Since most part 15 broadcasters don't do much original programming wireless mics probably have no use, but at KDX we maintain 3 wireless mics and have been lucky (last time we checked) that our frequencies are still legitimate, while thousands of users are being forced to buy all new equipment on different frequencies that are increasingly crowded.
The answer here is simple and free. Stop using wireless mics!
Back in the early 70's I played the role of Professor Harold Hill in my high school drama class production of "The Music Man". We didn't have any wireless mics. Yet a whole gym full of students and parents heard and enjoyed the show.
Broadway musicals seemed to be rather successful for decades before the wireless mic came along.
Bands from ragtime to rock and roll seemed to do just fine without wireless mics. Buddy Holly didn't need a damn wireless mic, neither did Cream, Deep Purple, or Elvis.
Know how many wireless mics were at Woodstock? Oh, yeah. NONE.
There are and have been for decades many wired mic solutions available for just about every purpose mentioned in this article. Methods that had been used for decades, and now can be even more useful with newer technology. Not to mention the cost for more traditional technology has dropped considerably since the good ol' days.
No small theatre group NEEDS a closet full of wireless mics, nor does any school drama program.
I've played in bands in the 70's, and for nearly 20 years through the early 90's into the 2000's. Never used a wireless mic. Never used a wireless monitor either. Did Sinatra have a wireless mic? No. Did he need an in-ear wireless monitor? No. Yet he still managed to be heard AND sing on key.
Just say no.
TIB
Wired Mics work well for short distance 5-10 feet.
I use a wired headset/mic for my station. But I've also used plenty of wireless solutions.
Plenty of Wireless frequencies.
49Mhz is a band that can still be used for Wireless mics now that cordless phones are few down there due to most have moved to the 900 Mhz, 2.5 Ghz bands. Also there are white space devices such as headset/mics using 84.9 Mhz as I've described Wal Mart selling the Onn brand.
In Big Cities Wireless Mics Could Have More Issues.
If you live too close to other folks who may also use a Wireless Mic or Wireless Headset it could pose an issue however I've not heard of many issues with other people using your frequency. The only issue could be if you have multiple wireless mics and using them for say a talk show, band whereas you have many singers. Keeping track off where your transmitting is a must to be sure your not too close in frequency to your other microphones.
Nothing stopping other's from listening to your wireless mic/headset frequency
Which brought a question to me when I found out about the Onn brand of headsets. These devices can be heard well further than FM transmitters can legally transmit without a license. What about setting up a Onn brand wireless headset and give out the frequency? The Tecsun Radio's can be set to go down to 76 Mhz and you have what? An FM station under the white space rules. I read a review where as the user had his headset in his boat on a lake and heard his transmitter over 1,000 Ft.
False Information Sincerely Posted
The statement that wired microphones are only useful for 5 to 10-feet reveals 2-things...
TheLegacy is familiar with unbalanced (unprofessional) wired microphones, which are only good for 5 to 10-feet.
But the other reveal is that he has no awareness of professional balanced microphone technology, by which microphone cables are good for hundreds of feet, typically all within a particular building, be it a studio, auditorium or church.
Balanced wiring is good for fixed settings where microphones are bolted to desks or mic stands, but not convenient if a performer moves around. That's when wireless microphones serve the purpose.
On another matter, using the wireless microphone transmitter as a broadcast station is cheating and the FCC would rule against it.
I have some 900 MHz wireless microphones and have considered using one as a Studio-to-Transmitter Link (STL), which so far is not specifically addressed in any FCC literature I've seen.
Scary. Carl and I are thinking alike.
I thought the same thing. A typical, professional microphone with a balanced line is good for hundreds and hundreds of feet. Generally recommended maximum is 800 to 1000 feet. These are the typical stage mics used by probably millions of people around the world every night. Most popular stage mic is probably the Shure SM58. If you watch any live stage video from the 70's to today you'll likely see Shure SM58's.
Most stages such as those at typical performance venues have balanced audio cables running from the stage to the sound booth, with matching jacks mounted at the stage for performers to plug their mics into to get to the house sound system. When you see a band performing and there's a sound guy at a huge mixer in the middle or back of the venue, he's controlling anywhere from a few to dozens to hundreds of wired balanced mics fed through a "snake" - a bundle of balanced cables. This is very normal and typical even today.
In broadcasting, at my real job, we use a Marti -- a portable FM transmitter on VHF to send remote broadcasts back to the studio, such as when we're broadcasting at an event, store, sale, etc. I have used a 100 foot mic cable with the Marti unit for probably 40 years, if not more. Not only is the audio pristine and hum and noise free, but it also never picks up any RF from the transmitter, which is putting 50+ watts into a whip antenna mounted on a mix stand with a small metal ground plane. It's not uncommon to add a second 100 foot cable to give more length at an outdoor event, etc. Much less chance you'll get noise this way as compared to a wireless mic getting some sort of interference, or having the battery die in the mic, etc. Not to mention something like the Shure SM58 is practically indestructible. I own several from my band days. Speaking of which...
I spent a total of over 30 years playing in various rock and roll bands. We nearly always used the SM58, and NEVER bought a mic cable shorter than 25 feet, and more commonly 50 footers. Always better to have more than you need than not enough. It's these balanced mic cables and SM 58's that you most often see some hot shot performer swinging around over his head by the cable -- and the mic and the cable keep on working. This is pretty tough stuff.
Keep in mind, though that any guitar player who is not using wireless (which is most of them, guitar freaks will rant for days about how wireless guitar setups ruin their tone) is using a unbalanced cable between his guitar and amp. Of course a guitar has a hotter output than a mic, so most noise is lost below the sound of the guitar. Suggested max for unbalanced cables is 10-15 feet, although some real quality stuff can make 25 feet if the planets are aligned.
Heck, at work we have a conference room with four mics, each has at least 100 feet of mic cable that runs from the table mic stands, down the pedestal of the table, across the room in a groove cut in the cement floor that's been tiled over, up the opposite wall, across the room in the ceiling, down the hall into the air studio and into a mic mixer, the output of which is run into a channel in the control board. This is used when we have several guests for an interview. No hum. No noise.
Heck, I must own 30 balanced mics. The concept of using an unbalanced mic these days is nearly foreign to me. Of course all powered or condenser mics are balanced.
TIB
Pretty interesting stuff. I do remember XLR cables when I actually had a lot of money and good audio equipment. I would pretty much swear by them in comparison to unbalanced RCA cable.
Someday I will run a mixing board again along with XLR cable for the components and maybe have a few XLR microphones. This way I could have interviews and maybe even have a band playing live over the air.
All of this takes time I never thought I would ever broadcast on AM due to the complexity and the expense. However I do have people who have donated to the radio station and look what I'm doing now broadcasting part 15 C quam AM stereo.
I guess I was just thinking of folks that are using an average low budget radio station like I do for the moment. But if Wireless Mike's became a serious problem I would have to get a mixing board and get some XLR microphones.