RF Wireless Microphone "Rules of Thumb": Antennas

• Line-of-sight between transmitter and receiver antennas will provide the best signal. This can most easily be accomplished by positioning receiving antennas high, looking down towards the transmitters.

• Keep transmitters apart from each other and at a minimum distance of about 10 feet from the receivers and their antenna.

• If long cable runs are necessary, use them for the audio signals. It is better to keep antenna cables short and run long audio cables.

• Use the lowest loss RF cable possible. For fixed installations, a good choice is Belden RG9913. For touring applications that require a more flexible and lower weight cable, RG213 is a good compromise.

• Proper connector installation is critical. Make sure it is correctly soldered and crimped.

• For antenna signal distribution systems use effective filters to separate frequency ranges and suppress unwanted signals

• Frequent diversity switching between the two antennas indicates proper antenna operation. An easy approach to achieving this is to make sure both antennas have the same gain structure: same type and length of cable and same booster set-up.

• Only use antenna boosters to compensate for signal loss due to long antenna cables.

• Equal antenna polarization (transmitter and receiver antennas both vertical or both horizontal) yields the best RF level. Splaying diversity antennas 90 degrees may help. Another option is to use circularly polarized antennas, such as the Sennheiser A5000-CP