After I got back, during a break in rehearsals, I went through that pedal board with a fine-toothed comb – cleaning all the quarter-inch plugs and jacks, and DC connectors – then I put it all back together. From then on, it worked perfectly. I was there to provide RF mics, but I was the only one convinced that the wireless had nothing to do with the problem and thus set about to find a solution.

After that, the stage manager seemed to give me more respect. And I think this is one way that we can all improve our standing when handling wireless mic systems – know your system inside and out and be prepared for anything.

A lot of people still seem to believe that wireless systems are run on voodoo because they don’t understand some of the fundamentals involved. But math and physics are what determine success in the RF world.

A quick side story is that one of the house IATSE guys told me that just a few weeks before, they’d had a show in that same theater and had all kinds of problems with the wireless. When they called the manufacturer for help and described their location (downtown San Diego), they were told, “You guys are basically screwed,” because of the heavy use of the spectrum by TV broadcasts.

I was pretty shocked to hear that, and invited the house guy to listen to some of my channels. Not a blip, hit, dropout, nothing. He asked how this was possible, and I explained that we had done careful frequency coordination and set the antennas up properly.

Another related bit is that the monitor engineer told me that he wasn’t surprised that the wireless mics worked so well, but he wanted to know, “How come the IEM system seems so solid?” His experience had been that wireless IEMs were usually prone to problems.

Again, I explained that we had done a good coordination and thus we would be able to count on these systems to work – end of story.

The Bottom Line
All these issues are inter-related and to me, they point to the fact that we really have to know our craft inside and out. I’ve said it before, and here it is again – we should never stop learning and never think that we know it all.

We can’t assume that what worked before will necessarily work again. And we have to be studying our systems and the underlying technology all the time in order to stay current. As we move more and more into digital consoles and wireless mics and IEMs – there is no excuse not to master these systems.

Things are constantly getting more complex, but at the same time, the possibilities for excellence are ever more available to us. Don’t forget to rely on your quality resources – the good manufacturers are always there to help.

And the basics of physics never change – until scientists and mathematicians tell us they do. Until then, have fun and make some good sound.

And keep making good sound.

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