SVG Sit-Down: Dale Pro Audio's Joel Guilbert on the Company's New RF Solutions Group The effort aims to help wireless clients adjust to ongoing spectrum turmoil By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, November 7, 2019 - 9:34 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The RF universe was upended three years ago with the auction of the 600 MHz spectrum, as the FCC dug deeper into the ether to accommodate the rapidly expanding wireless-device landscape and after an earlier, government-mandated frequency reallocation had vacated much of the 700 MHz range in 2008. The pro-audio business saw the wireless-systems-manufacturing community respond quickly, adjusting existing and creating new wireless products in spectrum on either side of the now-vacated 600 MHz range, an effort supported by nearly constant give-and-take with the FCC and other regulatory agencies, as well as with end users, including sports broadcasters.
But that might have been the easy part.
The next challenge was managing the remaining constrained spectrum, and the complexity of that, compounded by a lack of government-mandated tools promised but never delivered, has made for few takers. Dale Pro Audio, which has been guiding RF customers throughout this spectral anxiety, has now taken that mission one long step further with the establishment, in September, of its RF Solutions Group, a nationwide team of RF specialists to address wireless challenges, including wireless microphones, intercom systems, video, telemetry, IFB, and large-scale RF distribution projects. Dale Pro Audio Technology Development Manager Joel Guilbert sat down with SVG to discuss what it all entails.
Dale Pro Audio's Joel Guilbert: Proper RF coordination is becoming a must; there is no more just turning on your transmitters and receivers.
Two major trends have affected wireless-audio operations: the loss of the 600 MHz range and the rise of live events since the 2008-09 recession. How have these dynamics impacted the RF environment, particularly for broadcasters?
It has made a large impact: the [increasing number] of wireless [devices] - not just mics but IFB and intercom, cameras - are all being squeezed into a shrinking area. Luckily, technology changes, like digital transmission, are allowing more spectrally efficient transmitters; people are taking advantage of more unused spectrum like the VHF realm.
Sports on television increasingly use RF microphones on athletes. How much more complex is RF in the era of miked up?
Proper RF coordination is becoming a must. Now you need to do a spectrum analysis when you roll up to a venue; there is no more just turning on your transmitters and receivers and expecting them to function.
Dale Pro boasts a nationwide team of RF specialists. Who are they, how are you coordinating them, and what are the challenges of trying to do what is often a hyperlocal activity on a national scale?
Dale Pro has a big advantage, having been in the pro-audio business for over 60 years: we know a lot of incredibly talented people. We partner with a number of RF-systems companies with offices in the busiest cities, as well as a pool of freelancers. We coordinate from our offices in Jamaica [Queens, NY] and keep in constant communication with the engineers and project stakeholders. It can be daunting, but, when we are involving geniuses like Tristian Bickerton, who has multiple Olympics and royal weddings under [his] belt, they make it look easy!
How is the service being offered? Is it on a project-by-project basis, or will you have clients under retainer?
We have a rate sheet for typical services, but a lot of the work is larger projects, where we will act as the master RF coordinator and planner. No two jobs are alike. We're involved in things from RF scans and coordination for local affiliates, to replace their older, dying 600 MHz gear, all the way up to some huge projects you will be hearing about in the next few years.
The tools to manage spectrum provided by regulatory agencies are proving to be inadequate. For instance, Sennheiser, in comments to the FCC in July, stated, There was no way to register for interference protection from [White Space devices] or for wireless microphone operators to check for local channel availability. Nor can the FCC TV Query Database fill that role. Prior to the commencement of the 600 MHz transition, this database was updated daily by the commission. Today, however, it is woefully out of date because none of the repacked TV stations are reflected. How much of a problem is this, and what are some solutions?
This is, of course, an issue, as we have 1,200 TV stations moving into our already congested environment. Having worked with wireless since the beginning, we are advocating non-UHF solutions where applicable. A quick example was a local NY station starting to realize that their 600 MHz gear was, as we've been preaching about for years, [experiencing considerable interference]. We were able to migrate the intercoms and IFB into the 900 MHz area. Our guys did a scan, and even VHF was congested, but 900 MHz was nice and open.
Are you working with any particular microphone or broadcast partners for this service? And how does it fit into Dale Pro's retail-sales strategy? Is it meant to be a profitable business on its own, or is it a value-added service offered to retail RF customers?
We are brand-agnostic; it's really about bringing the right tool to the table (this, of course, also includes the budget). It's a real advantage to be able to leverage decades of great relationships with major manufacturers. Because we deal closely with these major companies, we know the lay of the land as far as rebate programs and the like to help maximize budgets. We are viewing this as a great value-add to existing customers, as well as a great service for new customer
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
20/11/2025
LONDON The winners of the Rise Awards 2025, which recognize women and companies whose achievements have stood out in the media technology industry, have been an...
20/11/2025
SANTA MONICA & NEW YORK Lionsgate's Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury have launched MovieSphere Gold in more than 30 million homes....
20/11/2025
ALAMEDA, Calif. Clear-Com has introduced its four-channel HelixNet beltpack, a next-generation advancement of its widely used two-channel model, and anticipates...
20/11/2025
NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. Streaming technology and services provider Kiswe has launched Kiswe Core, a next-generation cloud-based platform designed to simplify the s...
20/11/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Dolby Laboratories has signed on as an official signature partner of the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC) for the 2026 Super Bowl and the we...
20/11/2025
STUTTGART, Germany 3 Screen Solutions (3SS) has announced that the Canadian multiservice operator Telus has launched its Telus TV+ entertainment platform on Sam...
20/11/2025
Major League Baseball has announced deals with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix covering 2026-2028 that make ESPN the exclusive rightsholder of MLB.TV, see regula...
20/11/2025
Berklee Presents Holiday Extravaganza: Duke Ellingtons The Nutcracker Suite and ...
20/11/2025
The How To Gael pocast gals, comedian Chris Kent and quizzer Darragh Ennis drop by for the fifth episode of The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In
In the penultimat...
20/11/2025
Tonight on RT Prime Time, Marie Crowe on how a Reading School changed her son&#...
20/11/2025
The NVIDIA Blackwell RTX upgrade is nearing the finish line, letting GeForce NOW Ultimate members across the globe experience true next-generation cloud gaming ...
20/11/2025
Tanya Berger-Wolf's first computational biology project started as a bet wit...
19/11/2025
Sphere Sound Kicks Up Its Heels at Radio City Music HallUltra-immersive system from the singular Las Vegas venue is also ready for sportsBy Dan Daley, Audio Edi...
19/11/2025
The Future of Stadium and Arena Video Control Rooms: Tech Leaders Talk 4K, IP, a...
19/11/2025
One Year at Intuit Dome: Walking Through the Stunning Arena's Advanced Video...
19/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: IMG's Francois Westcombe Goes Inside IMG's Annual Digital ...
19/11/2025
Inside Brighton & Hove Albion's fan-first media machine By George Bevir
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
Brighton & Hove Albion'...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 1: Kansas Athletics Brings New Production Power to Rebu...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 2: A Pro's Guide to Kansas Athletics' New Video...
19/11/2025
MLB Media Rights Shakeup: NBC Inks Three-Year Deal for Sunday Night Baseball, Pe...
19/11/2025
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade attends the premiere of Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Pa...
19/11/2025
Awards season is heating up, and the International Documentary Association just ...
19/11/2025
Aerojet Rocketdyne President Ken Bedingfield and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders were joined by state and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking o...
19/11/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
19/11/2025
Calrec gives Phoenix Broadcast Solutions its full support in strategic multi-year enterprise partnership New Singapore OB company invests in Calrec technology f...
19/11/2025
October brings a larger audience in front of TV screens. The cooler autumn weather and the continuation of new programming schedules brought increases in both t...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Vitec has acquired Datapath, a developer of real-time video processing for large-scale video walls, AVoIP content distribution and KVM control in mission-critic...
19/11/2025
NEVADA CITY, Calif. Telestream has introduced ARGUS Version 2.3, which introduces Live Look, a feature that lets operators inspect live and on-demand streams vi...
19/11/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. and NEW YORK Charter Communications, Inc. has announced a major deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that establishes AWS as one of Charters stra...
19/11/2025
TOKYO Atomos has announced a major firmware update that brings integrated camera control to the Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX its new CFexpress-based monitor-recor...
19/11/2025
Berklee's Signature Series Reimagines the Musical and Visual Artistry of Col...
19/11/2025
PlayBox Neo departed the NAB Show New York 2025 on a high note. The company's all-new PlayBox Neo Suite made a splash on the show floor, drawing strong inte...
19/11/2025
AAVBR (American Audio Visual Baton Rouge), a leading full-service event production company serving Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region, has enhanced its product...
19/11/2025
In its mission to deliver live event services combining advanced engineering with a creative approach to captivating live sports and entertainment experiences, ...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK Short-form vertical video has exploded across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, but a new survey commissioned by Media.net, a provider of c...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, and CAMB.AI have struck a partnership they said will leverage ...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those fil...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK The popularity of NFL games is largely responsible for continued seasonal momentum in TV viewership into October (measured Sept. 29-Oct. 26), according...
19/11/2025
DirecTV has announced that its MyFree DirecTV streaming service has added seven new channels. Those include four sports services, NBA FAST, Red Bull TV, DAZN Ri...
19/11/2025
SURREY, U.K. Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has launched Flair Bridge, a compact device that transforms how operators control the company's motion-contr...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission, which is continuing to rapidly ramp up its operations after the end of the federal government shutdown, has se...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Martin Freeman, Jessie Buckley, Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, Eddie the Eagle and ...
19/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom to enable testing and validation of n...
19/11/2025
Back to All News
Innato, starring Imanol Arias and Elena Anaya, arrives on Netf...
19/11/2025
Back to All News
Guillermo del Toro Sits Down With Troll 2 Director Roar Uthaug...
19/11/2025
Some projects feel monumental from the moment the first phone call comes in. When BCE, the host broadcaster appointed to coordinate the national coverage, asked...
SVG Sit-Down: Dale Pro Audio's Joel Guilbert on the Company's New RF Solutions Group The effort aims to help wireless clients adjust to ongoing spectrum turmoil By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
