Wireless Central
The Noizeworks Ultimate Guide To Wireless
Microphones and Systems. Part One – Wireless
Microphone Elements
One of the most
buzzword and
jargon filled areas of
live sound is that of
wireless microphone
systems (also
sometimes known
as ‘radio
microphones’). So
we thought it would be a good idea to create a guide that will
help customers through this product area, explaining some of
the basic concepts of radio mics, the different types and their
application, the UK licensing issues and explaining some of
the jargon phrases.
We’ll start with the receiver.
The above images show the front and rear of a typical
wireless receiver. They come in many shapes and sizes.
But most single channel receivers look something like this.
This is where the signal from your radio microphone
transmitter arrives and is then sent to the sound system.
It’s important to remember that a radio microphone can be
used with any sound system that a normal wired
microphone can be used with. You just need a mixer or
mixer/amp with a microphone input and the wireless
system will work and sound much like a wired mic. You can
see the 3 pin XLR output on the receiver. You can imagine
that’s the XLR connector you find at the bottom of a wired
microphone and just plug that into your sound system just
the same.
The benefits of cable free wireless microphones and
instrument systems are compelling for singers, guitarists and
other instrumentalists alike. Not being tethered to a mic cable
gives artists and performers the freedom to move, dance and
perform with complete freedom of movement. And not just for
music applications. Presenters and lecturers can also benefit
from wireless microphone technology with cable free operation
giving them the ability to demonstrate and articulate more
freely. This freedom can be further enhanced with the
application of different microphone types such as headset and
lapel (tie-clip) type microphones that also allow hands-free
You’ll usually find a bunch of controls on the front of the
use.
receiver and these rather depend on the type and
complexity of the system, but for now it’s really enough to
Wireless Microphones Systems: The Basic Elements.
know that the receiver is where your microphone signals
In this section we’ll take a look at the basic product elements arrive once you sing or speak into the mic/transmitter.
that make up a wireless microphone system.
Usually, there are external aerials to pick up the radio
signals from the transmitter, these are sometimes fixed to
The phrase ‘radio mic’ tends to suggest some form of
the receiver, sometimes they are detachable.
transmission and reception and this is indeed the case with
wireless microphones. So we have a transmitter and receiver.
The Radio Mic Transmitter:
The transmitter is where your radio signals are transmitted
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Gigging Musician
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