Radio Frequencies Abroad

[Matt-onstage]

Hi Guys,

 

Just wondering if anyone can answer this question for me or point me in the right direction of the answer.

 

Just after xmas I sent a HoW group out to france with some IEM systems. They are being returned to me today which made me think as to what the regs are for UK based radio gear in other EU Countries.

 

Many Thanks

 

Matt

[Bobbsy]

You're stumbling into a minefield on this one. Despite harmonised bananas, one area where the EU has NOT set a standard in in frequencies for radio mics, IEMs and so on. Each country has their own rules and standards.

 

If you're lucky, you can find the info you need by Googling but, frankly, the easiest way tends to be to go to the equipment manufacturers. In particular, I've found Sennheiser very helpful in the past.

 

Bonus points to the first gear supplier who puts a concise list of European regs on their web site though!

 

Bob

[Joshwah]

Bonus points to the first gear supplier who puts a concise list of European regs on their web site though!

 

If you have a look on the sennheiser site and go to the wireless microphone page there is a frequency finder which gives you some rough info with regards to whats available in other countries.

[Nat_Keiller]

JFMG may be able to advise on who to contact in respective countries (www.jfmg.co.ukJFMG Webpage).

[Simon Lewis]

Each country has their own rules and standards.

 

Apart from the 863 to 865MHz band (which I believe does enjoy some degree of standardisation across Europe)....

 

However, this slice of spectrum isn't going to cope with any complex IEM requirements, even for a HoW group (presumably 'House of Worship'? - a bland term for those who daren't say "church"?!).

 

 

Simon

[Nicktaylor]

Just to reitterate

 

Sennheiser have a good page. Just found it the link on the work intranet

 

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_e...frequency-check

[Matt-onstage]

I had an email back from JFMG about this and they basically stated they only deal with uk based stuff.

 

I had a look on the sennheiser site as well and found the frequency chart and had a scan thru.

 

in the end anyway the users took the unit over to france for their gig, got it all plugged in and thought it wasn't working so discarded it to one side. what they had forgotten to do was turn up the beltpack, ** laughs out loud **. oh well. at least they had a fun gig.

 

and anyway, it's not that I'm ashamed to say the word 'church' I actually prefer the words 'happy clappys' which don't go down to well with them, ** laughs out loud **.

[Bobbsy]

I had a look at the Sennheiser site and, while the basic info is there, it's pretty light on the regulatory information. I checked some countries I know and, for example, on the UK it doesn't differentiate among the "free" frequencies, the "shared" ones and the fully licenced ones. It also lists all the UHF TV frequencies as available, not mentioning that they're shared with, and give priority to, TV channels. There's just a small note at the end about getting your licence from the JFMG.

 

Similarly, it lists a huge number of frequencies in the US, not mentioning the fact that only broadcasters can legally get a licence...any other users (even big broadway shows or rock tours) must break the law to use RF mics. Also, as with the UK, it makes no mention of the fact that the frequencies listed are shared with broadcast TV...and in the US this means very little of the spectrum is available. Most RF techs in the States have to carry a spectrum analyser and squeeze things in on bits of spare space adjacent to big TV carriers.

 

So, the moral of the story is...use the Sennheiser site, but research beyond the barebones info there.

 

Bob