Cleveland, OH (February 10, 2026)—For more than 34 years, from interviewing the last seven U.S. Presidents to covering events in Northern Ireland and post-9/11, production sound mixer Thom Shafer has used Lectrosonics wireless systems.
His introduction to Lectrosonics came with the 185 series. “It was the most liberating thing ever to not have to worry about frequencies and to know that I could go anywhere in the country and they would work,” Shafer shares. Today, his comprehensive kit is a blend of legacy and new digital technology, including IFBT4 frequency-agile compact IFB transmitters, LMa and HMa Digital Hybrid Wireless belt pack and plug-on UHF transmitters, and SNA600 and ALP 620 antennas.
Shafer’s work ranges from network news like Dateline and 20/20 to major sporting events like Monday Night Football. During a recent wildcard game between the Steelers and Texans, he deployed a complex routed IFB system using IFBT4s and SMWBs in IFB mode to allow multiple producers to communicate with anchors individually without interruption. “I just love doing stuff like that,” he notes. “Mixing a live show up—it’s a lot of fun.”
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But more than fun, Shafer’s career has been known to place him in situations where technical limitations collide with high drama. While filming an unreleased Wings series for the Discovery Channel in the ‘90s, Shafer found himself on the flight deck of the USS America, 20 feet away from F-14 fighter jets at full thrust. “We were actually the first to document the B1 bomber, but technology was not like it was today,” Shafer explains. “I actually had to take a Lectrosonics 190 and put the mic in the ear of the jet pilot’s helmet because there were no extra plugs to get the dialogue.”
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In another instance, while capturing a segment for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, investigating the slaughtering of horses who didn’t perform on the racetrack, Shafer’s team faced immediate danger. “We were shooting in the stables when some, shall we say, unhappy ‘gangster’ types surrounded us demanding our tape,” he recalls. Thinking fast, the crew swapped the footage for a blank tape. “We proceeded to record the confrontation via the correspondent’s Lectrosonics wire, and it made the cut.”
