Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/757053
60 F A L L 2 0 1 6 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y Antennas! The quality of our wireless tools is so high and they are so effective that I believe we have become spoiled by their spectacular performance. When I look at the tools in front of me: The wireless transmitters (body-worn or boom- mounted), the various brands of wireless receiv- ers (portable with 1/4 wave whips or rack-mounted with internal antenna distribution), spectrum analyzing tools (coordination tools built into wireless receivers, Lectrosonics Wireless Designer and the Endian Freq. Finder app); I am forced to look at what I can drastically manipulate and/or change my habits with. I landed on the 'Antennas!' I find that antennas are a very overlooked, underrated, misused and extremely crucial set of tools in our production sound equipment arsenal. Since experimenting with various antenna systems for my sound carts and sound bags, antennas have become even more interesting to me now than ever—especially antennas on the receiving end of a wireless system. Our receiving antennas put us into an invisible range bubble that can drastically vary in size depending on your technique. LANDSCAPE FOR CART-BASED SOUND MIXERS Unlike installations, production sound mixers' wireless use is a moving target. I love nothing more than to set up my sound cart on set in a central location where the actors, boom operators and video village is—but not so close to where I'm in the way of the cameras shifting spots or equipment loading in and out. I love nothing more but for this central spot to bring me impeccable wireless performance on both the transmitting and the receiving ends. I settle in, raise my antenna riser, scan for fresh frequencies and I know that whatever magic sorcery in play is working—and I get flawless wireless per- formance. I used to take it for granted that these tools function so well. However, This is going to be a "less technical/more practical" article on the subject of antenna use in wireless microphone systems—specifi- cally for production sound mixing/recording in scripted/narrative workflows. To me, it's all just sorcery really. Be that as it may, the reality is that the RF crunch we see coming today will only get more challenging in the future. What inspired me to write this article in conjunction with Ed Greene's "Present and Future Availability of Spectrum for RF Microphones" is the timing of the current stage in the RF frequency spectrum sell-off and the overcrowding of our frequency bands—and how this will change our style of working with wireless microphones. by Devendra Cleary CAS