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How To Set Up A Wireless Microphone System? [Step by Step Guide]

How To Set Up A Wireless Microphone System

“How do I set up a wireless microphone system?” This is one of the most common questions we receive from people looking to set up their own audio equipment. With any luck, this blog post will answer some of your questions about how to get started and what you need for a basic wireless mic system.

In this blog post, I have shared step by step guide on how to set up a wireless microphone system. I have also shared some additional information in order to know more about it.

How To Set Up A Wireless Microphone System?

1. Plug the power supply into the receiver. Then plug it into the wall. 

2. Connect one end of your XLR cable to your receiver and then the other end to your microphone for the room or on a PA system (if using a lavalier, you will need to connect the mic with the transmitter). 

3. Press and hold down the Mute button on the microphone until the light turns green. You should see that light turn green on your receiver too! 

4. Adjust volume for input in-room or on PA system

Here’s the video tutorial that you can follow in order to get a better understanding of how to set up a wireless microphone system.

What Do You Need for a Wireless Microphone System?

You will need the following things to set up a wireless microphone system.

1. The transmitter and receiver

2. A mixer or pre-amp

3. An antenna and RF cable for your receiver if you plan on placing it in another room or how far away from the transmitter you need it to be.

4. XLR cables, headphones if needed, wireless mic stands if needed, and an amp if using as part of a PA system (not necessary though). Some transmitters can also act as AB amplifiers when connected to large speaker cabinets by plugging into the LINE OUT L/MONO or R jacks with a standard guitar cable! See your transmitter’s user manual for details.

For this how to set up a wireless microphone system guide, you will need:

– one transmitter and one receiver. I recommend the Shure ULXD4/H4   (much stronger than the older UHF series) or the AKG WMS470R. If you are planning on building a large PA system with 4 wireless mics plus instruments, then purchase two of each as your first kit.

A mixer or pre-amp (if not using DAW program/software). A single channel mixer can be used for personal monitoring but check if it has enough outputs so that all inputs sound good! I would also recommend getting an 8 output channel mixer from Behringer like the XENYX 802. It will save you money and give you extra options for how to layout a PA system.

Wireless Microphone System
Wireless Microphone

How Do You Set up Wireless Microphone Frequencies?

There are two things to consider when setting up wireless frequencies, which are how many simultaneous channels you need and how far apart the microphones will be from each other. For example, if the stage is large and needs 4 mics for vocalists at opposite ends of the stage then it might be best to have them all set to the same channel/frequency.

If the stage is small then you can have each microphone on its own channel but they still need to be within range of each other so that there are no dropouts or interference.

What Frequency Should I Use?

Most radio mics operate in either VHF (very high frequency) 170MHz-270MHz or UHF (ultra-high frequency) 470MHz-608MHz.

How Do You Connect a Wireless Microphone to a Computer?

There are two main ways that you can do this. The first way is to directly connect the receiver to a USB port on your computer, usually, it’s best to use a dedicated USB port and not one of the ones for your keyboard/mouse, etc.

The second way is via an audio interface such as a mixer that has digital inputs.

The exact method for how to connect will depend on how many channels your wireless mic system has and how many computer input ports you have available.

How Do Wireless Microphones Work?

Microphones allow human voices to be heard without the vibration of air produced by human vocal cords. In order for a particular sound ( like a speech) to reach its intended listener, it must be transmitted over some medium, like liquid or air. For example, when somebody speaks in person, the sounds produced will travel through the air and others nearby can hear that person speak. 

However, in the case of a talking-on-wireless phone system, such communication is conducted based on electromagnetic waves such as microwaves which involve the transfer of energy using magnetism instead of just with vibrations through space as happens with traditional wireless microphones. 

Given this way, someone who wants to speak needs only to put voice into the transmitter at one end, and the receiver at the other end will take that voice and convert it to sound.

Wireless microphones operate on frequencies that fall into two categories, high-band VHF (Very High Frequency) or UHF (Ultra High Frequency). Each one has its own advantages; for example, most FM radio stations use high-band VHF. These have a bigger range than UHF due to their higher frequencies which travel farther before they become obstacles like buildings, trees, and more.

Parts of a wireless microphone system

Transmitters

The transmitter is the one that records whatever you are saying or singing into it before sending that information to the receiver. Once received, it then converts your voice into a sound that can be heard by whoever is listening through the receiver.

Receivers

Receivers are the receivers of a wireless microphone system. They take all the incoming transmissions and translate that information into voice and sound, so those listening can hear it loud and clear.

Batteries

Batteries in wireless microphones system are used to power the transmitter and receiver. They are usually rechargeable batteries since they can be used over and over again.

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you understand how to set up a wireless microphone system and know more information about it. If you’re still feeling uncertain about the process, or would like more information on any of these topics, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Follow the above-given method and also watch the video to understand the setup. If you want to know the guide to anything else, do let me know in the comments below. Until then check out some of my other best guides:
What Is an Audio Interface? [Detailed Guide]
What is a Condenser Microphone?
Easy Hacks To Improve Microphone Sound Quality
What Does A Pop Filter Do?
How To Stop Microphone From Picking Up Keyboard Noise