The wireless microphone system at Cathedral of St. Joseph, the seat of the Archdiocese of Hartford in Hartford, CT, was continuously plagued by dropouts and RF interference, detracting from solemnity that the structure and its mission called for. “The Archbishop himself would comment on the fact that he found it difficult if not impossible to get through a sermon without a dropout or interference noise,” observed Don Gamsjager, founder and CEO of DNR Labs, who was called in to rectify the problem as part of a larger upgrade of the cathedral’s sound system and FOH console last year. “It was a major problem. Fortunately, we had RF Venue.”
Gamsjager says the existing RF distribution system, installed about 20 years ago, was woefully inadequate and overly complicated, with over 30 components, such as the eight paddle antennas installed throughout the venue. “The church is over 400 feet from end to end, and they also hold part of services just outside the main entrance, so there was a lot of space to cover,” he said. Built in 1962 in the international interpretation of the classic cruciform Gothic style, the cathedral is the largest between those in New York and Boston, and seats over 1,750 worshippers in its large expanse of spectacular stained-glass windows. Gamsjager conferred with RF Venue sales director Adam Brass and the RF Venue engineering team and came up with a far simpler and more elegant RF solution.
