AKG SRA2 EW Passive Directional UHF Antenna 470 to 952 MHz

AKG SRA2 EW: Passive Directional Wide-Band UHF Antenna

The AKG SRA2 EW is a passive directional wide-band UHF antenna covering 470 to 952 MHz, with 4.5 dBi of antenna gain across a 70 degree covering angle. Passive means exactly what it says: there is no amplifier inside, nothing to power, and no remote DC drawn up the coaxial cable, so the antenna can be hung or stood anywhere a cable reaches without an outlet or a powered splitter nearby. Connection is a single BNC female socket at a recommended load impedance of 50 ohms, the housing is water-resistant, and a universal thread adapter fits floor stands with either a 3/8 in or a 5/8 in screw thread. AKG catalogues it for both duties, as a receiving antenna for a wireless microphone system and as a transmitting antenna for in-ear monitoring, and it carries item number 3009H00170.

Directional Coverage, 4.5 dBi of Gain and What Aiming Actually Buys

Directivity is the whole point of this antenna: instead of listening equally in every direction, it concentrates on a 70 degree cone in front of it and contributes 4.5 dBi of gain within that cone. An omnidirectional whip on the back of a receiver hears the stage and the noisy world behind it in equal measure, which is why a rack near a lighting dimmer, an LED wall or a busy foyer often produces intermittent noise that no amount of squelch adjustment cures; pointing a directional element at the performance area raises the wanted signal and rejects much of what arrives from behind, improving the ratio between them rather than simply making everything louder. Because it is passive, that improvement adds no noise of its own, since there is no amplifier stage to add any. A theatre aiming from the wing at a stage, and a house of worship covering only the platform, both gain a quieter channel from the same change.

Passive Powering, Cable Runs and Where the Antenna Goes

Having no active circuitry shapes how this antenna is deployed, and mostly in helpful ways. A passive element needs no outlet, no wall wart and no antenna power splitter capable of feeding DC up the coaxial cable, which means it can be clamped to truss, stood at front of house, or fixed above a proscenium with nothing but a cable back to the rack; the trade is that it does not compensate for a long lossy cable run the way an active antenna or an in-line booster does, so a very long run should be planned with an antenna booster in the chain and with the receiver's own level set accordingly. The single BNC female connector at 50 ohms is the standard interface across professional antenna distribution, so it drops into an existing chain without adapters. Its water-resistant housing also means a covered outdoor stage or an exposed overhead position is a legitimate home rather than a risk.

Transmitting Duty, Mounting and Who Buys One

AKG documents this antenna as working in both directions, as a receiving antenna for wireless microphone systems and as a transmitting antenna for in-ear monitoring systems, which is a genuinely useful pairing on a stage that has both. On an in-ear rig the transmitter is trying to reach performers who are moving inside a defined area, and a directional element aimed at that area puts the energy where the musicians are instead of spraying it into the audience and the street; on the receive side the same geometry works in reverse. Mounting is handled by a universal thread adapter that fits floor stands with 3/8 in or 5/8 in screw threads, so a temporary front-of-house position takes seconds to rig and strike. The buyers are predictable and specific: an integrator fixing dropouts at the edges of a stage, a rental technician tired of relying on stock whips, and a worship or theatre venue whose rack sits nowhere near the room it serves.