XDV-75 Headset Mics

[halgalardi]

Hey guys. New to posting, but not to reading these. This is a long one...but I've spent a lot of money on these things so I would LOVE some insight.

 

I have an unusual situation with the XDV-75's. I have 8 of them. 

 

Doing audio for a musical that I produce. Midtown NYC. Small 80 sq foot room. 

7 actors on stage at a time. 1 system for backup. 

 

Have been running RF-1 with daisy chained antenna's (4 and 4). Still getting at least 8 or so dropouts within the 75 minute show, on a good day. Sometimes one of the channels just drops out for minutes at a time. Sometimes a channel is completely red when right next to receiver.

 

Just tried RF-2 tonight with no better luck.

 

SO I bought the XD-AD8 antenna distributor. It's a LITTLE better, but still getting drop-outs. There isn't a WI-FI router in the room by the way.

 

Some channels are solid for the whole show, some just aren't. 

 

1. Is this normal, and the best I can get in Midtown Manhattan? OR should I get the p180 for a stronger signal? I am well within the 300 foot range (50 feet max from actors to receivers). Does the p-180 just give a better, stronger signal that will benefit me, even if I don't actually need the increased range?

 

2. Does the XD-AD8 make that much of a difference? It's 550 bucks - and I still get dropouts

 

3. Can I even use the p-180's WITHOUT the AD8? Will the normal xd-75 receiver power the paddle antenna, and then allow me to daisy chain it to the other 7 systems?

 

 

I know I can do better things like putting mics on belts, instead of in pockets - like some of the men have them in now. Does that make a huge difference?

 

Also, the antennas are front mounted - facing me - but the tips of them are over the rack - line of sight to actors. 

 

Thank you SO MUCH for any help

 

- Hal

[Sheriton]

For anyone reading this and wondering about the solution, Hal & I exchanged a few emails and resolved it.

 

The main culprit was a spare pack placed very close to the receiver antennae that was swamping their inputs and causing the dropouts. "De-sense" is the name of the phenomenon - a nearby strong signal prevents the effective reception of more distant, weaker signals. Moving that pack and putting the antennae on stands up in the air fixed the issues. It's worth noting that this kind of issue affects all wireless systems, analogue and digital. There's a good, detailed primer on radio mics and their possible problems here.