When music, fashion and technology converged on New York City's Randall's Island for the second installment of Panorama, Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) was on site ensuring the festivals' musical acts were free and clear of any RF signal interference. Presented by Coachella organizers Goldenvoice, Panorama attracts some of the biggest names in hip-hop, indie rock, pop, and beyond.
For the three-day festival, PWS was challenged with all the demands of a multi-day festival, with the added challenge of being in one of the most congested RF environments in the country. Located on Randall's Island in the East River, Panorama is within five miles of the high-power broadcast antennas that service the New York City metro area.
"Sometimes we benefit from RF isolation created by the venue, as festivals typically take place in a remote location," said Danny Lane, project manager, Professional Wireless Systems. "Panorama was completely different. On Randall's Island, we had no protection from the RF coming from the over-the-air broadcasters. Providing clean RF coordination for more than 20 bands a day is no small feat. TV channels that would typically fall below the useable threshold at an indoor venue in New York City were active and unusable on Randall's Island. Of all the UHF channels, only four were available to us. PWS brings its expertise in antenna design, RF system optimization, and industry-wide contacts to all of our gigs. We are capable of taking care of any system, but without the proper preparation and planning we performed with the other parties involved, such as RAT, 8th Day Sound and See Factor, this would not have been possible."
