WiFi issues with BomeBox on stage in a medium-sized theatre

Bome Products
,
1

WiFi issues on stage in a medium-sized theatre

TL;DR: How can I improve the WiFi connection between 3 BomeBoxes and our access point?

I’ll try to describe the situation as clearly as possible.

Setup

For a theatre production, I use three fully wireless MIDI keyboards, which the actors need to be able to move all over the stage. Each keyboard is connected to a BomeBox. The keyboards (Nektar Impact GXP49) are powered via the USB port of the BomeBox.
(For monitoring, a small Genelec speaker is fed with audio from a wireless IEM beltpack. The whole set is powered from a large car battery with an inverter 12V to 230V)

The BomeBoxes connect over WiFi to a dedicated access point, which is connected to a TP-Link Omada ER7212PC router.

The access point (TP-Link EAP225-Outdoor, PoE) creates a WiFi network used exclusively by the BomeBoxes. After scanning, we selected channel 11 (2.4 GHz band).

The AP is mounted centrally above the front edge of the stage. The maximum distance between the AP and a BomeBox is approximately 8 meters.

A Mac mini is connected to the Omada router via Ethernet (CAT cable). MainStage runs on the Mac and hosts the virtual instruments.

Environment

During the performance:

  • Large steel constructions move in and out above the stage and between the AP and the BomeBoxes

  • There is rain and fog

  • A lot of moving lights are used

  • Lighting is partially controlled via 2.4 GHz transmitters

So there are plenty of potential sources of RF interference.

However, this exact setup worked flawlessly for around 30 shows last year. This year, from day one, we have experienced issues with the Bome network.

Symptoms

  • MIDI signals arrive at Mainstage with noticeable delay

  • Sometimes the delay is 1–2 seconds after pressing a key

  • This can happen even when playing one single note on one single keyboard

So it does not appear to be a case of excessive MIDI data.

I am aware that new WiFi infrastructure may have been installed in the theatre over the past year, as the IT department improved WiFi coverage for visitors.

My question

How can I improve the connection between the access point and the BomeBoxes?

I’ve read that it’s possible to attach an external antenna to the BomeBox, and I plan to test this soon.

Possible next steps I’m considering:

  • Adding multiple access points (is this even posible?)

  • Using a WiFi-to-Ethernet adapter so I can use 5 GHz instead of 2.4 GHz Wifi

Does anyone have additional suggestions or ideas about possible causes?

Any advice is highly appreciated.

Thanks, Daniel.

2

Well, there are a factors that can affect wireless network congestion and interference. Even if there is not a lot of MIDI traffic across your network, you are competing with WiFi collision detection, so although the data streams are limited the WiFi discovery and handshake can still be problematic.

Improving the network so the audience can get better access also promotes more network congestion so maybe it was not a good idea to allow the audience access over the WiFi. Even if it is on a different network, the radio signals can still interfere.

My suggestion would be to contact someone that is more a a WiFi network designer to see what ways can be used to isolate the Bome Network from other local WiFi networks.

Sure, there is a DIY option for adding an external antenna but my guess is that it may not help much if there is a lot of general traffic in the 2.4 G bandwidth. Maybe 5G is less congested but 5G has a shorter range. You would need to add a bridge to the seconnd ethernet (POE OUT) port on the BomeBoxes. Again, without careful planning you are at the mercy of the network traffic over WiFi at the venue.

Having steel constructions, will definately also negatively effect any local WiFi devices.

I’m not an expert on WiFi design for large venues so you might reach out to someone who is for assistance.

Also, there might be some chance that if you are running a project file on a BomeBox, there may be some issues with the project file that is causing delays.

Another thought just came to mind. I’m in the USA and set the WiFi as such but maye if I set it for a different country, the protocol will be just different enough to make things better. I really don’t know what the country settings do beyond understanding that if they are set wrong, WiFi performance can be comprimised. I’m not sure of the legal ramification if not setting it to the correct country standard. I’m sure there is a good reason for country setup however.

For DIY information on the external antenna, I will ask Florian to chime in a he has the detail of this and I can’t seem to find them. I know it involves drilling a hole into the BomeBox to attach it however.

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care

Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
4

See here for mounting the external antenna:

5

…and keep in mind that the internal antenna faces upwards and does not radiate much in bottom direction. So making the BomeBox face the other WiFi access point.

6

Steve, Florian,
Thanks for your responses. I’ve done some more research and inquiries, and I think I’ll get more out of it by using the 5GHz Wi-Fi, since the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi is quite congested at this location.

I’m now going to try connecting a Wi-Fi bridge to the Bomebox and see how that works in terms of latency.

If I do want to connect an external antenna, how can I open the Bomebox?

8

…and is there a chance that in the future the Bomebox will be equipped with 5Ghz (or even 6 GHz) WiFi?

9

The four screws are on the bottom of the BomeBo but you ned to remove the rubber caps covering the screws. You might need to re-glue them when putting them back on.

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care

Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
10

I’m not aware of any plans to utilize 5 G WiFi, primarily because

  1. MIDI traffic does not require higher speeds
  2. 5 G has less range.

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care

Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz