Do we need a licence to use a radio microphone?

Sometimes. UK radio mics operate either in the licence-free Channel 70 band, which anyone may use, or on Channel 38, which needs an Ofcom wireless microphone licence with a modest annual fee. We will tell you which band your kit is on when you book, and point you at the licence if one is needed. For a single mic at a school or village hall event it usually amounts to nothing at all.

Will it handle singing?

It will amplify a singer, but that is not what we would recommend it for. The PG58 is built to a price, and sung lead vocals show it: the top end is plainer and loud, close singing is handled less gracefully than on our Sennheiser G3 systems. For a compere who joins in a chorus, fine. For the lead in a musical, a headworn channel off one of our Trantec racks will serve the singer better than any handheld.

Can we use two or three at once?

Yes, with each kit set to its own channel, which is one button on the receiver. A pair for a quiz night or a two-presenter awards evening is routine. Beyond a few systems the PG series starts to run out of clean channels, especially in towns, and that is the point where the Sennheiser G3 systems, with far more frequencies to pick from, earn their higher rate.

What does the receiver plug into?

Any mixer, powered speaker or hall amplifier with a spare input. The receiver has a balanced XLR output and a 6.35 mm jack, and we include the lead. It needs a mains socket nearby for its adapter. If your hall has nothing to plug into, we can add a powered speaker to the hire.

Home Services Equipment Hire Radio Microphone Hire

Shure PG58 handheld radio microphone hire

A radio mic takes the most common point of failure out of a small event: the cable. The Shure PG58 kit is the simple version of that idea, a handheld transmitter with a vocal capsule on top and a receiver that plugs straight into your mixer or powered speaker. It is the entry point of our radio microphone shelf, made for speeches, presenting and quiz nights rather than sung performance. It hires at £15 per day, dry hire or with a technician.

The Shure PG58 kit pairs a PG2 handheld transmitter, with the PG58 vocal capsule on top, with a PG4 receiver that feeds whatever is amplifying your room. Switch both on, check they show the same channel, and you have a microphone that can be walked around a hall, handed down a row of quiz teams or left on a stand at the front. There is no cable to tape down and nothing for a nervous speaker to trip over.

The capsule is a dynamic cardioid tuned for voices. It favours the person holding it over the room around them, which keeps feedback manageable on a modest PA, and it puts up with being gripped, waved about and passed from hand to hand. The transmitter runs up to 8 hours on a single 9V battery and has one power and mute button, so there is very little for an untrained hand to get wrong.

The receiver sits by your mixer or powered speaker, runs from UK mains on its own adapter, and connects by XLR or 6.35 mm jack. The aerials are internal and Shure quotes up to 75 metres of range in clear line of sight. Real rooms with walls and bodies in the way give you less, but a school hall or village hall is comfortably inside its reach. If the set channel picks up interference, moving to a clear one is a single button on the receiver, mirrored on the mic.

We should be straight about where this kit sits. It is the budget option on our radio microphone shelf, and for speech that is no criticism: a head teacher's welcome, a quiz master, a compere between dance numbers. For sung lead vocals, for running several radio mics side by side, or for venues with crowded airwaves, our Sennheiser G3 systems are the step up, with better capsules, far more frequencies to choose from and a tougher build — they hire as four coordinated channels rather than singly. If you are not sure which you need, describe the event and we will tell you honestly. Often the answer is that the PG58 is plenty.

What you get

The PG2 handheld transmitter with the PG58 capsule, a fresh 9V battery fitted

A spare 9V battery, so the interval swap is there if you need it

The PG4 receiver with its UK mains adapter

An XLR lead to your mixer or powered speaker — tell us the distance and we will make sure it is long enough

A mic clip to sit the transmitter on a standard stand

Not included as standard: mic stand, mixer and speakers. All can be added

A technician to set up and run sound for you, if you would rather hand it over

Good for

Speeches, welcomes and thank-yous at school shows and prize-givings

Quiz nights and race nights in village halls and clubs

Presenters and comperes at dance school showcases

Notices, readings and interviews in churches where the fixed lectern mic will not reach

PTA auctions, fundraisers and indoor fetes where the mic moves around the room

A first radio mic for a hall that has speakers but nothing to speak into

What you need to know

What it does: A handheld radio mic: switch on, speak, walk anywhere in the hall. The receiver plugs into your mixer or powered speaker.
Sound: A dynamic capsule tuned for speech, with a cardioid pattern that picks up the person holding it rather than the room.
Range: Up to 75 metres in clear line of sight. Walls and audiences shorten that, but a hall is well within reach.
Power: The mic runs up to 8 hours on a 9V battery, with a spare in the case. The receiver runs from UK mains on its own adapter.
Where it sits: The budget end of our radio mic shelf. Right for speech; for singing or several mics at once, the Sennheiser G3 systems are the step up.

Rates are per day and exclude VAT. A longer hire costs less per day — tell us your dates and we will price the period exactly. Ask us about delivery and hiring with a technician.

Alternatives

Sennheiser G3 systems — four coordinated channels at £80 a day — better capsules and steadier RF when several people need a mic.

Full technical specification (9)

Manufacturer and model	Shure PG58 wireless system (PG2/PG58 handheld with PG4 receiver)
System type	UHF handheld radio microphone kit
Capsule	PG58 dynamic, cardioid, 60 Hz to 15 kHz
Working range	Up to 75 m line of sight
Transmitter battery	One 9V alkaline, up to 8 hours
Receiver outputs	XLR and 6.35 mm jack
Receiver power	External adapter on 230V UK mains
Weight	0.22 (handheld, without battery); 0.24 (receiver)
Dimensions	224 long x 53 diameter (handheld); 188 x 103 x 40 (receiver)

Common questions

Sometimes. UK radio mics operate either in the licence-free Channel 70 band, which anyone may use, or on Channel 38, which needs an Ofcom wireless microphone licence with a modest annual fee. We will tell you which band your kit is on when you book, and point you at the licence if one is needed. For a single mic at a school or village hall event it usually amounts to nothing at all.
It will amplify a singer, but that is not what we would recommend it for. The PG58 is built to a price, and sung lead vocals show it: the top end is plainer and loud, close singing is handled less gracefully than on our Sennheiser G3 systems. For a compere who joins in a chorus, fine. For the lead in a musical, a headworn channel off one of our Trantec racks will serve the singer better than any handheld.
Yes, with each kit set to its own channel, which is one button on the receiver. A pair for a quiz night or a two-presenter awards evening is routine. Beyond a few systems the PG series starts to run out of clean channels, especially in towns, and that is the point where the Sennheiser G3 systems, with far more frequencies to pick from, earn their higher rate.
Any mixer, powered speaker or hall amplifier with a spare input. The receiver has a balanced XLR output and a 6.35 mm jack, and we include the lead. It needs a mains socket nearby for its adapter. If your hall has nothing to plug into, we can add a powered speaker to the hire.