Hi Nicolas, very thorough explanation and plenty of good informations on antennas. I want to point out 2 things about whip and dipole antennas. At 2:16 you say that whip are omnidirectional. Provided the antenna is vertical (as we all do in a bag or very often to on the tx), then in the horizontal plane the antenna is indeed omni. But they don't emit nor receive from their tips, so in the vertical plane they're like a figure of 8. Tridimensionally, this makes them bagel shaped, or toroidal, as they say, not totally omni. Another thing I find important to beginners is you barely touch on polarization (which I believe you briefly mention in the RF Venue antenna) . Whip antennas (the most used by beginners) emit and receive only polarized signal. So if your transmitter is vertical, your receiver should also really be vertical. It doesn't happen often that you place the transmitter horizontally but sometimes it happens. Also, I'm not sure it's still like that, and if it's everywhere like that, but historically TV signals are horizontally polarized (and TV antennas are in fact always flat), and since we share frequencies with them, keeping our whips vertical will help a little stay away from their interference. But the video is anyway a bomb with plenty of infos. thanks for producing it.
Hey! This is some great knowledge and exactly the type of thing I love to see in my comments. Thank you for taking the time to write and expand on this topic! I didn’t know about the polarization of TV channels. Will pin this comment. Cheers!
This is definitely a topic that doesn’t have a lot of RUclips play. 🔥 🔥 🔥. Looking into systems that could take advantage of non-whip antennas/distribution. Also you right about concepts for audio signals like gain and impedance seem to cross over making this topic not so complicated to understand.
Thank you for the detailed breakdown. I am very grateful for your videos, among other RUclips creators, who are bringing this knowledge with an absorbable and in depth presentation. Having these resources to introduce and clarify these sometimes daunting concepts is immensely helpful to new sound mixers.
Thanks so much for your channel. I found you actually looking up a different topic, but liked that video and saw this one which I really needed. Your channel is filling a really big market gap right now. I'm an aspiring sound mixer, I'm not looking for info "on the field" but how to do things, and basic knowledge, but even with all my research, there is a lot that has to be learned OTJ, and the level of expertise your sharing is helping me tremendously. You got one more subscriber.
You are so welcome! Thanks so much for the affirming comment, that is very kind. Please let me know if there are any specific topics you’d like me to explore on the channel.
wow this was great could you do some example so I could see how it dun and how to set up a com to your bag to talk to your team if there is more than one sound person
Hey ! I usually use Omni's indoor as there is lot of reflexions. And LPDA's outdoors. But my go to is 1 Wisy LFA (LPDA) + 1 Wisy ADFA (Omni) with no added gain but a more narrow filter to the frequencies that i am using. With a BSRF AS122 Distro. It works wonders
PSC just released a new product called the Multi Mini. Looks awesome for smaller setups and is about $200 USD cheaper than the multi SMA. www.gothamsound.com/product/rf-multi-mini-antenna-distro They also dropped a product that is a combination BDS and RF distro that can save some real estate if you’re working out of a bag. Thanks so much for the comment!
This is so cool! I appreciate you making all this information readily available and acknowledging your level of experience while starting a conversation among mixers. I’m curious, do you have a personal dipole antenna preference between the lectro vs the betso ? I’m thinking of getting two for a set up on my ENG bag.
Thanks! My .02 is that the Betsos have the edge over the SNA due to easy deployability. But I still use the SNAs with the Remote Audio Miracle Whip mod for my Comtek transmitters!
Nice! I appreciate your 0.02. Do you know if theres a benefit to raising a dipole antenna 8-10 feet in the air, like you would with an LPDA?@@nicolasfieldsoundservices
Definitely, line of sight is improved a lot by elevating the antennas. Big source of RF absorption are bodies so if you can go overhead above crew members you’ll usually get more reliable signal.
Thanks for the info! Yes I just researched this. In my video I erroneously collapsed all helical antennas into the circularly polarized category, but in fact normal mode helicals have a polar pattern similar to dipole antenna. Appreciate the clarification :)
Hi, I was wondering is it possible to use an Omni antenna attached to antenna A and a directional paddle attached to antenna B on a diversity mic receiver? Will this cause problems?
I’m currently running two of the new Deity butterfly antennas through two RF venue splitters in order to connect them to two of the Theos receivers. I’ve been considering introducing a filter into the mix. Do you think this would be a good idea? Or is it not really needed because the Deity butterflies are passive antennas?
Your Deity antennas are designed to receive all the RF from 470-1 GHz, and the front end filters on your receivers have to filter out the unnecessary bits. If you find yourself often working within a certain area of the spectrum, a filter would theoretically be helpful in reducing the work your receiver filters have to do and this could enhance stability. So in theory it’s a great idea. In practice however you might not need this in your signal chain if you’re happy with the performance you’re getting with the system as it stands. Perhaps you could rent or borrow passive filters and run some tests to see if it’s worth it right now?
I’m curious, at 09:00 you mentioned working with a sound mixer who had a polarization diversity antenna clipped to their bag. Did they have to keep their bag and the antenna pointed at the talent in order for it to work because of the LPDA element of the antenna, or does the dipole element change things in that regard and make pointing the antenna less necessary? Asking because I’m planning to add an antenna system to my bag for boooming/bag set ups, and I’m not sure if I want to go with two bowties or one polarization diversity antenna
Although the diversity fin has a dipole element I still think of it as a directional antenna. When we used it, it was always pointed at talent to help with rejecting the random RF in the urban area we were shooting. It’s a bit of a big antenna to use clipped to a bag if you’re planning to also boom, which is an important consideration. I personally hate feeling too clunky or loaded down when I’m a one person band.
@@nicolasfieldsoundservices very nice insight. I imagine it might also struggle in RF heavy environments because of its shark fin qualities. Whereas, maybe a bowtie or a dipole set up would have less trouble with that?
So like a lot of things in sound dept… it depends. If I had a boom op and was working from a cart, I would reach for LPDAs with filters first. Next choice would be dipoles -up on a mast they will get you incredible range. But honestly just having any antennas up will make a considerable difference. Now, certain antennas are technically superior than others at eking out that last bit of performance, which in some cases can make or break your ability to capture a scene, which is really what this video is about. For what it’s worth, I work out of a bag 90% of the time and just rock whips. I like the simplicity but I also have wireless with great range on whips alone (Wisycom). Keeping things small and light means I can usually just move and get closer to talent. When you work with a sound team and/or need to be stationed further from set it becomes super important to have solutions to make sure you can get the job done. Hope this helps.
Hi there, I am brand new to sound mixing and I’m wondering why antennas are super important for mixing? Are they an integral component of any good sound kit and why?
Hey! Wireless is central to our workflow, so you will be dealing with antennas on a daily basis. Most productions will want every actor/subject wearing a wireless lav mic. When you have a boom op they will use a wireless boom. Additionally, the sound mixer will send a wireless feed to their team, a mix to camera/vtr and another to client listening devices (comteks etc). As you work on more complex projects, the requirements for wireless will get more demanding which is when remote antennas become essential -producers hire us to make things work, no matter the circumstances. However if you’re just starting out, I would keep things simple: get a feel for 1/4 wave whip antennas and introduce remote antennas when it feels necessary. Thanks for the great question!
@@nicolasfieldsoundservices thank you so much for your insight. At the moment I only have G4's and a Zoom F6. I've never used a fully wireless boom mic either so it looks like I still have a lot to learn. It's really difficult to find good tutorials and videos like these so sometimes I feel stuck not knowing where to progress my learning. I appreciate your informative and in-depth approach to everything.
Thanks so much! It’s a complicated job and there’s always more to learn. Let me know if you have any specific topics you’d like me to cover in future videos
Hi Nicolas, very thorough explanation and plenty of good informations on antennas.
I want to point out 2 things about whip and dipole antennas. At 2:16 you say that whip are omnidirectional. Provided the antenna is vertical (as we all do in a bag or very often to on the tx), then in the horizontal plane the antenna is indeed omni. But they don't emit nor receive from their tips, so in the vertical plane they're like a figure of 8. Tridimensionally, this makes them bagel shaped, or toroidal, as they say, not totally omni.
Another thing I find important to beginners is you barely touch on polarization (which I believe you briefly mention in the RF Venue antenna) . Whip antennas (the most used by beginners) emit and receive only polarized signal. So if your transmitter is vertical, your receiver should also really be vertical. It doesn't happen often that you place the transmitter horizontally but sometimes it happens. Also, I'm not sure it's still like that, and if it's everywhere like that, but historically TV signals are horizontally polarized (and TV antennas are in fact always flat), and since we share frequencies with them, keeping our whips vertical will help a little stay away from their interference.
But the video is anyway a bomb with plenty of infos. thanks for producing it.
Hey! This is some great knowledge and exactly the type of thing I love to see in my comments. Thank you for taking the time to write and expand on this topic! I didn’t know about the polarization of TV channels. Will pin this comment. Cheers!
This is definitely a topic that doesn’t have a lot of RUclips play. 🔥 🔥 🔥. Looking into systems that could take advantage of non-whip antennas/distribution. Also you right about concepts for audio signals like gain and impedance seem to cross over making this topic not so complicated to understand.
Thanks for watching Nathan , I appreciate the feedback :)
Thank you, this video is so helpful.
I'm so glad! Thanks for the comment. Cheers!
EXCELLENT video. Thank you!
You are welcome!
Thank you! It’s something I’ve been needing to learn!
You are so welcome!
Really appreciate the depth of your videos!
Thanks so much!! Appreciate the comment.
Thank you very much for this video, you have clear my doubts around antennae!
You are welcome! Thanks for watching :)
Thank you for your time. Your presentation makes total sense to me. I'll be getting a pair of antennas myself!
Thanks for the feedback, hope you have a busy year in sound! Cheers
Thank you for the detailed breakdown. I am very grateful for your videos, among other RUclips creators, who are bringing this knowledge with an absorbable and in depth presentation. Having these resources to introduce and clarify these sometimes daunting concepts is immensely helpful to new sound mixers.
You’re so welcome!! I really appreciate the comment, makes my day :)
Thanks so much for your channel. I found you actually looking up a different topic, but liked that video and saw this one which I really needed. Your channel is filling a really big market gap right now. I'm an aspiring sound mixer, I'm not looking for info "on the field" but how to do things, and basic knowledge, but even with all my research, there is a lot that has to be learned OTJ, and the level of expertise your sharing is helping me tremendously. You got one more subscriber.
You are so welcome! Thanks so much for the affirming comment, that is very kind. Please let me know if there are any specific topics you’d like me to explore on the channel.
great explanation !
Glad you liked it! Thanks 🙏🏼
wow this was great could you do some example so I could see how it dun and how to set up a com to your bag to talk to your team if there is more than one sound person
Hey! For sure, my next video will be about setting up a private line with your sound team. Thanks so much!
Well said man
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed
Great video!Bravo!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thank you! Cheers!
@edgariacolenna6627 By the way, did you write the book Production Sound Mixer: Notes and Thoughts?
If so I read it and loved it!
Yes Nicolas, exactly;-)
Thanks so much, I really appreciate your feedback 🙏
Wow that is so awesome! Thanks so much publishing it, books like yours really are treasured resources!
@nicolasfieldsoundservices thanks so much🙏
Please help spread the word in Canada about the book;-)
Thanks!
You bet! Thanks for watching!
Hey ! I usually use Omni's indoor as there is lot of reflexions. And LPDA's outdoors. But my go to is 1 Wisy LFA (LPDA) + 1 Wisy ADFA (Omni) with no added gain but a more narrow filter to the frequencies that i am using. With a BSRF AS122 Distro. It works wonders
That sounds like an awesome setup! I’m looking to add some active wisy antennas to my setup specifically for the tuneable filters. Cheers
Thx a lot
You're welcome!
Amazing video, thanks for sharing. Is there any cheaper alternative option for "PSC RF multi SMA" in the market? With thanks.
PSC just released a new product called the Multi Mini. Looks awesome for smaller setups and is about $200 USD cheaper than the multi SMA.
www.gothamsound.com/product/rf-multi-mini-antenna-distro
They also dropped a product that is a combination BDS and RF distro that can save some real estate if you’re working out of a bag. Thanks so much for the comment!
This is so cool! I appreciate you making all this information readily available and acknowledging your level of experience while starting a conversation among mixers. I’m curious, do you have a personal dipole antenna preference between the lectro vs the betso ? I’m thinking of getting two for a set up on my ENG bag.
Thanks! My .02 is that the Betsos have the edge over the SNA due to easy deployability. But I still use the SNAs with the Remote Audio Miracle Whip mod for my Comtek transmitters!
Nice! I appreciate your 0.02. Do you know if theres a benefit to raising a dipole antenna 8-10 feet in the air, like you would with an LPDA?@@nicolasfieldsoundservices
Definitely, line of sight is improved a lot by elevating the antennas. Big source of RF absorption are bodies so if you can go overhead above crew members you’ll usually get more reliable signal.
@@nicolasfieldsoundservices you rock! Thank you
Nice video Nicolas. Beware of axial vs normal mode helicals. Normal mode helicals do not exhibit circular polarization. They are essentially linear.
Thanks for the info! Yes I just researched this. In my video I erroneously collapsed all helical antennas into the circularly polarized category, but in fact normal mode helicals have a polar pattern similar to dipole antenna. Appreciate the clarification :)
Hi, I was wondering is it possible to use an Omni antenna attached to antenna A and a directional paddle attached to antenna B on a diversity mic receiver? Will this cause problems?
Sure you can do that
I’m currently running two of the new Deity butterfly antennas through two RF venue splitters in order to connect them to two of the Theos receivers. I’ve been considering introducing a filter into the mix. Do you think this would be a good idea? Or is it not really needed because the Deity butterflies are passive antennas?
Your Deity antennas are designed to receive all the RF from 470-1 GHz, and the front end filters on your receivers have to filter out the unnecessary bits. If you find yourself often working within a certain area of the spectrum, a filter would theoretically be helpful in reducing the work your receiver filters have to do and this could enhance stability. So in theory it’s a great idea. In practice however you might not need this in your signal chain if you’re happy with the performance you’re getting with the system as it stands. Perhaps you could rent or borrow passive filters and run some tests to see if it’s worth it right now?
@@nicolasfieldsoundservices Very thorough and thoughtful answer. Thanks!
I’m curious, at 09:00 you mentioned working with a sound mixer who had a polarization diversity antenna clipped to their bag. Did they have to keep their bag and the antenna pointed at the talent in order for it to work because of the LPDA element of the antenna, or does the dipole element change things in that regard and make pointing the antenna less necessary? Asking because I’m planning to add an antenna system to my bag for boooming/bag set ups, and I’m not sure if I want to go with two bowties or one polarization diversity antenna
Although the diversity fin has a dipole element I still think of it as a directional antenna. When we used it, it was always pointed at talent to help with rejecting the random RF in the urban area we were shooting. It’s a bit of a big antenna to use clipped to a bag if you’re planning to also boom, which is an important consideration. I personally hate feeling too clunky or loaded down when I’m a one person band.
@@nicolasfieldsoundservices very nice insight. I imagine it might also struggle in RF heavy environments because of its shark fin qualities. Whereas, maybe a bowtie or a dipole set up would have less trouble with that?
So like a lot of things in sound dept… it depends. If I had a boom op and was working from a cart, I would reach for LPDAs with filters first. Next choice would be dipoles -up on a mast they will get you incredible range. But honestly just having any antennas up will make a considerable difference. Now, certain antennas are technically superior than others at eking out that last bit of performance, which in some cases can make or break your ability to capture a scene, which is really what this video is about. For what it’s worth, I work out of a bag 90% of the time and just rock whips. I like the simplicity but I also have wireless with great range on whips alone (Wisycom). Keeping things small and light means I can usually just move and get closer to talent. When you work with a sound team and/or need to be stationed further from set it becomes super important to have solutions to make sure you can get the job done. Hope this helps.
Hi there, I am brand new to sound mixing and I’m wondering why antennas are super important for mixing? Are they an integral component of any good sound kit and why?
Hey! Wireless is central to our workflow, so you will be dealing with antennas on a daily basis. Most productions will want every actor/subject wearing a wireless lav mic. When you have a boom op they will use a wireless boom. Additionally, the sound mixer will send a wireless feed to their team, a mix to camera/vtr and another to client listening devices (comteks etc). As you work on more complex projects, the requirements for wireless will get more demanding which is when remote antennas become essential -producers hire us to make things work, no matter the circumstances. However if you’re just starting out, I would keep things simple: get a feel for 1/4 wave whip antennas and introduce remote antennas when it feels necessary. Thanks for the great question!
@@nicolasfieldsoundservices thank you so much for your insight. At the moment I only have G4's and a Zoom F6. I've never used a fully wireless boom mic either so it looks like I still have a lot to learn. It's really difficult to find good tutorials and videos like these so sometimes I feel stuck not knowing where to progress my learning. I appreciate your informative and in-depth approach to everything.
Thanks so much! It’s a complicated job and there’s always more to learn. Let me know if you have any specific topics you’d like me to cover in future videos