Three Essential Concepts

in Wireless Audio
Concept One:
Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Signal-to-noise ratio is the ratio of the amplitude of the signal of interest to the amplitude of the surrounding
noise floor or competing signals. The noise floor is the average level of the many signals in a given location
that creates a “floor” of RF energy. The distance (however you want to measure it, dBm, mW, etc.) between
the noise floor and the amplitude of the useful signal is the signal-to-noise ratio. Writing out an actual
ratio is seldom useful to A/V pros in the field. What’s important is taking every opportunity to make sure the
difference between your signal and the signals and noise around you is as large as possible.

dB/

LgAv

1V P
2S P
3S P
4S P
FC

A spectrum scan taken here in our laboratory that demonstrates a strong signal-to-noise ratio.

On any given frequency, wireless microphones and other FM radios will always receive the strongest radio
wave— even if that happens to be noise, or even another signal, you don’t want. RF engineers refer to this
as the “capture effect”, and it’s crucial to understanding why maintaining a good signal-to-noise ratio is so
important.

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Three Essential Concepts in Wireless Audio Concept One: Signal-to-Noise Ratio

When two signals on the same frequency are processed through a frequency modulated (FM) receiver, only
the stronger in amplitude of the two signals is heard. You can hear the capture effect whenever you listen to
FM broadcast radio stations on a long car ride. A station begins to lose reception not gradually, but often all
at once. The receiver will suddenly switch from one station’s music to another’s, or two stations will rapidly
switch back and forth. This is in contrast to amplitude modulated (AM) receivers, which mix signals on top
of one another, resulting in two signals being audible at the same time.

An illustration of the capture effect. Signal A would be received and signal B would be completely suppressed, even though they are
on the same frequency.

The capture effect occurs with very low ratios between a signal of interest and a competing FM signal. This
ratio depends on the receiver type and quality, but we have heard a separation of 3-4 dB is needed between
two signals for the receiver to “lock on” to one instead of the other. Sometimes manufacturers will publish
a “capture ratio” specification in addition to a sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio spec. 

The receiver will hold on to one signal with some firmness once it grabs on, prioritizing the signal that has
been captured against all others. In areas rich with competing FM signals, an FM receiver’s performance is
either pass or fail, rather than stronger or weaker, because the signal of interest will either be heard or lost
as the receiver locks on to one signal, or suddenly disengages and locks onto another as the ratio between
signal amplitudes changes. A difference of just a few dB—that is, just a slightly better signal-to-noise
ratio—can be the difference between reception or interference.

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Three Essential Concepts in Wireless Audio Concept One: Signal-to-Noise Ratio

There are three major ways to improve signal-to-noise ratio.

1. Shorten distance between transmitter and receiver.

The most effective technique for improving reception is simply moving the receiver closer to the transmitter.

The FCC limits the transmitter power on microphones to no more than 50 mW, so there is no way to
increase transmission power (power is not the same thing as gain, as described in concept two). You
can solve a huge percentage of every wireless problem caused by interfering signals by closing the gap
between receiver and transmitter. Theoretically, you can eliminate all of them. Just how close you need
to get for a complete elimination of interfering signals depends on the strength of radio congestion in
the area, among a few other factors.

Distance is a more powerful tool than intuition suggests. That’s because, as radio waves travel outward
from their source—a transmitter—they lose intensity, and fast. The intensity of radio waves over distance
obeys the inverse-square law, which states that intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the
distance from a source. 

Tx power: 50 mW
Distant TV station #1: –57 dBm Tx Antenna Gain: 3 dB
Distant TV station #2: –86 dBm Rx Antenna Gain: 3 dB
Local TVBD device: –26 dBm

-24 dBm 25 ft
(.004 mW)

-30 dBm 50 ft
(.001 mW)

-36 dBm 100 ft

(<.001 mW)

A visualization of the power received by a receiver from a 50 mW signal, at three different distances. There are three hypothetical
signals that could interfere with a microphone. The power at the receiver needs to be higher than the most powerful interfering signal,
which in this imagined scenario is -26 dBm.

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Three Essential Concepts in Wireless Audio Concept One: Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Think of it this way:  double the distance, and you get four times less power.  This works the other way
around, too, and is crucial to the point we’re trying to get across here: halve distance, and received power is
increased four times over. So, while you can’t always have the freedom to move a receiver as close as you
want, shortening the distance by just a few inches can counterintuitively produce dramatically better signal,
because of the inverse-square relationship and the capture effect.

2. Use a higher gain antenna

Antenna gain is discussed at length in the next section. In brief, when used as a receiving antenna, a high
gain antenna can increase the apparent strength of a signal by focusing the RF energy in a given area,
thereby increasing the strength of your signal in relation to others in the area from the point of view of
the receiver. When used as a transmitting antenna, high gain antennas can project a narrower and more
intense beam of RF energy, with similar effect.

3. Block or reduce noise and competing signals.

Most of you are doing this already: buildings attenuate (weaken) signals and noise from outside. By operating
a wireless microphone inside a physical structure (especially metal ones) you are keeping a significant
amount of the ambient radio noise from intruding into your venue, which improves signal-to-noise ratio at
the receiver.

There are also ways to limit a receiver’s field of view by using a near field antenna. And, yes, signal jamming
techniques are possible, but they are not legal, even—especially—for blocking cell phones from going off
during a sermon.
Concept Two:
Antenna Gain

Antenna gain defined

Antenna gain is a mathematical description of the way a given antenna focuses or projects electromagnetic
energy into physical space. Gain is sometimes informally referred to as the “coverage pattern.” Each antenna
might be thought of as having a unique, virtual shape that extends out to various degrees in all directions.
An antenna with low gain picks up (if it is the receiving antenna) or pushes out (if it is the transmitting
antenna) radio waves with roughly the same sensitivity in all directions. An antenna with high gain picks up
or pushes out RF with high sensitivity in one direction, and low sensitivity in others.

Reading a polar plot

Many sound pros are familiar with polar plots from microphone spec sheets. These charts demonstrate a
microphone’s response to the same sound coming from different directions. An antenna can be measured
in exactly the same way, but instead of sound wave amplitude, the graph represents the antenna’s response
to the same amount and frequency of RF radiation coming from different directions.

0 0
0 0
–3 –3
–6 –6
–9 –9
– 12 – 12
– 15 – 15
– 18 – 18
– 21 – 21
270 – 24 90 270 – 24 90

180 180

Polar plots for our low gain RF Spotlight antenna, left, and high gain CP Beam antenna, right.

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Three Essential Concepts in Wireless Audio Concept Two: Antenna Gain

When we gather data for a receiving antenna’s polar plot at our laboratory, we fasten the antenna to a
turntable that has 360 degrees of rotation marked on it. We place a constant source of radio energy at one
point in front of the antenna, and rotate the turntable by one degree, 360 times, recording the amount of
RF energy the antenna picks up at each point. Then, we simply scale and draw a shape based on our data
points, each point of the outline representing the antenna’s response at a given rotational point on the
turntable. That gives us the visual polar plot of the coverage pattern. These data can then be calculated into
a single number, which represents the coverage pattern, or gain.

Antenna gain is not the same as audio gain

The conventional unit of measurement for antenna gain is the decibel. The higher the decibel count, the
more focused and narrow the beam of coverage. An antenna with a gain of 0 dB represents an antenna
that picks up RF energy to the same degree in all directions. An antenna with a gain of 9 dB represents an
antenna that picks up RF energy more in one direction, and lower in other directions.

Decibels in the context of antennas are not the same thing as decibels in the context of electrical amplification
and sound wave loudness. Most audio equipment uses the term gain to represent an amplitude change
applied to a signal or the deviation from maximum amplification power. Don’t confuse these two meanings
of the same unit of measure.

Antenna gain is not the same as RF transmission power

The formal definition of antenna gain is antenna efficiency plus directivity. This is very different from antenna
transmission power, which is measured in watts and refers to the input power level limit of the transmitting
antenna. Many people incorrectly use the words RF power and gain interchangeably. They are two distinct
concepts.

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Three Essential Concepts in Wireless Audio Concept Two: Antenna Gain

Distance from TX (meters)

0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10
10

0
Received Power (dBm)

-5

- 10

- 15

- 20

- 25

- 30

RX gain 2.15 RX gain 9

Antenna gain increases received power. Represented is a theoretical scenario where the RF power at a receiver is measured at 20
points between .5 and 10 meters, with both a 2.15 dB dipole antenna, and our 9 dB CP Beam. The black line is the dipole, and the pink
line above it is the CP Beam.

Antenna gain does produce amplification, in that it focuses the actual strength of an incoming signal, but
increasing antenna gain does not mean you are increasing the actual power of the original signal. RF power
is controlled by the transmitting device. Unless you have a Part 74 license from the FCC, your transmitter is
limited to 50 mW of power, so there is no meaningful way to make a signal “more powerful” beyond 50 mW.

There are a number of pre-amplified antennas on the market which are marketed as “active” antennas.
These devices do not increase antenna gain, and they do not increase transmission power. They boost
the electrical signal on a long, lossy feedline. If you have a weak signal and a low noise floor, some pre-
amplification can be useful. If there is a high noise floor, which is more common, then preamplifiers also
amplify the noise. This can produce an overload condition at the receiver in certain instances. Preamplifiers,
if used incorrectly can introduce unwanted noise into the system, overload the front end of the receiver,
and increase intermodulation products. We typically do not recommend powered antennas for general use
because managing gain structure is required to avoid unwanted side effects.

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Concept Three:
Wave and Antenna Polarization

A radio wave is composed of one electric and one magnetic field that oscillate in a repeating pattern.
Polarization describes the way the electric field of the radio wave is oriented. In some cases, especially in
waves that are generated by a natural source, the fields vibrate in multiple random orientations, and are
said to be unpolarized. But when waves are generated from or passed through an intentionally polarizing
device, like an antenna, they are said to be “polarized.” 

Polarized waves have a fixed, constant orientation and create a path that is shaped like a flat plane as
it travels through space, and have what we refer to as linear polarization. There can also be circular
polarization, which, unlike in linearly polarized radio waves, the electric field also spins along an axis.

Linear polarization

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Three Essential Concepts in Wireless Audio Concept Three: Wave and Antenna Polarization

Circular polarization

Antenna type determines the polarization of the wave leaving the transmitter. The more common antenna
types are linearly polarized, like dipoles, whips and LPDAs. But you won’t hear the term linear polarization
thrown around at an equipment store. Instead, we get some antenna terms from the linearly polarized types:
when the linear plane is perpendicular to the ground, it is said to be vertically polarized. When that plane
is parallel with the ground, it is horizontally polarized. In general, it’s better to keep the orientations of the
two antennas matched. Reception is best when the receiving antenna is not in a position that prevents the
polarization from being too far off from the transmitting antenna.

Helical antennas are the most frequently seen circularly polarized antennas in the pro sound world. They
produce a circularly polarized beam with high gain by using a carefully modeled spiral construction that
produces either right handed (clockwise spin), or left handed (counter clockwise) polarization to the signal.

Even though polarization is initiated predominately by the transmitting antenna, radio wave polarization can
change dramatically when reflecting off objects in the environment, such as walls and floors. The result is
uncertainty about which orientation a particular radio wave will be when it reaches the receiver antenna,
and there is always a chance that a condition called “crossed polarization” will occur. Crossed polarization
nulls can be avoid by using a cross polarized antenna.
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Ashland, MA 01721 Twitter: @rfvenue