By Mark Farmer
As one of the companies in the early development of wireless mic, Telex has left their mark on the wireless industry. The Telex name can be seen on the sidelines worn by pro football coaches across the United States many weekends. If the Telex name is good enough for the NFL, why not the consumer. Some of my first encounters with wireless microphones were with Telex products. Over the years I have become familiar with Telex products, specifically the more expensive lavalier/belt pack combo units. Obviously everyone can not afford to shell out $5000.00 plus for those type of top end units.
Features
With that in mind, Telex has designed a less expensive road to travel with the Pro Star™ line of VHF wireless microphones. The Pro Star units consist of a group of handheld, lavalier, guitar and headset wireless sets. The popular handheld and receiver unit can be picked up on the street for around, $300.00 , making it truly affordable to the masses.
I choose to evaluate the Pro Star™ handheld unit among the entire Pro Star™ Line sent to me by Telex. The handheld unit was the obvious choice having spent so much time with dozens of other wireless handheld units. Fresh out of the box, the VH12D handheld and VR12 receiver exhibited a simple design. The receiver consists of a small desktop black box complete with two built in expandable antennas. A 1/4” mono female jack is recessed on the front for output directly into a mixing console, line in or input to a direct box. The Volume Level Control is also accessible on the front left side of the VR12 receiver. A Power LED and a Carrier LED are recessed into the receiver on the lower right side . When the provided wall-wart transformer is plugged in, a Power LED illuminates. Immediately upon powering up the handheld transmitter a Carrier LED will light showing the receiver has detected signal. In the rear of the VR12 Telex is a Squelch Control Knob and the 12 Volt DC power jack.
The handheld VH12D microphone handles are designed out of a hard plastic and the mic element composed of a black, hard-weaved, metal, flat topped design. This head or mic element looks similar to the Shure Beta 87 capsule. The only external features on the mic are recessed into the bottom of the handle assembly, the power(On-Off) switch and the Mic Mute switch. The bottom part of the mic handle unscrews for access to the 9 volt battery compartment and a few more turns of the handle unveils the gain control for the microphone element. An important feature for customizing gain input for different applications.
IN USE
In the grand opening ceremonies of a local mall and a lengthy arts festival, I was able to extensively test the reliability and sound of the Pro Star™ Handheld. The first day of use was with a roaming Christian singer who required a wireless microphone in his performance. After adjusting the input on the handheld in soundcheck, I was able to get a nice sound with no major distortion. Loud singing and spoken word vocals reproduced by the mic were pleasant to the ear over long periods of time. Although I was out in the country, radio interference did not occur as he walked distances up to 75ft.
Outside the mall, I put the microphone to use with dignitaries during ribbon cutting ceremonies. Even with all of the mall security, police, and local fire on location no major interference problems occurred. Although, drifting of the signal occurred randomly on a daily basis throughout the week inside the mall. In the microphone’s defense, there was enough press fanfare going on the entire week to give any mic of this caliber problems. I was however, impressed with the handheld in its ability to make a 9volt battery last upwards of 5 hours.
SUMMARY
As one of the veteran manufactures of wireless units, Telex has created a positive group of products in the Pro Star™ line up. This handheld unit is a good entry level item for the price and will out perform some others in the $300.00 price range.
If your organization or company is looking for a starter wireless handheld and on a budget go to your local dealer and test out the Pro Star™ line of Telex products.

Mark Farmer is a live sound engineer with Live Technologies in Columbus, Ohio. He can be reached via email at: mixthat@columbus.rr.com

PRODUCT POINTS Telex Pro Star™ Handheld Wireless Microphone PLUS +Good entry level unit +Battery use of 4-5 hours +Low-low price MINUS -Dropouts at short distances

AT-A-GLANCE Application: sound reinforcement Key Features: Low cost, good entry level product from Telex. Price: $360.00 Retail $300.00 Street