SIOUX CITY, IOWA – APRIL 2013:
Fed up with in-ear monitor signal dropouts, popular Christian rock band Bread of Stone’s lead guitarist Bill Kirstijanto set out to find the best IEM remote antenna to end his band’s wireless headaches once and for all. And with a packed schedule for The Promises Tour with Sanctus Real, JJ Heller, and Unspoken, those headaches were starting to feel like migraines.
“On our last tour, I was getting a lot of complaints from the guys about drop-outs on our ears monitors,” said Bill. “We were having trouble getting a consistent signal with our paddle antenna, so that led us to seek out a solution for our IEMs.”
Whenever Bill isn’t on tour with Bread of Stone, he’s at the helm of Sioux City, Iowa-based live production and consulting company BNY Productions. Equally at home configuring wireless systems for clients as he is on tour using IEMs in Bread of Stone, Bill follows a common routine for system setup. “We always perform an RF scan a couple times before setting up, and then walk the stage area to see if there are any dropouts,” explained Bill. “I also try and place the pack beside our belts, instead of on our backs, so that the signal has fewer objects to travel through and ideally has line of sight when the transmit antenna is positioned at the side of the stage. IEM antenna placement is important; side stage versus rear stage can make a big difference and influence where IEM packs should be positioned.”
Bill found time in between shows to transform the BNY shop back in Iowa into a wireless test range, comparing the leading directional antennas on the market to the CP Beam from RF Venue.
“We did a normal field test – where the CP Beam performed very well – and then we did something a little more rigorous. We tuned the IEMs to occupied frequencies, and recording each antenna’s performance from the same spot. This was to test the worst case scenario.” As a result of their extensive shootout, BNY Productions now recommends the CP Beam to its clients, and Bread of Stone relies on it for The Promises Tour.
“Under extreme conditions, using the paddle antenna, we got pretty spotty performance- like we’d experienced on tour. With other helical antennas it was much worse, dropping out for ten seconds or more at time. The CP Beam was hands down the best antenna we tested,” remarked Bill.
The circularly polarized CP Beam is designed for IEM systems as well as long range wireless microphone applications, providing high gain and consistent signal, all in a lightweight foldable design that fits in a 2RU rack drawer. RF Venue CEO Chris Regan commented, “We are encouraged to see live production companies and artist monitor teams adopting the CP Beam for their IEM systems. Last year was really the first full tour season for the CP Beam, and while performance is paramount for any wireless equipment, the portability and lightweight design of the CP Beam has made a big impression on monitor engineers who are used to hauling heavy flight cases.”
“Since we’ve been using the CP Beam no one has said anything about dropouts,” commented Bill. “And in fact we’ve noticed there isn’t as much background noise with the CP beam either, so audio quality in general has improved.”
ABOUT RF VENUE
RF Venue manufactures wireless audio equipment including remote antennas, RF distribution equipment, and cable assemblies. The company’s primary antenna products include the interference mitigating RF Spotlight, the lightweight foldable helical antenna CP Beam, and the polarization diversity antenna dubbed Diversity Fin. For more information visit:
ABOUT BNY PRODUCTIONS
BNY Productions provides turnkey production services for an extensive list of worship, entertainment, and commercial clients in the Midwest. The company specializes in live audio systems, video projection and distribution, as well as staging and production consulting. For more information about BNY Productions, visit:
