wireless green room monitors?

[lynnware]

I would like to get an opinion on a product I found.
I am working in a building where the green room and dressing room monitors don't work.
Many people have cut and repurposed the old lines thru the building and there are no labels to help.
My choices are limited. Trying to run lines to these rooms means that I need to drill thru cinderblock.
IF I do that then I would need to get the university involved and open a large can of worms.

Has anyone had luck with UHF signals going thru cinderblock walls?
I need something that can also be about 100' away going thru a cinderblock wall.
If this works then I can just set up a wireless transmitter from the stage.
I found two companies that sell UHF based wireless below.

https://www.allprosound.com/catalog...~item~Alto-Stealth-Wireless.htm#productspecst

http://pro.eoswireless.com/eos-dual-zone-transceiver-receiver-transmitter/

I am not a sound engineer so any help you can give would be appreciated.

 

[Doug Lowthian]

In the venue I work in there is a tenant who has a radio studio. Mostly he does podcasting and streaming these days but he is a tinkerer. He has a few low power FM transmitters. They send an FM signal a couple of hundred yards at best. We set this up with a small mic (a Zoom H2) in front of one of the house speakers on stage. Then we round up boom boxes and clock radios and any room in the building (dressing rooms, green rooms, light booth, alleyway outside) receives on the assigned frequency just like any FM radio would. Some individual actors bring their own radio and headphones even to listen back stage while waiting. I don't ask about legality issues

 

[MNicolai]

Run the wire.

 

[lynnware]

In the venue I work in there is a tenant who has a radio studio. Mostly he does podcasting and streaming these days but he is a tinkerer. He has a few low power FM transmitters. They send an FM signal a couple of hundred yards at best. We set this up with a small mic (a Zoom H2) in front of one of the house speakers on stage. Then we round up boom boxes and clock radios and any room in the building (dressing rooms, green rooms, light booth, alleyway outside) receives on the assigned frequency just like any FM radio would. Some individual actors bring their own radio and headphones even to listen back stage while waiting. I don't ask about legality issues

This might work.
I am looking into the legality of it now.
Since I am on a college campus I may be able to do this.
If I can do this it would be a game changer.

My only concern would be the interference with wireless mic but I assume that those run on a different frequency.

THANK YOU

 

[Doug Lowthian]

We did a show last weekend with 10 wireless mics (headsets and handhelds plus numerous wired), 10 wireless DMX lights (in addition to wired), God knows how many phones and devices on the venues wifi, and 1 little FM transmitter about the size of a pack of cigarettes sitting near an onstage speaker.

Sound was heard loud and clear in 3 green rooms, hallways; signal faded about 150 yards from the stage. i found the advantages of this system are cost (way cheap) simplicity (set up in 2 minutes) and versitility (anyone with an FM radio within range can hear), and it is robust (used it multiple shows for 3 yrs running with no problems).

 

[JohnD]

Here is this from the FCC:
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/lpfm
Then there is also this:
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/low-power-radio-general-information
It looks like some Part 15 uses don't require licensing.
There are some CB members with vast radio experience, hopefully they will check in. @FMEng come to mind as one.

 

[dbaxter]

Once upon a time a company called Ramsey Electronics sold low power FM transmitters for purposes like this. Unfortunately, I think they stopped, but maybe a search would turn up viable sources. We use one at our theater for our hearing impaired support. The transmitter combined with small 'sport radios' from Best Buy works just fine.

Edit: AhHa - https://sourcefmtransmitter.com/sho...AYNU0hC0naP1qFAjdGXK_k1N-ixuKvLhoCJQYQAvD_BwE
We have the FM25B which is within the legal power limit.

 

[themuzicman]

I'd run the wire if you can, pull out a hammerdrill and ask forgiveness later. That being said, low power FM is your friend. You may need to do some experimenting on Transmitter placement, but I run several of these Williams Sound FM Speakers from my FM ALD feed into the lobbies in multiple theaters where cable access is prohibited because of historic plaster work.

 

[FMEng]

A Part 15 FM transmitter is legal. I would think that 100' is within the range, as long as the receiver is decent. The old Ramsey stuff didn't meet FCC rules, which is why they aren't around any longer.

On the other hand, if there are remnants of old wiring there, then there is already a pathway for new cabling that shouldn't require drilling. No need to reinvent the wheel.

 

[KBToys82]

Our 'dressing rooms' are just classrooms that are at least 100-150 feet away from the auditorium, and the main one you have to turn down the hallway. What I've done is set up a feed from the board into my computer, had a Google Hangout open and sent it to the main dressing room with a computer also connected to Google Hangout and then that connected to my Yamaha StagePas, although I'm debating on just connecting my decent pair of computer speakers to the computer for sound. Works pretty decently actually. Going to be looking into putting the stage manager cues into the system this year also.