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Antenna combiner question


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I've got about 10 atw2000 series wireless units and I've had them for 6-8 years mostly. I've got 9 handheld and 4 unipack with the cheap 830 something lav or the 1/4 cable which I use for bass all the time. The lav mics have been used maybe 5 times. Blah, handhelds get used a lot. At this point I've got 5 handheld in great shape, all the body packs seem to work great. 4 handhelds seem like they lock with the receivers but as they transmit louder audio the RF meter drops in the receiver and it drops out intermittently. The problem seems to follow the receivers not the mics. I'd like to put the remaining 4 in a rack together, would it be worth it to get an antenna combiner? Maybe a paddle? These aren't cheap and the wireless are getting old daily. I've got my $ out of them for sure but I'm not in a position to buy 4 more units. P

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Combiners are nice but won't help with drop outs necessarily, only get paddles if you want the directionality they offer. Most manufacturers offer boosters that use quarter wave antennas that are omni.

 

I don't agree. Paddles improved my reception, and were omni directional. Mine did not have boosters. Too many of the stick antennas in the back of the rack caused interference. In my case (before I learned about wireless gear) I had one rack with 6 wireless receivers and 5 IEM transmitters, all with their own antenna inside the rack. Once you get to where your one rack has a dozen or more antennas, you will start seeing issues. I bought one antenna combiner, and one splitter. I used paddles, and most issues was fixed. Good coax, good paddles, and good units ​(combiner or splitter) make noticeable improvement in the reception. Antenna density/proximity is an issue. It may not be the OP's issue, but it is an issue.

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The working 4pk has no issues and there is only the stock antenna. All this in a 6 sp grundorf rack. Each of the other 4 (besides my bass rig ones) has drop out issues even when used without a case and line of sight is 30ft away. I guess I need to see if the body pack mics do the same as handheld with these 4.

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Combiner makes it easier to maintain proper 90 degree orientation of antennas (hard to achieve with 8 whip antennas in a compact rack. And the proper antenna orientation is necessary to avoid polarity issues. Combiner allows the option to relocate the antennas for best possible line of site. You also get the added benefit of getting the antennas more wavelengths apart. If you put a pair of antennas in a 19" rack you will end up just short of one wavelength at 600 MHz. Generally speaking optimum distance apart is 6 wavelengths

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With the mics off you can see if there's any rf interference, since they've been set aside I'll always check for an open frequency. In my area of Seattle there's about 2 or 3 channels that aren't good but the other 7 or 8 do just fine. Andy, what else would induce RF? There aren't other mics being used in most circumstances

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There's lots of opportunities for analog wireless to have problems. As Andy pointed out Intermodal is a biggie. You can get interference from lighting, motors and HVAC systems. If you operate in hotels you can have problems from security systems. And the fact that your units are 6 years old they can have problems caused by drift and need to be tuned up. Your squelch and pilot tones can also need adjustment as well as the commander system.

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Running wireless in the TV UHF band is getting more difficult every day. Your units don't have particularly tight front ends so they can filter out as much junk as more expensive units can. So is it worth getting them tuned? That's up to you. Are they in the 600 MHz band? That would be part of my decision as well. Radio problems are usually the culmination of lots of little problems. And because it's getting harder and harder for single channel units to find clear space that kind of radio is getting les and less reliable. Your geolocation is also getting more and more a factor.

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Antenna distribution is partly about convenience, partly about reducing problems when you have multiple receivers. Having a stack of individual receivers with all their own whip antennas is not a good situation; often you can get away with it but you will definitely be taking a chance that way. If you want all your receivers in a nice convenient rack then you really should invest in the antenna distribution. Otherwise you'll likely run into unpredictable problems, especially if you're in a city or other dense RF environment.

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