HOUSTON, TEXAS – MARCH 2013: On any given Sunday, the only thing packed tighter than a Houston megachurch’s pews is the radio frequency spectrum surrounding them. Today’s worship services are high-tech and high stakes – with pastors, musicians, and support staff relying on an increasing number of wireless audio devices to ensure each service goes smoothly for thousands of the faithful – and a potential nightmare for sound professionals responsible for delivering crystal-clear wireless audio.

No one knows this better than Wes Matthew, owner of Houston’s Puresound, a large provider of church audio/visual installations, rentals and sales. “Churches are going wireless with everything now,� said Wes. “Wireless nursery pagers, walkies, in-ears, instruments, hearing assistance, parking lot aids, security, and, of course, microphones.�

Even thirty miles outside the city, Wes discovered his RF scans at the church were consistently full. “I could never find an open frequency,� he remembered. “So I ended up just picking the least crowded channel and hoped for the best.�

For his installation, each room had seven lavaliers and a handheld wireless microphone fed to Sennheiser ew 100 G3 receivers with basic whip antennas. “After extensive troubleshooting, no matter what we did, we were still getting signal dropouts and hit with interference,� Wes said. “We dropped the RF Spotlight on the stage, and the mics have been solid. I haven’t gotten a call in the six months since the installation.� Chris Regan of RF Venue commented, “More and more devices are competing for less and less spectrum, so we designed the RF Spotlight to deliver spectrum efficiency to any brand of wireless system. We’re happy to be working with Wes and his clients to enable reliable performance under the toughest RF conditions.�

The RF Spotlight is designed to be placed on the floor or under a stage to optimize reception for nearby wireless microphones or IEMs, but minimize reception of unwanted devices outside of its local field. In churches, hotels and convention centers where multiple wireless systems operate simultaneously, the RF Spotlight enables wireless operators to increase the number of open frequencies available, lower transmitter power for longer battery life, and dramatically improve signal-to-noise ratio at the receiver.

ABOUT RF VENUE RF Venue manufactures wireless audio equipment including remote antennas, RF distribution equipment, and cable assemblies. The company’s primary antenna products include the interference mitigating RF Spotlight, the lightweight foldable helical antenna CP Beam, and the polarization diversity antenna dubbed Diversity Fin. For more information visit: www.RFvenue.com

ABOUT PURESOUND Puresound provides high-quality audio/visual installation, rentals, and sales to the Houston, Texas area and beyond. The company provides turnkey services for an extensive list of worship, theater, and commercial clients. The company specializes in digital audio system design, video projection and distribution, as well as stage theatrical lighting and control trussing. For more information about Puresound, visit: www.puresoundusa.com