Wireless Mic in Chapel

We have multiple wireless microphones in our stake center that are standalone units. I would like to have two of them permanently connected to the chapel audio system so that we can just grab a wireless mic when we need an extra microphone, turn it on and be up and running. This would be perfect for baby blessings for example. They would be placed inside the choir closet where the audio system is. This seems like a no brainer to me and I know other buildings have done this but my FM group is saying this is "not part of the Church's sound system design or specifications and therefore are not permitted." Can anyone verify the validity of this statement?

I can verify the first half, and the second half wouldn't surprise me.

From what I've seen of the audio system, there's only 4 inputs. Typically Podium, Sacrament table, and 2 mic jacks. So adding anything is likely to take away from the mic jack(s) which may be needed for things like video playback.

I don't know as I'd like the idea of a wireless receiver on all the time. It can be subject to interference - both incidental and intentional.

mikevandre wrote:We have multiple wireless microphones in our stake center that are standalone units. I would like to have two of them permanently connected to the chapel audio system so that we can just grab a wireless mic when we need an extra microphone, turn it on and be up and running. This would be perfect for baby blessings for example. They would be placed inside the choir closet where the audio system is. This seems like a no brainer to me and I know other buildings have done this but my FM group is saying this is "not part of the Church's sound system design or specifications and therefore are not permitted." Can anyone verify the validity of this statement?

Nobody can really validate what FM says, we must take them at their word. But, there may be warranty related issues and reasons they may not want members to have access to that cabinet. Sometimes asking them to come up with a solution that works in your chapel might work (let them be the ones in charge, give them the option to be successful... that might do it.

A couple of other options come to mind:
Under the Sacrament table
Under the Podium

mikevandre wrote:We have multiple wireless microphones in our stake center that are standalone units.
. . . my FM group is saying this is "not part of the Church's sound system design or specifications and therefore are not permitted." Can anyone verify the validity of this statement?

We have a new stake center. Our FM group says that one lapel mike (wired) is part of the standard equipment and is kept in the Material Center with the other microphones and cords. We have one.

Our FM group also says that one wireless microphone may be placed in the stake center if the stake president requests it because a General Authority has asked for it. We got one this week for our stake conference this weekend.

The base receiver requires power and plugs into the sound system through a regular microphone jack. We will plug it into the pulpit power/microphone panel when its use is needed in the chapel.

As for the "validity" of what we were told by the FM Group, we have no way of knowing, of course. But I hasten to add that our FM Group has been quite cooperative with what seems to be very valid reasons as they have handled our requests, whether granted or denied.

And the audiovisual contractor as our stake center was being built said that a permanent provision for wireless microphone is not a part of the standard building audio equipment.

Which is why both the lapel microphone that is standard (at least for a stake center) and the wireless microphone we now have been given will both plug into a regular microphone jack in the chapel.

so If I were to go about this the "legal" way I wont be able to plug directly into the audio system. What other options do I have? Could I place the receiver inside the podium and use a splitter with the podium mic? Or do the same thing under the sacrament table? Has anyone done something like this and if so what kinda of splitter do you recommend? Obviously a Y cable wont be sufficient. How about about something like this?

I'd look for a way to plug it into another mic input. (Like where you plug in the wired mic.) There are two problems with using a combiner like that. First, I suspect it will reduce the gain (loudness) of the "normal" mic that's plugged into it. Second, both mics are "live" at the same time. (The church uses an automatic mixer. It selectively turns inputs on/off according to what sound they pick up.) So when using a combiner, one mic will be in use and the other will pick up stray sounds.

If you can connect it to it's own mic jack, you avoid that. They're not easy to find, but there are XLR plugs that are right-angle. That helps keep them out of the way. Make a cable with the appropriate plug and run it to where you can stash the receiver. If the jack is needed for something else, it can be unplugged.

mikevandre wrote:What other options do I have? Could I place the receiver inside the podium and use a splitter with the podium mic? Or do the same thing under the sacrament table? Has anyone done something like this and if so what kinda of splitter do you recommend?

I would not do that. The newer sound systems are run by computer, and any time you plug in a microphone to one of the jacks, the computer adjusts the other sound inputs, including the pulpit microphone.

For this same reason, the audiovisual contractor also told us never to use a splitter or Y-cord to connect a microphone(s) to the system.

These systems truly are sensitive. When our building was first completed, we had trouble where white noise started about a third the way through sacrament meeting two weeks in a row. The contractor was out every week trying to solve the problem.

The third week the contractor found that the microphone jack at the sacrament table was not completely plugged in to the socket. That was the cause of the complete disruption of four sacrament meetings those first two weeks.

We were also instructed not to use any microphones other than those provided by the FM Group, because they knew which ones met the Church standard and would not cause the audio computer to blitz with nonstandard equipment.

lajackson wrote:

mikevandre wrote:We were also instructed not to use any microphones other than those provided by the FM Group, because they knew which ones met the Church standard and would not cause the audio computer to blitz with nonstandard equipment.

More to the point, the system is pre-set for the provided mics. Other mics might be "weaker" making it hard to hear, or "hotter" causing feedback. As it is, I can't use the FM provided mic and podium used in our multi-purpose room in our cultural hall - it's too "hot". But the FM provided hand mics work just fine.

Our wards seem to have a menagerie of mics that came from who-remembers-where, and they seem to work. So it's possible. But if you're buying, make sure you have a good return policy.

We have 2 wireless mics in the chapel (1x handheld, 1x lapel), the receivers sit under the sacrament table. There are 2 XLR connectors under there (I suspect that FM wired them in a Y/Splitter setup) and a line level input (for the tape recorder that used to sit down there).
I have one wireless receiver plugged into the 2nd XLR jack and the other plugged into the line level input cable.
Volume levels (on the receiver) are set at very different levels, but once I got them adjusted, it works very well.

Aaron Z