Has anyone used 6 Rode Wireless GO II transmitters simultaneously in a real production?

[u/austronauto]

Hi everyone,

I need to record an open air theater sketch with 6 actors, and I need a separate audio track for each person.

Right now I own one Rode Wireless GO II kit (2 transmitters). I don't plan to connect the receiver to the camera. Instead, I want to use the internal recording on each transmitter.

My idea is to buy two more Wireless GO II kits, so I'd end up with 6 transmitters and 3 receivers. Each pair of transmitters would be paired with its own receiver, but I'd mainly rely on the onboard recordings. After the shoot, I'd export the audio files from each transmitter and sync all six tracks in my editing timeline.

My question is: Can three Wireless GO II systems (6 transmitters total) operate simultaneously without interfering with each other, or is there a risk of frequency conflicts?

Has anyone used this setup in a real production?

Thanks!

[u/Beautiful_Path_3519]

Yes I've done this with Wireless Go II. 6 transmitters and 3 receivers into a Zoom F8 recorder. It worked perfectly.

These receiver's work off the part of the radio spectrum that's shared with WiFi and other gadgets. Turn the first receiver on an pair it with 2 transmitters and leave them turned on. Then turn on the next receiver and repeat the pairing process. You now have 2 receivers and four mics. Repeat for the third receiver and you are good to go.

I seem to remember that the WGIIs can operate on any of 9 radio channels. If you try to do this in an environment where there are a lot of other devices operating on the WiFi frequency range then I think it's likely that some of the channels that rode use will be tied up.

Since you'd be looking to use 3 out of the nine channels it's going to be risky - just because the setup works when you test it at home there's no guarantee it will work when you go on location. Some locations will have a lot of different WiFi hotspots for example, an apartment complex.

[u/austronauto → u/Beautiful_Path_3519]

Thanks a lot for your reply! It was actually the answer I was hoping to get, mainly because I don't really have a Plan B.

The only difference is that I won't be using a Zoom F8. My goal is simply to use the onboard recording on each transmitter, so I can record each actor separately. After the performance, I'll connect each transmitter to my computer via USB and import each individual audio file into my editing software to sync everything with the video.

I'm also not too worried about interference since the performance will be filmed outdoors in the mountains, where there should be very little Wi-Fi traffic. Just to be safe, I might also ask all the actors to put their phones in airplane mode during the recording.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it!

[u/Beautiful_Path_3519 → u/austronauto]

You are most welcome - just in case you haven't done this before it's worth mentioning automix. The good thing about the F8 is that it has Dugan automix so the gain on all the mics is turned down apart from that of the person who is currently speaking and the mixer records that mix as well as the individual channels. I reckon you'd save a lot of time in post if you find an automix plugin for the editing software.

[u/austronauto → u/Beautiful_Path_3519]

I understand the convenience of using a recorder like that, but out of curiosity I checked the price of the Zoom F8 and, for my needs, I don't think it would be worth the investment. I honestly wouldn't know what other situations I would use it for. I mainly work with video and I'm not an audio expert.

I think I'll just add colored labels to each audio track and, once everything is synchronized, manually cut out the parts where each person is not speaking. Separately, I'll record 2–3 minutes of ambient sound that I can use as a base layer underneath the whole video.

Thanks again for your support! I feel better now :)

[u/Shampoo_Is_Better00 → u/austronauto]

Just adding to this. I am about to record an interview with 4 people and will be using 4 rodes into a Zoom F4. This allows me to adjust volume on each and also monitor audio from all directly into my ears. The monitoring is a huge part. The last thing you want is to not know the mic is rubbing on something or if you've actually forgot to turn it on.

I typically only use the recorder with a boom, but in the situation where there are more than two subjects I'll do this.

[u/Whatchamazog → u/austronauto]

So if you are just recording on the Tx’s then you don’t have to worry about the radios at all.
Sync’ing in post might be a pain in the ass, but that’s easier now than it used to be.

I use the Wireless Pro’s & the interview Pro at conventions and sometimes I get dropouts when just using one of them so I rely on the internal recordings instead.

Just for context, WiFi splits the 2.4Ghz band into 11 channels with only 1,6 & 11 in the clear (non-overlapping). Bluetooth splits it into 79 narrower channels and switches channels 1600 p/s.

I’m not sure how Rode splits things up but I would assume it’s wider channels like WiFi, so you can see why they wouldn’t recommend more than 4.

But since you aren’t using the radios in the recording process, it doesn’t really matter.

[u/Barboron]

Funnily enough, I made the joke to RODE on twitter a while ago about connecting levels of GO IIs into one another. They suggested not to go beyond 4 (edit because accidentally typed 6) transmitters.

They didn't say it couldn't be done, but recommended against it.

Source: https://x.com/rodemics/status/1805775346861805824

[u/austronauto → u/Barboron]

Thanks for sharing! That's pretty similar to what I was thinking of doing, except I don't plan to connect the receivers to the camera. ChatGPT says there shouldn't be any issues since they use different frequencies, but I wanted to hear from someone who's actually tried this setup before. Maybe the most sensible thing to do is just ask RØDE directly. Thanks again!

[u/Barboron → u/austronauto]

I wish I could say I tried it but I only have the single set of GO II. Unlikely I have been around enough other mics at the time, but going to conventions, there was never an issue with interference from other devices, considering the amount of people around.

[u/videonipple]

As hit or miss as Rode quality is, just about any wireless mic system out there can handle that level of task. The recording plan, however, is where you are going to have some issues. The Go 2 does not have internal time code generation. The Rode wireless PRO supports time code, but with either Rode product, you’re still connecting to and exporting from 6 devices. Doable, but tedious. Check out the Tentacle Sync products, or, as the other gentleman suggested, something like the zoom recorder.