mackerr Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 It is theoretically possible for devices to act as access points, but I can't imagine too many of these. And, of course, it's also spread-spectrum, which should also reduce the chances of interference. A few years ago a major product launch by Apple was disrupted because it relied on WiFi and they had over 500 mobile hotspots in the room brought by the attendees. Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 One thing I've noticed recently is that some people are carrying stand-alone wireless hotspot units. Photographers seem to be keen on them. There were a few carrying them at a recent event and every time one came close to my router it wiped out my signal. We did try retuning to get around the problem but still had difficulties. I'm not sure if these units are more powerful than what you'd get from a normal smartphone, but they certainly seemed more troublesome to us. It was enough to prompt me to go out and buy a 5GHz router which seems a lot clearer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotty Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Take your iPhone. Click "settings". Click "Personal hotspot". Et voila.... Coming home on the train tonight - not at rush hour, so fairly quiet - I could detect half a dozen within the carriage. A different environment though. This is a rural venue with almost no mobile signal (and the hall is pretty much a dead spot). Indeed, the whole catchment area has very poor 2G coverage so I wondered whether locals would actually bother turning tethering on (hence my comment) and I wonder how many personal hotspots would actually activate in the absence of a viable data connection? My iPhone certainly doesn't. I popped across last week during assembly to see if there were any visible when all the staff and kids were in the hall, and there weren't. I'm not sure when the next public event is, but I'll try and get over there with my iPad and spectrum analyser. However, the caretaker tells me that they use the 2.4GHz wifi regularly for laptop presentations at public events and never have any problems. In terms of the mics, there'd be no problem locating the receivers on the stage, within no more than 4m of the performers and well screened from the body of the hall It doesn't seem to be affecting others further up the thread, but it's a worthy caution nevertheless and may be a risk that isn't worth taking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotty Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Just a quick follow-up following our performances a couple of weeks ago. We used 4xUHF mics and 4x2.4GHz mics with the 2.4GHz receivers tucked in the wings. Although some action took place in the body of the hall, all the mics worked flawlessly ... until the 4th and last performance. Just after the interval one of the 2.4GHz mics lost lock and I couldn't get it back again. I had done all sorts of tests with a spectrum analyser and found that the mics (Audio Technica) each used two separate narrow bandwidth frequencies for diversity, and the receivers chose the frequencies to keep clear of any other signals in the band. The signals were also much stronger than anything, including nearby WiFi access points. There was also some frequency agility if we changed an access point'soperating channel. I never did get to the bottom of the lock failure on the last night. The only thing I know is that the mic was taken out of range, and I have noticed that the receivers sometimes have trouble re-acquiring the belt-pack when that happens. There was nothing obvious on the spectrum analyser. Could it be that personal hotspots were making this more difficult? It's possible, although I did continue to have problems once the audience had gone. I'm not sure we'll use them again without getting to the bottom of the problem, which is a shame because they worked fine for the other performances. We do sometimes need more than our 4xUHF mics and are now able to borrow up to 8x2.4GHz mics from another school (since there is no money, this is a useful no-cost option). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.spoons Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 My limited experience of Line6 wireless mics has been dodgy, probably a 50% fail rate. I used our 4 x Line6 mics on an outdoor gig and they succumbed to a scaff pole between the transmitters and receivers. All was fine at the soundcheck but when the crowd turned up we suffered constant dropouts until we relocated the receivers on stage. UHF would have been fine in that situation but I still prefer wires...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Sam - your making an assumption there. I've got 7 Line 6 systems and in three years have never had one dropout - and the only issue is the occasional twit who switches them off, even though that is hard to do. I initially had a dodgy batch of battery tubes - which split, and were replaced. I've had one broken by somebody who jammed the battery tube (a stronger one) onto the mic, then wrenched it off, breaking the non-rotation lugs, ripping out DC and data connctions. I started with 4, and happily buy more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I'm also pleased with my Line6 radios. I now have 6 receivers (V70 & V75) and have never had any problems when set up properly. I sometimes use paddles on larger stages, or where extra height will help. I have had a problem with somebody else's setup, (cutting out when he walked to the far side of the stage and turning so that the transmitter was shielded by his body), though I think it may have been set on low power, and the less robust, but more WiFi friendly, RF2 mode (is that what they call it?), and the arials were together on the back of he receiver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.spoons Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Sam - your making an assumption there. I've got 7 Line 6 systems and in three years have never had one dropout - and the only issue is the occasional twit who switches them off, even though that is hard to do. I initially had a dodgy batch of battery tubes - which split, and were replaced. I've had one broken by somebody who jammed the battery tube (a stronger one) onto the mic, then wrenched it off, breaking the non-rotation lugs, ripping out DC and data connctions. I started with 4, and happily buy more. Fair comment, not an assumption though, simply stating my experience (which I did say was limited). for me it illustrated that they are more susceptible to interruptions to the line of sight between the transmitters and receivers. The boss is also very happy with them (he uses them a lot more than me) particularly since we got directional aerials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Interesting thread.... not used Line 6 or 2.4GHz but did have a theatre group come through our church last year with a bunch of Line 6 lapels. Two glitched badly through the whole performance... kind of put me off them a little, despite the praise from many on Blue Room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Sadly I think their decision to ship them in the wifi-friendly RF2 mode is their downfall. As Mark mentions (and I've experienced for myself), RF2 is pretty much useless, especially in multi channel systems and more complicated setups. I guess for a single mic in a church it might be ok though. In RF1 mode they've proven absolutely rock solid for me. Never had an issue and am now actually choosing to put them on principals over my channel 38 Trantec units. They sound really great (no companding and no gain setup - they just won't clip!). I've had one failed unit, but it was down to a leaked battery (they do appear to be a little prone to this - not sure if it's the tight compartment, or that there's some constant current draw from them). So yes, I'm a fan. If I needed to up my channel count then I'd gladly by another few of them with no second thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.spoons Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Interesting thread.... not used Line 6 or 2.4GHz but did have a theatre group come through our church last year with a bunch of Line 6 lapels. Two glitched badly through the whole performance... kind of put me off them a little, despite the praise from many on Blue Room. Good line of sight is absolutely critical with 2.5GHz, a 2" scaff pole safety rail was enough to give us serious grief on one of our first gigs with the Line6 kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 My experience is from the other side. A mate uses portable wi-fi to network some 485 links where cables don't go. His kit being cheap simply kills any attempt at networking by anyone else. On a shared band you will get failure sometimes, on a radio mic band you should have some protection from other kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I think the consensus here is that if you know what you're doing and use the kit within its limits, it's fine. Just like any other radio mics, it's not plug and play - you do need some knowledge. I used 10 in my last panto (alongside eight G3s) with no problems; I'm actually beginning to think that I prefer the sound of the L6! They do now ship with a big, bright green warning label about RF1 vs RF2 - those that don't RTFM really have no excuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 yep - RF1 is solid, but they do cause interference TO other wifi users, but I can live with that. The only problem I ever had was somebody sitting a wifi hub on the top of the rack, after the soundcheck - but I can't really blame the radios for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.spoons Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 yep - RF1 is solid, but they do cause interference TO other wifi users, but I can live with that. Unless you happen to also be running a 2.4GHz router for mixer control! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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