Licence exempt radiomics

[Wingwalker]

Hello all,

 

Can anyone tell me please what the legal sitiaution will be when the radiomic spectrum has the big change around next year for users who have units on the current de-regulated frequencies listed below.

 

173.800

174.100

174.500

174.800

175.000

 

Am I right in undersdtanding that these frequencies will become obselete and therefore usage of such would be deemed "illigal"?

 

Many thanks,

 

David.

[paulears]

The current VHF license free situation is here (courtesy of JFMG)- there seems no further change to this band from the 2012 changes.

Licence Exempt

 

VHF

 

Band: 173.7 - 175.1 MHz

 

Available frequencies:

 

173.800, 174.000, 174.200, 174.400, 174.600, 174.800, 175.000 MHz

 

No. of mics: Typically up to 3 frequencies can be used together.

For example, 173.8, 174.2, and 175.0 MHz

 

Transmitter power: 10mW. (Up to 50mW permitted for body-worn pack)

 

Other users: Wireless microphones only

 

Hope this helps

[Bobbsy]

Just a bit of background:

 

The changes to UHF frequencies are part of the "digital dividend" as frequencies presently used for television in the UK are freed up with the move to digital and the shut down of analogue TV. Originally, OFCOM planned to leave Channel 69 (only for radio mics in the UK) alone but other countries where it had been used for TV adopted a plan to use it for mobile communications and the UK followed suit in the interest of "harmonisation".

 

Anyway, since the VHF frequencies being discussed have not been used for TV for many years, any re-allocation isn't part of this shake up.

 

How long this remains the case is anyone's guess since the policy now seems to be to flog radio bandwidth (a limited resource) to the highest bidder.

[Simon Lewis]

David,

 

Those frequencies are not under threat at present, but someone somewhere might just spot that few manufacturers make stuff for this frequency band, as most opted to go for UHF channel 69/70.

 

What should be apparent is that the frequencies you've stated are the older fixed frequencies, and the ones Paulears lists are the newer ones. There is quite a good chance of interference in this band anyway, but more so if you mix the old and new frequencies!

 

Simon

[Doug Siddons]

Just to add a note about UHF , as I understand it the frequencies between 863-865 MHz can still be used after 2012. This means that my pair of EW100's non G2 which can be tuned to this frequency will still be legal and useable.

[Simon Lewis]

This means that my pair of EW100's non G2 which can be tuned to this frequency will still be legal and useable.

 

Just add the 80,000 odd channels of surrended RF that Equiniti are selling back into the market which will also tune to this narrow little slice of spectrum, and you will be in good company!

[paulears]

I've just annoyed myself by a long term client asking for a repair to a Sennheiser radio system they have on hire from me. The trouble is, it's a package of all sorts of kit, and I'd forgotten the 4 radio mic channels when I surrendered my kit. So at some stage, if after 2012 he suddenly gets problems, he'll want replacements, and I'll get back kit I can't use. Such is life!

 

The reality will be not at switchover day, but when the new occupants start selling the kit that will operate in this band - so at some stage we'll be reporting sudden disruption to stable systems, where people won't even be aware problems are looming.

 

I've been to a large venue only recently with a huge rack full of G2 - probably 12-14 of them, and none of the technical people seemed too bothered they'd not surrendered them. A split in the technical and the managerial teams? Bad communications? At the end of the day, that's a potential loss of thousands of investment in current kit, plus more to replace them. They're licensed, but nobody seemed to have a responsibility to sort it, so they didn't!

 

The numbers of people who bought kit from music shops and ebay must be huge, and I'd bet few of these users are even aware ....yet?

[Wingwalker]

That last sentence by Paul is what prompted me to write the original post. I was talking to a juggler friend of mine who uses just one mic for party entertainment from kiddies birthdays through to corporate functions. he told me that he recently purchased a new unit from a shop where "it had been sitting on the back of a shelf for ages mate, make me an offer and its yours..."

 

My friend paid £150 for the unit which of course is pretty cheap in radiomic terms but then it begged the question how long could he actually legally use it for, hence my posting.

 

David.

[themadhippy]

The numbers of people who bought kit from music shops and ebay must be huge, and I'd bet few of these users are even aware ....yet?

but there the same people who dont relise the defualt channel the units come with is often on a regulated frequency,so there going to carry on regardless.

[Simon Lewis]

but there the same people who dont relise the defualt channel the units come with is often on a regulated frequency,so there going to carry on regardless.

 

Very true! I can't but help feel that the manufacturers share some of the blame here... Few ever highlighted the need for licensing, or made the caveat so vague that no one ever checked, many pushed automatic frequency selection routines that disregarded local RF rules...

[paulears]

I rather loved the scan function on some - look for a clear channel and use it! yet never actually tell people the implications?

[Jivemaster]

There were some fully working bottom end radio mics locally at less that £10. Trouble is that they were somewhere between 118 and 136MHz and I'm inside the London TMA. CE = China Export!