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General question - What is the difference between diversity and non-diversity cordless mics? And which would be better for an indoor or outdoor application?

True diversity systems usually are a two antenna system that actually have 2 recievers built into 1 box. It automatically senses the best signal & switches to the best reciever - these are very clean sounding & have minimal interference.
Other diversity systems can include 2 antenna with 1 reciever, still picks up the best signal - although not nearly AS good, it works ok but you'll hear occasional interference/static - this is a much cheaper method & what MANY dual antenna systems under $400 use this method.
Non-diversity use 1 antenna which has no backup to seek the better signal so if you get a reflection, you will hear it in your system. Most dual mic systems are non diversity, even though the reciever may have 2 antenna, this is because it's one receiver per mic - 1 antenna - 1 mic.

True diversity will always be your best bet in any situation - especially outside. But a minimum 2 antenna diversity system will work in many situations. Would not use a non-diversity outside at all.

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That's a good explination. One other thing to consider in a cordless mic is VHF or UHF. Generally VHF may carry a longer distance from your base unit to the handheld, but UHF is much less suseptable to interference from things such as radio controlled things, neon lights, cordless phone/satellite systems, etc. Also, a variable or switchable frequency capability gives you a much better chance of getting away from any interference if it does cause you a problem. Finally, UHF tends to be a little more expensive than VHF, Switchable freqs adds onto the cost. It kinda boils down to ya get what you pay for. The ones not on the "less expensive" list also usually have a better built battery housing, which can significantly extend the life of the mic, repair wise, and can use a couple double A batteries, less expensive than 9V's.

Thanks for the info. Having read that, I am leaning twards picking up a -
AKG WMS40DV880. It's going for $320 at zzounds.com. Is this a true diversity mic? I have an audio technica freeway system, and even though it was a UHF mic, I still got a lot of interferance. I live in Muskegon, Michigan pretty close to Lake Michigan and I'm getting signals from the Coast Guard every now and then during my shows and I want to avoid this. 1 of my shows is about 2 miles from the airport and occasionally my signal completely drops!!! I'm hoping that this AKG mic will solve this problem, but I don't know of anyone who has or uses one. Any info on this mic's performance would be greatly appreciated.

Jay

I just recently bought a Shure SM58 wireless the UT2/58 with a UT4a receiver, $349 at a local shop brand new..... Dual Diversity (is ti true dual diversity)

No interference for some time, one morning i turned the receiver on and both RF lights came on...... now I did not just pay $349 for a wireless system that is going to pick up interference...... after a little investigation i found to culprit... the power supply for my RF Modulators/Switchers was giving off the RF... switched the units out and all is well

There are a number of things like that which can cause you problems. The rf mod is just one of them. Other things (besides an equip problem with your system) are a lot of neon or florescent lighting in close proximity to your system, satellite tv, cell phones, bad grounds or wiring in the venue, - all sorts of things. If your gear has been working fine all along, and some problems come up like that, the best thing to do is research what has changed recently. Could be any number of things.