Lectrosonics wireless mics come through in sports field production
Jan 8, 2012 4:20 PM
As any field production professional knows, electronics and liquids simply don’t get along very well. And yet, there are those occasions when the gear simply can’t avoid taking a hit. Such was the case during a post-game interview in August when the Houston Astros stunned the Chicago Cubs by coming behind with a major play in the bottom of the 9th inning. As the team celebrated, the contents of a large beverage cooler were emptied on the player who made the game-winning hit—covering all who happened to be in the immediate vicinity, including the sports announcer and his handheld microphone. With many products, this would have been the end of the story, but for Lectrosonics, it was just the beginning.
Houston-based Jason Martin Audio provides a variety of services to the professional audio community, including equipment rentals and consulting. Over the years, company owner Jason Martin has become a big fan of Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid Wireless technology and has amassed a large inventory of product for his rental business, including Venue receiver systems and SMQV Super Miniature transmitters. As part of this inventory, he routinely provides systems based upon Lectrosonics UCR411a receivers and UT400 transmitters.
Martin stated, “The sound quality is on par with cabled microphones. The company’s Digital Hybrid Wireless technology doesn’t employ companding and, as a result, you simply don’t hear the sonic artifacts that are common to many competing wireless systems. Combined with exceptional range and the ‘tank-like’ build quality, you simply can’t go wrong with this gear.”
For the game described earlier, Martin placed two Lectrosonics UCR411a receivers, twoUT400 handheld transmitters, two T4 IFB transmitters, four R1a IFB receivers, and some ALP650 LPDA (Log Periodic Dipole Array) shark fin antennas with his client. It all worked beautifully, but there was some brief trepidation during the post-game interview.
“During the post-game interview with sports announcer Greg Lucas,” he said, “Bogusevic’s teammates doused him — and the interviewer—with a huge cooler of sports drink. The moment I saw this, I thought, ‘There goes that transmitter.’ Much to my surprise, after wiping himself off, Lucas held the UT400 back up and continued the interview. That mic never so much as hiccupped. The wireless gear kept right on working, and the interview continued. We were all floored. This is a perfect example of why I specify Lectrosonics wireless equipment to my clients.”
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