Learn what the pilot tone is in EW G3/G4 wireless mic systems - how it supports squelch, avoids interference and improves signal reliability
Understanding Pilot Tone
The pilot tone has an inaudible frequency that is sent from the transmitter and evaluated by the receiver. It supports the receiver’s squelch function.
By using the pilot tone, the receiver can identify the correct transmitter signal and ignore other RF signals or noise which may otherwise trigger audio output falsely.
If the pilot tone feature is active, the receiver will mute when the tone is not received, even if the RF signal strength is high - this prevents stray interference or un-intended signals from passing audio.
When to deactivate pilot tone
In some applications (for example when using a mono channel only, or when compatibility issues with older transmitters/receivers exist) you may choose to deactivate the pilot tone function but this will reduce the protection the squelch system has
Summary
Using the pilot tone properly improves reliability of your wireless mic system by ensuring the receiver only unmutes for its matched transmitter. For optimal results ensure transmitter and receiver settings match (pilot tone ON/OFF) and perform a proper frequency scan & sync.