I dug out my old Azden wireless mic that I bought back in the late 80's! It is bad. The interference is really bad. It didn't cost that much so I'm sure it's VHF. A couple of questions.
1. Are the new ones better? Do they do a better job of getting the interference out?
2. Does the UHF models have interfernce problems too?
3. Since I'm on a tight budget right now, is there a cheaper wireless in UHF?
Thanks

The cheapest solutions are VHF. It is possible to find some that might work in your area, but since you are already having problems I think this solution is unwise.

UHF can have interference problems too, however, it is much less of a problem.

I always recommend the Sennheiser EW112P which sells for around $450. I think it is one of the best mics for the money.

Bob,

You might also look at using frequency agile wireless mics. These multichannel systems allow you to select from a number of frequencies to obtain the best performance.

UHF is currently popular because there are more channel choices available. I use Audio-Technica U100x series UHF without problems. To get the best performance from your wireless:

With UHF, line of sight between the transmitter and reciever is more important then with VHF.

A diversity system (two antennas/tuners/frontends per receiver) is less likely to suffer dropouts.

Make sure your talent does not wrap the antenna around the bodypack transmitter and shove it into a pocket. This can decrease the range on a wireless.

Alwasy use high quality alkaline batteries and fresh batteries for a critical shoot.

Find out more tips on the Audio-Technica website www.audio-technica.com (Using wireless)

Hope this helps

The better VHF mcis use frequencies around 160-170 mHz give or take. The cheap units were around 49 mHz, and some around 29 mHz. THe lower frequencies are very interference prone.