Wireless Microphone System
Wireless microphone system is a term used to describe a way in which you can transmit your voice through an input device such as a wireless handheld microphone, or headset microphone.This signal then goes to a wireless receiver which will then transmit the audio either to an amplifier or into a recording device, gaming console, computer, karaoke machine, or other device utilizing wireless microphone technology.
There are many applications for a wireless microphone system, for professional musicians, gaming enthusiasts, lecturers, amateur musicians recording at home, and even for spying and gathering information. The United States government and other agencies have famously been using this technology for many years to gain valuable Intel.
The majority of people looking for information on a wireless microphone system are using the technology either for personal or professional use. For the purpose of this article, I think it makes sense to go through the different applications for a wireless microphone system and describe how each system works. The first wireless microphone system we are going to explore is probably the most widely used, and that is for professional musicians playing on stages all over the world.

wireless microphone system
Wireless microphone systems for performing musicians
Component number one – input device
There are basically three major components that make up an entire wireless microphone system. In order for it to be considered a wireless microphone system, it must contain the following three components. The first component is the input device. An input device accepts the audio signal from the voice, instrument, or whatever sound is the focus.
In certain situations the input device does not necessarily need to be a microphone. In the instance of a live rock band, a guitar or bass guitar could actually be considered input devices well. Basically anything that generates sound and needs to be transmitted wirelessly is considered the input device. The input device then sends the signal to the second component of the wireless microphone system which is called a transmitter.
Component number two – transmitter

The transmitter is a very important device in a wireless microphone system. This device actually converts the audio signal into a signal using radio waves. After the conversion of the signal happens, this transmitter then sends the signal wirelessly through an antenna. The antenna may not always be visible, or maybe extremely visible in some cases. Back before the technology was truly evolved these antennas were extremely big and silly looking.
Nowadays the antennas are very small and well concealed in most cases. How strong a signal is transmitted is dictated by the government. Any signal can generally travel from about 90 to 1100 feet, this is of course dependent on the situation in the room, or outdoors. Other radio waves, and whether can actually affect how effectively this transmitter can send the radio signal. Many things can effect the signal of a wireless microphone system.
Wireless Microphone System Components- Looking Deeper
There are two different kinds of transmitters in regards to wireless microphone systems in the context of musicians. One type is commonly called a belt pack transmitter, and also has been called a body pack transmitter. These type of transmitters are typically very small not much bigger than a cassette tape only a little thicker. These transmitters can be clipped on a belt, or concealed on instrument’s strap. For most of the handheld microphone applications, the transmitter is actually concealed in the chassis of the microphone itself is very convenient placement. In every single application, these transmitters need a battery in order to work. Generally your standard 9 V battery is what is necessary.
Component number three – the wireless receiver in the wireless microphone system
the wireless receivers only role is to grab the radio signal that is sent out from the wireless transmitter and transform it back into a usable signal in audio form. Once the receiver has transformed the sound to reusable mic level signal, it is ready for use just as a standard microphone that is plugged in would be. By the time the signal goes from the input device, through the transmitter, and through the receiver circuitry, is exactly the same as a signal put out by the plug-in microphone, except of course this time we are using a wireless microphone system.
Of course there may be some frequency issues, and slight sonic differences, but that is for a different article. There are two different ways that a wireless receiver can be set up. There are single antenna receivers which obviously use only one antenna and only one onboard tuner. These single antenna receivers are great in most applications. Single antenna receivers do have a reputation however, of having interruptions now and again if the person carrying the transmitter goes out of range of the receiver’s antenna. The actual radio waves that the transmitter sends out are somewhat directional in nature just like sound itself.
Wireless Microphone System- A word about diversity
Generally speaking, receivers that are called diversity receivers are much better in most uses. These diversity receivers have dual antennas which are placed away from each other and most times they also have completely separate tuners. Inside the circuitry of this diversity receiver, only one of these signals will be chosen to be output. This is not always true. With some manufacturers the receiver will combine the two signals and output them both. This is really effective because you basically have a 100% improvement in receiving the signal because at any given time one of the antennas is going to be getting a better signal and it will automatically be chosen. The majority of these wireless receivers need to have a standard AC power. There are exceptions but in the case of professional musicians it’s another cord you have to find an outlet for on stage! I know how much everyone loves that!
Wireless microphone system – putting it all together, how it actually works
In order for a wireless microphone system to function properly, the transmitter and receiver need to be set to the same radio channel. In the old days there was a knob on the front of these things that you would have to manually tune in order for this to work correctly. Nowadays a lot of the systems will have simple dip switches or digital readout that makes it much easier. For every performer that’s on the stage utilizing this technology, there must be a unique frequency. It is extremely important to make sure that all performers all have a dedicated frequency. It is a good idea if you’re getting set up with a wireless microphone system with your band that everybody just chooses one frequency and sticks with it. This way when you play shows you don’t have to argue about who uses what frequency it becomes second nature.
When everybody is playing their parts all of their signals are transmitted to their receivers and their receivers are outputting the audio to their amplifiers which then are generally being miked by the house system and piped to the front of house system and monitors. It’s just like the traditional wired set up, except he has the additional freedom to move wherever you want. Having a wireless microphone system for your band is a great way to scale things up and help cut down on the “pain in the ass factor” of so many quarter-inch cables and XLR cables getting tangled having to constantly re-solder.
Wireless microphone system for professional musicians – conclusion
If you’re a performing live band and your singer likes to get crazy and run around all over the place, a wireless microphone system is a must. And if your lead guitar player likes to get flamboyant, jump around and act like a lead guitar player a wireless microphone system is extremely convenient. The only person in the band that really doesn’t benefit from this is the drummer. The drummer can get some use out of it though, using a wireless in ear monitor to hear his vocal cues.
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