Many older wireless microphone systems operate in the VHF part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Systems operating in this range are often crystal-controlled, and therefore operate on a single frequency. However, if this frequency is chosen properly, the system will be able to operate for years without any problems.
Most modern wireless microphone products operate in the UHF television band, however. In the United States, this band extends from 470 MHz to 698 MHz. In 2010 the Federal Communication Commission issued new regulations on the operations of TV-band devices. Other countries have similar band limits; for example, Great Britain's UHF TV band extends from 470 MHz to 854 MHz. Typically, wireless microphones operate on unused TV channels, with room for one to two microphones per megahertz of spectrum available.
Intermodulation (IM) is a major problem when operating multiple systems in one location. IM occurs when two or more RF signals mix in a non-linear circuit, such as an oscillator or mixer. When this occurs, predictable combinations of these frequencies can occur. For example, the combinations 2A-B, 2B-A, and A+B-C might occur, where A, B, and C are the frequencies in operation. If one of these combinations is close to the operating frequency of another system (or one of the original frequencies A, B, or C), then interference will result on that channel. The solution to this problem is to manually calculate all of the possible products, or use a computer program that does this calculation automatically.