.  And no, I'm not locked into a budget at this time.

IME the key to getting good wireless microphone operation is assigning them to frequencies that are actually vacant or at least as vacant as possible. 

It is very possible that re-assigning the frequencies of the mics you have on hand will address your problems. In some cases new sources of interference spring up, and you have to choose new frequencies to dodge them.

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