Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1434375
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 25 to a scream on the wireless mics with zero clipping and without jumping on a trim knob to try to catch it. FCC Considerations During all of this time, the FCC was going through the processes of selling off a vast chunk of the spectrum we have all been using for years, and it became rather obvious that a new set of rules was going to be forced upon us in the field, whether we liked it or not. All of the known users and their frequencies were going to have to repack and cram into about half of the space that was there. This meant that for location sound, RF management was going to be crucial and probably more complicated. Gone would be the days of using a single set of frequencies for weeks, months, or for a rare few years on end. I knew that the FCC—T-Mobile move was going to be a crushing blow to the unprepared, so I set about trying to educate myself on the ramifications of a smaller and more crowded RF spectrum. I knew that in order to get more radios in a smaller space, I'd have to lower the output power of the transmitters to avoid intermodulation. Also, with such a crowded spectrum, I would need the receivers or antennae very close to mitigate interference from outside sources. I used a remote antenna rig for a couple of years, with ultra-low-loss antenna cable and limiting the run to standard at 12V DC, single rack space, very easy to navigate, and near "set-and-forget" operation. This definitely checked all the boxes. After getting my hands on the A32 Dante, I set about the integration, but still had all the mixing and radio mic gear in my main mix cart. I was using a Sound Devices 688 with CL-12 control surface, Lectrosonics Venue WBL receivers, and Lectrosonics IFB, along with Comtek for program listen. I dumped tens of pounds of copper cables and connectors, streamlined the cart with just a few connections and an Ethernet cable. Phase One of the move to streamline things was well in hand, but the full Dante workflow was still not in place. One of the unplanned benefits of the Ferrofish A32 Dante and its process was the input and output gain adjustments. This gave me an additional layer of gain stage, although digital, in the path which allowed me to fine-tune my transmitters, receivers, and the Ferrofish for the broadest level of dynamics possible. With the Ferrofish A32 Dante, I could adjust the settings and then leave them alone, allowing me to go from a whisper Above: My twin mixing carts that I built when I was at Tyler Perry Studios, affectionately known as Thing 1 and Thing 2. Right: Using long-range RF and my "Millennium Falcon" rig to reach about 2/10th of a mile, line of sight, to get everything I need for a distant bridge scene. Bottom left: Backside of the mix cart. 100'. This worked very well, but still wasn't ideal for many reasons. First, there are no less than four antennae on the tree; two for the radio mic receivers, one for the Comtek, and one for IFB. This made a very heavy and ridiculously bulky cable snake that my crew simply loathed. Second, I didn't want to use active antennae because of the induced noise floor from amplification. Third, the constant cable management and keeping rolling traffic from crushing it or passing through doors, windows, and hallways made work life a lot busier than it needed to be. It worked, and it worked really well, but I needed a better solution. Transitioning to Dante I decided to take full advantage of Dante and build an Ethernet-capable system. This would allow me to maintain the proximity of the receivers, shorten the antenna run, and deliver pristine audio signals. With a max working length of 100 meters, I thought I could easily handle just about any possibility that arose. For this build, I would definitely need to change up the gear, so I started with a pair of Sound Devices PIX 970 recorders and a Midas M32R mixer. Both of these are Dante capable and have been worked hard in the industry for years, so the track record of