Paging Don Boomer: Wireless Guitar

[Anderton]

Let's get the disclaimer out of the way: You're part of Line 6, a company that makes wireless gear. OTOH that's exactly why I'm paging you, because I've always found what you say to be straightforward and helpful.

 

I've noticed that Line 6 has six different guitar wireless options...amp top, stompbox, etc. Some have "up to" 12 channels, some 6, some 16...it seems the stompbox format ones have slightly less range, whereas the ones with the rack orientation and antennas go further.

 

I'd love to see a discussion that would help people decide what's most important for their needs. For example, is there a big advantage to having 16 channels or is 6 enough for the G30? Does extra distance relate to line of sight only, or you can go through walls better with one that's rated at a longer distance? What about considerations with interference getting into or out of the unit, like if you park the unit on top of a digitally-oriented amp could there be issues compared to an analog amp? What about if you're using other gear with wireless capabilities, like an iPad on a mic stand that's controlling a synth or whatever?

 

I realize this is probably a topic with infinite permutations and variations, but of all the people I know, it seems you would be the most likely candidate to de-mystify all this stuff. In fact, it might make a very useful article for HC...hmmm...

[dboomer]

Ok ... first the disclaimer. I was a part of the development team for the Line 6 wireless but I am not currently a Line 6 employee.

 

What would you like to know?

 

[Anderton]

Ooops, public faux pas...well, as least now I can't be accused of favoritism!! I've just always thought of you as the "wireless mic expert guy from Line 6." I'll delete the "from Line 6" part. As to what I want to know....

 

1. How important is it to have lots of channels? Is it really common to run into situations where all the channels are jammed so you have to find that one special channel? Or is it a "if you're a singer-songwriter at a bar, yeah, six channels is fine but if you're playing a stadium, you better have 4,000 channels available just in case."

 

2. Does a device that spec extra distance relate to line of sight only, or you can go through walls better with something that's rated at a longer distance?

 

3. Are there interference issues that need to be avoided, like never have a digital wireless next to an iPad or sitting on a digital amp or wireless phone or whatever?

 

4. What is the meaning of life? (I know that doesn't relate to wireless mics, but thought I'd slip that in if you were in an answering mood.)

 

[dboomer]

Well "from" as in past tense I guess.

 

 

 

1. Channel count is only important in regards to how many silmultaneous units you wish to use. Actual possible channels the way other manufactures refer to them doesn't really mean much of anything in Line 6 terms. So more channels in Line 6 terms doesn't bean better anything.

 

 

 

2. Increased range in Line 6 units is a function of the receivers. All Line6 systems transmit at the same power level. It is mostly related to whether the receiver'so antennas are internal or external.

 

 

 

It should be pointed out that unlike most other things in audio where more is better, this is not the case with wireless (any brand) mic systems. Extended range simply means that your receiver will search even further out and eventually it will find interference that it then has to deal with. With analog systems a squelch adjustment is required. But Line 6 systems automatically calculate the distance from receiver to transmitter and automatically make the adjustments for it. Likewise the ability to go through walls is typically a problem. Better to keep start interference outside if you are playing inside.

 

 

 

3. Contrary to popular belief, wi-fi rarely bothers Line 6 systems (operating in RF1 mode). It's really pretty invisible to them. However proximity of any unintended transmitter to the receiver'so antennas is a bad practice (with any wireless, including Line 6). Think of it in the same way you would react listening to the level of common speech but with the person that you are listening to an inch away from your ear. It would feel like they were screaming at you.

 

 

 

So the problem isn't wi-if itself, but rather that you may stick a cell phone or laptop within inches of the receiver'so antennas while your transmitter may be 100' away. That's a basic "near/far" problem and all radios don't like it. The Line 6 units get a bad rap here because unlike other units in which the sound quality is always deteriorating at least a little bit with everything, the Line 6 units don't have any problems until you cross the dropout threshold. They operate at 100% or zero.

 

 

 

You definitely don't want your IEM transmitter in the same rack with your wireless receivers. So you should keep any other transmitters about 6 feet away or use paddle antennas to achieve the same result. Paddles of course work better.

 

 

 

You don't want to put your beltpack in your pocket. It cuts the transmitter's power and detunes the antenna. You shouldn't put G30 receivers on metal pedalboards as the internal antennas are on the bottom of the receiver.

 

 

 

Maintain in line of sight as much as possible.

 

 

 

4. As to the meaning of life, that's why I read this forum. I'm sure it's here somewhere😉

[MikeRivers]

 

1. How important is it to have lots of channels? Is it really common to run into situations where all the channels are jammed so you have to find that one special channel? Or is it a "if you're a singer-songwriter at a bar, yeah, six channels is fine but if you're playing a stadium, you better have 4,000 channels available just in case."

 

It depends on how you're counting channels. If you have a 6 channel receiver, you can use six transmitters with it. It will have six audio outputs. But if "6 channel" refers to the number of frequencies to which you can tune the receiver/transmitter pair, six isn't many. If you're playing in a bar 25 miles out of town, you're likely to find a clear channel or six. If you're playing on the street outside of the Broadway theater district, there's likely to be a couple of hundred wireless systems (each one on its own frequency) within receiving range. The big tours check an FCC data base, but carry an RF spectrum analyzer to see who's really there and where the clear frequencies are. A typical digital wireless system will accommodate a good number of channels.

 

Are there interference issues that need to be avoided, like never have a digital wireless next to an iPad or sitting on a digital amp or wireless phone or whatever?

 

With analog modulation, the official channel frequencies are too close together for you to be able to use adjacent channels for your different wireless sources. The problem is with intermodulation of the RF signals which causes distortion in the audio. Digital modulation is essentially immune to that problem so you can use adjacent channels for your eight background vocalists and your guitar.

 

What is the meaning of life?

 

42, or something like that.

 

 

[dboomer]

With the Line 6 system you don't have to have a clear channel in order to operate.

[Mark L]

 

 

42, or something like that.

 

 

42 is the meaning of life, the universe and everything, Mike

 

Therefore the meaning of life must be 14

 

 

[MikeRivers]

With the Line 6 system you don't have to have a clear channel in order to operate.

 

Really? You can have two wireless systems in the same room, operating on the same

RF channel, and they'll both work? I can see that every transmitter may have a unique identifier that tells the receiver "ignore anything else on this frequency," kind of like an intelligent squelch. But still, RFI is RFI, and there can still be interference up front.

 

 

[dboomer]

Can you? Yes. I have operated two systems on the same channel with only 6' of seperation. Obviously geometry and power ratios are the deciding factor. But if you had stages on both sides of the room and the transmitters stayed on their respective stages it would work just fine. Should you? I wouldn't unless I had no other option.

 

 

 

For each "user channel" In RF1 mode Line 6 systems are sending their data packets across 4 distinct channels and randomly switching the order every 300 nano-seconds. Since the units aren't synchronized to each other, two units on the same channel won't necessarily step on each other. They will some ... but in order to knock the systems off the air you would have to hit 6 packets in a row. Statistically unlikely. This is why wi-fi doesn't bother them. Wi-fi is basically Swiss cheese and full of holes that Line 6 systems just pass through.

 

 

 

So yes, you will certainly hit some packets but the system can error correct ( conceal) for up to 5 consecutive packet hits.

[Anderton]

These are EXACTLY the kind of answers I wanted! Thanks!!

[MikeRivers]

For each "user channel" In RF1 mode Line 6 systems are sending their data packets across 4 distinct channels and randomly switching the order every 300 nano-seconds. Since the units aren't synchronized to each other, two units on the same channel won't necessarily step on each other.

 

That's really cool. I've heard about "spread spectrum" wireless mic systems but never knew how it was replied, or on what. Thanks for the info.