Modelled on the classic US The Race of Gentlemen, Rattletrap had its first few outings on the beach at Crowdy Head in New South Wales, Australia, in early 2016. The first official Rattletrap took place that May, and is now an annual event organised by the Drag-Ens Hot Rod Club.

Rattletrap showcases pre-1941 hotrods and motorcycles, running races on the beach in front of thousands of spectators. Events include bracket sprints, grudge matches and an Exhibition Class for unique and historic vehicles.

But with so much metal moving around and the growing number of wireless devices that popular event deploys each year, the event’s RF microphones – used for announcers and other applications – have grown increasingly challenging to handle. Happily, a solution has been found in the form of RF Venue’s CP Beam directional antennas from the US company’s line of wireless audio essentials.

This year’s Rattletrap saw crowds return in greater numbers. Tom Benson, General Manager at Port Macquarie, NSW-based integrator In Phase Productions, says he had been struggling with his older omni antennas, having to use line amplifiers to boost their signal. He became frustrated with excessive dropouts and interference issues plaguing his outdoor sporting events. Many of his events, such as Rattletrap, require a large coverage area and wireless mics to be further away from antennas, which themselves had to be constantly moved around to keep the announcers’ microphones from being overwhelmed by engine noise.

After consulting with RF Venue’s experts to find a solution, however, Benson decided to upgrade his wireless setup with a pair of CP Beam directional antennas. These enabled him to eliminate the old line amplifiers and focus the signal exactly where it needs to be at all times.

With this new antenna set-up, Benson was able to deploy his rig using multiple wireless mics for the Rattletrap 2022. Even at distances of as much as 400m, all things RF went smoothly from beginning to end using the newly acquired CP Beam antennas.

‘We set up early and built the perfect mix position and antenna placement in the lifeguard tower,’ Benson explains. ‘It was high tide and the beach was covered, so we had to dodge the waves to set up, but by 10am the tide was out and there was enough beach to start. The event finished about 3:30pm when the tide came back in, and everything worked extremely well, including – and especially – the CP Beam antennas. They made all the difference.’