Uploaded June 2014 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The concept of the wireless or radio mic had appeared as early as 1945 in publications of various radio magazines in the form of build-it-yourself kits. The idea was that you could transmit a signal to a nearby radio like a Mr. Microphone.
In 1947 Royal Air Force flight engineer Reg Moores developed a working radio mic. He was also a figure skater and first used the wireless mic in a 1949 production of Aladdin on Ice at the Brighton sports stadium. Moores attached the wireless mic to one of the skater's costumes and it allowed full mobility on the ice without worries of skating over a mic cable.
Even though it had worked perfectly, Moores never sought a patent, since he was broadcasting on a frequency that was not licensed and therefore illegal.
In 1951 Herbert "Mac" McClelland of McCelland Sound in Wichita, Kansas developed a wireless mic for baseball umpires. It was used whenever NBC would broadcast a game from Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita.
In 1953 Shure introduced the Vagabond mic system, the first commercially produced wireless mic. However, it allowed the performer to work no farther than 15 feet from the receiver!
The concept of the wireless or radio mic had appeared as early as 1945 in publications of various radio magazines in the form of build-it-yourself kits. The idea was that you could transmit a signal to a nearby radio like a Mr. Microphone.
In 1947 Royal Air Force flight engineer Reg Moores developed a working radio mic. He was also a figure skater and first used the wireless mic in a 1949 production of Aladdin on Ice at the Brighton sports stadium. Moores attached the wireless mic to one of the skater's costumes and it allowed full mobility on the ice without worries of skating over a mic cable.
Even though it had worked perfectly, Moores never sought a patent, since he was broadcasting on a frequency that was not licensed and therefore illegal.
In 1951 Herbert "Mac" McClelland of McCelland Sound in Wichita, Kansas developed a wireless mic for baseball umpires. It was used whenever NBC would broadcast a game from Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita.
In 1953 Shure introduced the Vagabond mic system, the first commercially produced wireless mic. However, it allowed the performer to work no farther than 15 feet from the receiver!
