Thanks Karen and Crit - appreciate the kind words.
Do not buy anything that operates in the 600 MHz band above 608MHz - not even if the transmitters can be tuned below 608, if they are capable of transmitter on any frequency between 608 and 820MHz they are illegal to operate. Period!
The decision to own or rent can be complex - if you only use the system for two shows a year it can be both cost effective and flexible to rent (we rent systems that cost from $40 to $100 per channel per week). For instance a 16 channel Shure SLX System with Antenna Distribution and Paddle antennas with mini lav/wig mics rents for as little as $1008 for the first 7 days, then $121 per additional day, including shipping anywhere in the lower 48 states. To buy a system like this will cost between $14,000 and $20,000 depending on configuration, mic selection, racking options, antenna options. The there is the ongoing maintenance, potential for damage and theft when system is not being used. With an average of 7 year life expectancy the cost of ownership (with out the opportunity cost of spending the whole lot up front) is between $2000 and $3,000 per year. So own or rent? Not always an easy choice. More expensive systems usually save you even more when renting, because the overhead costs to a rental company are the same whether we are renting an $800 Shure SLX14 with mic system or a $2,500 ULXD with mic System. Also the market demands that the more expensive the item is the longer a rental company needs to own it to recoup their investment. Market forces at work. Our rates for 2018-2019 are available at
www.bodymics.rentals.
One of our specialty is building pre-commissioned turnkey wireless systems that can be used stand alone or as part of an installed system. Each system is customized as needed and we try to help you make allowances for future growth when possible. Over the last couple of years - especially on the rental sude we have seen a trend of ever larger systems being requested. The growth has averaged about 3 additional channels per school year. So if you need 12 now for 2019-2019 shows, I am betting that in 3 years you will want between 20 and 24 channels. More info is
here: http://www.bodymics.com/systems.htmlThis growth is an important consideration. With Shure SLX and ULX systems for instance it is not recommended to use more than 21 channels (you can in some instances get to 30). And this is in areas where there are few broadcast TV stations to prevent you from operating all 20. In metro areas you can be lucky to get 12 channels to place nicely together and maybe 20 in a pinch). The in a pinch numbers assume that atmospheric conditions don't effectively increase the signal strength of slightly more distance broadcasters such that those extra 8 channels suffer dropouts when these conditions are present. Now professional user would stretched to this if they had any alternative.
That being the case, it is necessary to seriously consider using digital transmission over UHF - do not use 2.4 GHz systems please. The can be messed up by wifi hotspots (including peoples cell phones acting as hotspots) and realistically you cannot get more than 8 to 11 channels to work together even in a perfect environment. Some of the less expensive ones also have huge latency (delay) problems. Use a set of 4 can be a relatively inexpensive way of getting a few more extra channels, just be careful.
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Rod Reilly
Owner, Bodymics
908-899-1277
Middlesex NJ 08846
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-20-2018 10:03
From: Linda Urban
Subject: Wireless Mics
Did you look into renting? We used to own and ran into the FCC frequency issue and decided to rent. Not sure what the cost difference is with what you're looking at buying but for us it is better to rent high end mics.
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Linda Urban
Haverhill MA
Original Message:
Sent: 06-19-2018 12:38
From: Justin Tracy
Subject: Wireless Mics
Hi All!
Our school is looking to update our wireless mics. Any suggestions on a great bang for the buck option that is future proofed regarding frequencies, etc.?
Thanks!
Justin