Sennheiser ew100 antenna advice

[andycat]

Hi all,

 

Newbie here! I work in a school and am "responsible" for the sound system. I'm a Network Manager really though!

 

I have 4 Sennheiser EW100 Radio Mics with an antenna splitter (ASP2?). I have 2 questions. I have already searched the forums, and I think I know the answers but want to be sure!

 

1. I want better antenna. At the moment I have the normal metal stick ones. I think I need 2 x A2003-UHF, connected with 50 (not 75) ohm BNC cables to the splitter. Is this right? Do I need anything else? I presume I can mount them on Mic stand brackets? How far apart do they need to be, and does it matter how long the cable is? What height compared to the stage?

 

2. One of the EW100 Handhelds has an intermittenet LED flashing (not battery dependant!) and audio drop out. Has anyone had this before? I'm presuming it's a loose solder joint and am probably going to send it for repair. Is this right?

 

Thanks for any help! Great forum and obviously some very knowledgeable guys!

[i_hate_fisicks]

Why do you want better Antennae? Are you having problems with the ones you're using now?

[paulears]

The sennheiser receivers are quite sensitive, but if you really want to have remote aerials, then the splitter and remote aerials are the way to go. they'll fit on mic stands fine. The thing really is that the usual working method that gives best results is to site the aerials (either fitted direct to the receiver, or remotely) as close to the transmitters as you can. The theory with diversity switching is perfectly sound, but having the aerials very close does limit the effectiveness - if it is weak enough to be a problem, it's likely it will be weak at both aerials. Line-of-sight is best, so getting the receiver aerials up high is good practice too. for short distances, thinner type feeder is ok (the difference between 50 and 75 ohm is quite small) signal strength isn't usually the problem, so up to about 10m or so is fairly typical, cable wise.

 

This all said - the practical upshot is that all the expense of remote aerials and splitting the rf signal could be wasted money. Often done when the receiver racks are flightcased up and the rear panels are buried inside the rack. Your use will decide if the money is well spent. Maybe an extra one could be bought instead - much more useful?

[andycat]

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

Line of sight is pretty good, and the recievers are in a rack, and at the moment I have the normal stick aerials remote, so the antenna will be a step up.

 

Putting the antenna and recievers close to the transmitters isn't an option unfortunately as it's a school with 1800 students, with the stage being used as a classroom full time as well. Things have to be out of reach!

 

Thanks again!