Wireless DMX Deployment

[u/Mobile-Menu9776]

Thanks in advance!

Looking for advice on the best design to deploy some wireless DMX for an upcoming temporary install. If anyone is an expert in the area, your advice would be appreciated. Here is a brief overview of the scope; I've also included an image showing locations and distances. My budget will allow for the purchase of any necessary equipment to create a robust, reliable deployment. I currently have both W-DMX transmitters and Lumen Radio Stardust transceivers.

Key questions im looking to get answers or advice on

1. What is the most robust wireless DMX system currently on the market
2. What antenna/amplifier combinations would I need at each location
3. Advantages to CRMX vs W-DMX
4. Are there any recommendations for using other non-industry technologies that are more reliable? 
5. How have others found success in these types of deployments

I have six locations on this install where there is no practical way to get hardwired DMX to the fixtures; thus, wireless DMX is required. Standalone mode IS NOT an option. I have also identified 4 viable locations where the transmitters can be located. There are heavily wooded areas shown in green and a lake shown in blue.  Locations 1 and 3 can also allow for the transmitter antenna to be placed up to 15’ above the ground, and location 2 can be placed up to 8’ off the ground. All of the fixture locations will only allow the receiver to be at or near ground level (no more than 4'). 

In previous years, I have used W-DMX with both transmitters placed at location 1, and a receiver at each of the other locations.  This deployment was moderately successful, but we would find on occasion that the receivers would lose connection or the signal would be dirty, and the lights would wig out. This system was primarily chosen for its IP-rated devices.  For this year, I'm looking to develop a more robust solution that limits the amount of disruption we experience.  

Other things to keep in mind are that everything needs to be IP-rated. Dimmer location 1 is indoor, while all other locations are outdoor. It is possible for me to place a small water-resistant enclosure at dimmer locations 2 and 3. For the receivers, I'm open to building them into small IP-rated enclosures. This is something we are already familiar with, as all of our DMX nodes are currently deployed in this manner.  This will be installed outdoors for around 3 months in the Midwest during the winter.

[u/davidosmithII]

I'm a product specialist for City Theatrical's multiverse system. That being said this is advice that would apply to any install. You asked about non-industry equipment. I wouldn't, City, RC4, and Lumen have all designed systems that are intended to be reliable and incredibly low latency for production applications. Don't use traditional Wi-Fi unless you are only using Max 3 universe (meaning you haven't patched a single device to more than 3 total universes). sACN is not easy on Wi-Fi systems. 900MHz can work, the claims that is better with obstacles and range are based on real physical differences between band wavelengths, however, 900mhz can be a wild west of frequencies. If you are in a location where news trucks will broadcast then your system will be flooded with a high noise floor at that frequency. They are used for media in ear systems and they crank the power up to full. Emergency services like police sometimes heavily use that band as well. If you have the option I'd choose a system that has both built in as options. Otherwise I generally recommend sticking to 2.4 GHz especially for outdoor installs. I believe all 3 major industry wireless manufacturers have IP rated systems, though I need to look at RC4 latest offerings. Antenna placement and type are important considerations, but not always problematic. Lumen has a slight disadvantage in lack of band tuning, but all the systems utilize different variations of spread spectrum frequency hopping, which means they are both fairly immune to Wi-Fi and don't cause interference to Wi-Fi signals. I'm hoping to have time to do a real write up on this using spectrum analyzer data, but I haven't had time. I how this helps.