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XD-V55 - I'm losing my mind


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I'm absolutely losing my mind here. I run the live sound desk for my local Church, and we've just upgraded from an Analogue desk setup to a fully digital one. This is our setup:

 

Desk: Behringer X32 Compact (with the UltraNet snake box thing - I can't remember the model)

Microphones: XD-V55 Wireless Mics (6 Headset, 1 Handheld)

IEMs: LD Systems MEI1000G2T (UHF)

 

The school we hire for services has been gracious enough to allow us to install Cat5 along the walls for UltraNet, however with the wireless XD-V55s, the signal keeps dropping - every 5 minutes or so, which is great when we record the Sermons to be uploaded as a podcast.

 

Unfortunately, the school has Wireless Mesh WiFi - which conveniently runs on the 2.4GHz spectrum (the same as the mics), and conveniently spans the entire spectrum (leaving 0 channels out of the required 7 for the microphones). We can't exactly ask the school if they can turn off the WiFi, because they actively use it all the time with cameras and the like.

 

Our Microphones currently run on (mostly) the odd numbered channels (1, 3, 5, 9, 11 and 13, with the last headset on 12), and I have no idea what frequencies the IEM transmitters are running on at the moment because it wasn't me who set them up and I haven't had a chance to look at them.

 

Do you guys have any suggestions as to how we can mitigate these drops? I'm completely stuck here.

Screenshot_20200209_114558.jpg

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First of all, there is no relationship whatsoever between WiFi channel numbers and Line6 channel numbers. There's no point trying to avoid WiFi by choosing corresponding channel numbers.

 

Secondly, you're currently using the mics in RF2 mode - this is a less robust mode that is more prone to interference from WiFi. I'd suggest changing them to RF1 mode which is significantly more reliable.

 

If you still have problems after that, you'll need to look at the positioning of the receivers/antennae in relation to the stage and the positioning of the IEM transmitters/antennae in relation to the L6 receivers. Proper RF signal distribution / combiners are also important - a cluster of antennae near each other is a recipe for trouble.

 

Finally - I'd suggest reading the manual cover to cover - all of this and a huge amount more is covered in detail in there. RF systems are never plug & play - you need a decent understanding of them to get the best out of them.

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Hi Sheriton,

 

Thanks for getting back to me. Thanks for letting me know about the lack of relationship between WiFi and Line6 channels, I didn't know! I'll try and switch them to RF1 next Sunday.

In regards to antenna positioning, we currently have the recievers rackmounted - with the antennas coming out the back, inside our case, very close to each other. We have been looking at getting some Coax extension cables and fixing them to the side so that they're a bit more spaced out, and will probably try to get this set up within the next couple of weeks.

 

Our rackmount case is pretty much on the other side (diagonally) of the hall to where the musicians perform, maybe 10m or so, however I haven't noticed a massive amount of dropouts from over there (although maybe it's because there's instruments and a congregation masking any!). Where I've really been noticing issues is Centre Stage to Stage Left, when people are speaking, probably about 7-8m away from the antennas. I will try to do something with Antenna distribution as, now that you mention it, this probably will not be helping, and I'll read up on the manual a few times tomorrow.

 

Thanks for your help, I'll let you know how it goes.

-Thom

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Do you have the rackmount antennas positioned at least 6 ft high? If there is not a good line-of-sight from receiver to antenna you can get interference. Human bodies are good at blocking these signals. Also make sure there are no wi-fi transmitters (e.g. routers) near the rackmount antennas; at least several feet of separation is required.

 

 

 

 

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The room that we do services in has 3 steppy kind of tiers (maybe a metre wide, only rising by about 60-70cm each time, not like a theatre), our Rack is positioned on the top tier. They're probably about 6-6.5ft above the floor of the stage, and the rack is at the front of the step - it's easier if I just show a diagram, I'm not good with words. (I know it looks like it was drawn by a 3 year old but I used Paint 3D with a mouse so hey)

I've shown the rough height of people on each tier (standing up), as well as a rough sketch of the inside of the case. We are not aware of any routers within about 6m of the rack. 

screenshot.thumb.png.6760fb78bf4fc6b5d2b4989fd956dffd.png

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Is your diagram accurate in terms of the orientation of the antennas? It shows them oriented horizontally, which minimizes the amount of the signal that is actually hitting the antennas. Try orienting them vertically, and at about a 45 degree angle to the sides, so that the antennas are pointing to the ceiling and outwards. That way much more of the signal (a waveform) will actually hit each antenna. 

 

Also, you might want to avoid putting chairs/people on the top tier directly in front of the rack. Try to maintain a line of sight from the stage to the antennas..

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Hi, indeed the antennas are flat. I will try a 45° angle during Setup on Sunday. I will ask whether we can move the chairs on the row in front of the rack down a tier.

 

I've been trying to find instructions on how to switch the Microphones and Receivers from RF2 to RF1, but have been unsuccessful in doing so - I've found instructions for the microphones, it's just the receivers. Any idea whether I can switch them to RF1, and if so, how?

 

Thanks for your help, I'll keep you posted on what happens.

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The receivers automatically detect the mode that the transmitters are using so you're correct - no changes needed there.

 

Please tell me your IEM transmitters aren't as physically close to the L6 receivers as they appear on your diagram? Even if they're on a different frequency band, you still need several feet of separation between any transmitters (antennae) and your mic receivers (antennae) in order to avoid swamping their inputs.

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Unfortunately, they are... I guess we could buy one of those mini flight case racks so that they're in another rack, but the issue is that since we hire a school's Drama Hall for services, we have to pack everything up after every service. I mean, the antennas for the IEM Transmitters are on the Outside of the case, whereas the antennas for the Microphones are on the inside, but that's still too close, isn't it?

 

I'll have a think about what we can do. But the supplier we bought all this from was 'great' about all this - they said we wouldn't have any issues at all, and here we are! I know it's not their fault that we're having issues, but we spent multiple hours with their representatives explaining our situation and they recommended all this gear because 'it won't have any issues'! Ah well, just have to figure it all out now.

 

*Afterthought*: Might be a good idea to note that we haven't actually been using the IEMs much, since we've had this nasty static coming over the top of the output - however, would this be caused by the Mic Receivers being so close? It would explain a lot, I guess.

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