As good as the sound components in the auditorium are, the existing wireless microphone systems had been experiencing RF interference, feedback and other problems as a result of being mounted on a pair of movable podiums. These are necessary to make the auditorium as flexible as possible, but it made the wireless audio system vulnerable.
The solution was the installation of a SpectraPulse Ultra Wideband (UWB) Wireless Microphone System from Audio-Technica. The system, which incorporates four drm141 Digital Receiver Modules, one aci707 Audio Control Interface, one rcu104 Receiver Coordinator Unit, two mtu201 XLR Desk Stand Transmitters, and two ES915ML MicroLine condenser gooseneck microphones, completely solved the RF interference and feedback issues the auditorium had been experiencing. The SpectraPulse system was installed by longtime A-T users Monte Bros. Sound Systems of Dobbs Ferry, NY.
Steve Minozzi, co-director of Monte Bros. Sound Systems, says the A-T SpectraPulse technology cleanly addressed what he called a "wireless nightmare". "The problem is too much interference, just too much going on in the building, and it's in lower Manhattan, which is already a crowded RF area, so we weren't able to get a clean dependable signal from the previous wireless system installed there," he explains. "So we went to the SpectraPulse, which is UWB - ultra wide band transmission by packets - which is not subject to interference. And considering the sensitive information that the NYPD may be discussing, the SpectraPulse's high level of data encryption was an added plus."
Despite the dense RF environment around and within the auditorium, and the large steel beams used in its construction that can also hinder RF communications, the SpectraPulse system came through, thanks to the Ultra Wideband technology at the heart of SpectraPulse that avoids the RF interference issues associated with conventional VHF, UHF and 2.4 GHz wireless systems.
Further, since no frequency coordination is required for all 14 channels to operate simultaneously, SpectraPulse is easy to both set up and operate. "There was literally nothing else that could have addressed this as well as the SpectraPulse system," says Minozzi.
(Jim Evans)
