Jacksonville, Florida — 70,000 fans are on there feet. It’s fourth down and goal. Tension fills the air. TOUCHDOWN! Then a referees yellow flag is seen flying through the air. The home town crowd grows eerily quite, waiting on the man in a stripped black and white shirt to announce the reason for the flag. At the stadium and on TV, the fans hear: “Unnec… ness… mber… fift… down.” Yes, the ref does speak English, but his wireless microphone does not let him communicate properly. The fans are left to wonder what is going on.

That has happened at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida which is home to the National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars. And the fans in the stadium, those watching on TV, and those listening on the radio were left wondering “what did he say?” If it were a one time event, that would be bad enough, but unfortunately it was happening all too often. What caused the problem?

	Outside of Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida

The Problem:
The existing wireless microphone system used by the referees had to be sent back to the manufacturer for a frequency change according to Bob Cole, president of Florida Sound Engineering Company, Inc. “So many people are using wireless technology that the existing frequency of the unit was no longer suitable. That lead to changing the frequency of the unit and we found that it just could not compete in signal strength to cut through all the other signals out there.”

The Solution:
“Florida Sound prides itself in finding solutions to problems,” said Cole. “We had to have something dependable and long-lasting that would work reliably, especially in light of the upcoming Super Bowl at the stadium in 2005.”

As Cole began investigating solutions, he started taking note of the wireless sound equipment used by the television networks that broadcast the Sunday games, as well as the mics used by referees in other stadiums. The common denominator far and away: equipment supplied by Sennheiser.

After the close of last year’s NFL season, Cole arranged a meeting with Mainline Marketing, a Melbourne, Florida based pro-audio rep-firm that counts Sennheiser among the list of quality manufacturers it represents. Mainline arranged for a demonstration of the Sennheiser RF system, and soon thereafter acquired a temporary demonstration Sennheiser RF system for the stadium.

The system – consisting of one Sennheiser SK250 beltpack transmitter; an EM 3032 dual diversity receiver; one pair of A12AD active directional antennae; an MKE2-PLL lavaliere mic; and mic clips and a windscreen – was installed prior to the opening of the NFL pre-season. It quickly proved to be the solution that Florida Sound was seeking.

	Major components of Sennheiser Referee Mic System

“The 250-miliwatt system gives us the power we need to get that radio frequency signal transmitted to the receivers,” says Cole. “It amounts to a drastic increase in power, which we needed for this facility. The old system just didn’t have the horsepower we needed.” Cole was pleased to state that “after one demonstration, all parties involved agreed to the new Sennheiser system. The NFL is happy, the Jaguars are happy, the Stadium management is happy, the Refs are happy, and the fans are happy… well as long as the call is in their favor!”

As part of its work to finalize a permanent system to take the place of the demo system currently in use, Sennheiser is working on modifying the “ON-OFF” switch on the system’s SK250 transmitter to ensure that the referee can reliably activate and de-activate the mic as needed. “We are pleased with how Sennheiser has been so accommodating to us. They have gone out of there way to help us find a solution that works. And their willingness to customize the system says a lot for the quality of people they have there,” stated Cole. “We are proud to have their team on our side.”

Cole concludes, “They say that the best defense is a good offense. Sennheiser has helped defend our good name by supplying a great product.”

by staff writer:  Mike Henry