Wireless microphones have a number of advantages and disadvantages. The following discussion will tackle these data on lapel microphones, videoke microphones, and professional-grade wireless microphones.
Performers, especially dynamic ones, can do away with entangling cables that may even cause them to trip. They can move about the stage without worrying about not being heard. The wireless microphone is actually a technical misnomer because it still uses wires. The “wireless” in the term actually refers to the cable which connects the device to the amplifier. Various technologies are used to establish this transmission without the standard cable. Some of these devices use infrared light much similar to the technology used in remote controls. The most common ones use radio waves transmitted through UHF, VHF, Fm, Am, and many other modulation frequencies.
One of the advantages of a wireless microphone is, as we have mentioned, the freedom of movement it affords the performer or speaker. You can do also away with the most common problem of cabling (especially for dated cables) which is the internal wires breaking their connection once in a while causing the sound to come out intermittently.
The disadvantage of these wireless gizmos is that their ranges are limited to a radius of 300 ft (100 m), although the high-end models can beat this range easily. Interference from and with other radio equipment or other wireless microphones cannot be avoided although the latest models come with synthesized frequencies that can be switched to other channels.
They have a limited operation time because they rely on batteries for their power supply. There are some areas wherein noise is generated while in some areas there are dead spots. The number of units functioning at the same area at the same time is limited to the number of radio channels the devices are capable of.
The wireless system is composed of an input gadget, a radio transmitter, & a receiver. The input gadget, which is a microphone, supplies the audio signal. The signal is then sent by the transmitter and received by the receiver.
These microphones can be grouped into handheld and body pack. The handheld units are much like the regular microphone except that instead of a cable it has a battery pack & a transmitter. The body pack microphone is composed of a box as small as a deck of cards. It is clipped on close to the user's body. It can either be connected to a headset mike, a lapel mike, or to an instrument such as a guitar.
