Microphone Setup & Help

Every venue has a different RF environment, so scan fresh at each event rather than trusting last week's channel.

• Turn OFF every transmitter before scanning — a powered transmitter shows up as a busy/occupied frequency and skews the scan.
• Run the receiver's auto-scan, then IR-sync each transmitter to its receiver so they match.
• Running multiple systems? Coordinate them together so two mics never land too close on the band. See Frequency Coordination below.

Good gain at the transmitter is the foundation of clean sound.

• Have the talker speak or sing at their loudest expected level while you set transmitter gain.
• Aim for a healthy signal that never lights the red clip/overload LED on peaks. Clipping at the transmitter can't be fixed downstream.
• If a signal is too quiet, raise transmitter gain before reaching for fader/preamp gain at the board — start the chain clean.

Antennas are the most overlooked part of a wireless rig — poor placement can lose most of your signal.

• Keep a clear line of sight between transmitter and receiver antennas whenever possible.
• Keep receiver antennas up and away from metal, large electronics, and LED walls.
• For multi-mic ceremony rigs, use an antenna combiner / distro (e.g. an RF Venue Diversity Fin) instead of many whip antennas crowded together.
• Diversity receivers use two antennas to avoid dropouts — don't remove or cross them.

Dead batteries mid-ceremony are avoidable.

• Start every event on fresh or fully-charged batteries — never run an unknown charge into a ceremony.
• A red low-battery LED typically means under ~60 minutes remaining — swap proactively, not reactively.
• Carry spares on the rig, and keep the transmitter battery door closed/locked so it can't pop during handling.

"Ringing out" sets how much level you can get before the system squeals.

• Bring the mic up slowly until it just starts to ring, then back off slightly — that's your gain-before-feedback ceiling.
• Keep mics behind the plane of the speakers — a mic in front of a main is asking for feedback.
• Notch problem frequencies with EQ on the channel, or let the DriveRack's feedback suppression help (see A/V Systems).
• Coach presenters not to cup the mic head — it kills the polar pattern and invites feedback.

• Check the transmitter isn't muted (local mute switch / lock) — look for the mute LED.
• Confirm the receiver output is actually patched into the right mixer channel and that channel is up and unmuted.
• Verify transmitter gain isn't all the way down.
• Confirm the RX audio LED flickers green/amber when speaking — if not, it's not receiving audio.

• Re-scan for a cleaner frequency — something nearby may be on or near your channel.
• Improve line of sight and raise the receiver antennas above heads and away from metal.
• Check for a low battery, which causes range loss and audible noise on diversity switching.
• Shorten the distance, or add an antenna distro/combiner for long-throw ceremony rigs.

• Make sure your own transmitters are OFF during the scan — they read as occupied channels.
• Move to a different frequency group/band if the venue's primary band is saturated.
• In dense RF venues, coordinate all channels together in Wireless Workbench rather than scanning each unit blind.

• Power the receiver with the handhelds OFF, then run the receiver's scan to find and deploy clean frequencies.
• IR-sync: hold each ULXD2's IR window to the receiver's front panel and sync — the frequency pushes to the mic.
• Set gain per channel on the receiver so the loudest peaks stay out of the red.
• Running lots of channels? Network the receivers over Ethernet and coordinate in Wireless Workbench. High-Density mode opens more channels at short range.

• Power the receiver (transmitters OFF) and run Guided Frequency Setup — it walks you through scan + assignment.
• IR-sync each transmitter to the receiver.
• Pair the Wireless Workbench Mobile app to name devices, spot open channels, and adjust gain from your phone.
• For lavs: seat the lav connector firmly in the bodypack and clip the capsule 6–8" below the chin, cable dressed out of the way.

• Plug XLR straight into a mixer channel — no battery, no frequency, nothing to coordinate.
• It's dynamic, so it doesn't need phantom power (leaving +48V on won't hurt it).
• This is the bulletproof fallback — when an RF environment is hostile, a cabled SM58 always works. Keep one ready at FOH.

• Power the receiver with the handheld OFF, then run the receiver's Clear Scan to find an open frequency.
• Press Sync and hold the transmitter to the receiver's IR window — the frequency transfers to the mic.
• Set transmitter sensitivity and RF power so peaks don't clip.
• Turn on KeyLock so settings can't get bumped during the event.

• Same Clear Scan + IR Sync flow as the RE3 handheld — scan on the receiver, then sync the bodypack.
• Seat the lav plug firmly in the bodypack's input and screw/lock it down.
• Clip the lav ~6–8" below the chin and dress the cable so it can't rub clothing (rustle noise).
• Set sensitivity so a loud talker doesn't clip the bodypack input.

• Power the EK receiver and the SK bodypack. Use auto frequency coordination (on-unit or via the Smart Assist app) to grab a clean channel.
• Sync the bodypack to the receiver from the menu or app.
• Watch Smart Notifications — it flags clipping, low battery, a blocked frequency, or an accidental mute (and lets you un-mute remotely).
• This is the go-to for video/lav work — it magnet-mounts to a camera cage or sits in an audio bag.

• Connect the receiver: attach both antennas, run the output to the mixer (fader down), and power it on with the handheld OFF.
• Run Easy Setup / Scan on the receiver to find an open frequency.
• Press SYNC and hold the SKM's IR window to the receiver's front IR — the blue LED blinks, then a tick confirms the transfer.
• Speak and confirm the AF meter moves, then bring the mixer fader up. Set squelch with the output low first to avoid a loud hiss.