[NEohioPAL] Check this pdf file, 700mhz range wireless devices will be banned after the DTV date

[Richard B. Ingraham]

This is actually fairly old news for those that practice audio
professionally.  But I'm glad you brought it up Johnny.  It's definitely
something that will affect many performance venues and even many houses of
worship, sporting events, you name it.  Anyplace wireless microphones are
used.

The problem really is that everyone except broadcasters (think Radio, TV,
etc...)  has really been using wireless microphones illegally for MANY years
now.  Technically no one except licensed broadcasters are supposed to be
using any UHF wireless microphones at all.  Of course no one is really
enforcing that, obviously as wireless mics are everywhere.

The issue however is not isolated to just wireless units above 698MHz
either.  Those will be the first to go, but other frequency bands are under
attack as well.  If we lose a lot of bandwidth to the "whitespace devices"
the use of wireless mics could easily go back to the early days of wireless
mics where we might pick up taxis or police and fire if you were not
careful.

Unfortunately most organizations and even many professional users are
blissfully ignorant even now.  But it's something that is going to come up
soon.

I suggest that anyone that has anything to do with wireless mics read all
they can about whitespace devices and the great debate on their use and
merits.  Just do so with a skeptical eye, because companies like Google and
Cisco and others would have you think they are trying to free up the air
waves for public use.  Right!  They want them freed up so they can sell you
devices that will work in those frequency bands and make a lot of money
doing it.  Don't let them kid you.  :-)

I'm not saying that the whitespace devices are a bad idea.  Just that it's
about time that wireless mics had some reserved bandwidth and were taking
more seriously since so many venues and people use them.  The manufacturers
(like Shure, Sennheiser, etc..) are working on it.  But obviously they are
the little guy in the room when the others in the room are the CEO of
Google.

What does all this really mean....   LOL..

Well if you only need a few channels of wireless, like 2 or 3, I wouldn't
sweat it too much.  Just make sure you have units that are working under 700
MHz, and that are free of UHF TV channels or can at least work around them.


On the other hand it's a terrible time for those of us that need to use
dozens of channels of wireless at a time.  Like musical theatre or concerts
or the like....    Finding open spaces for 24 channels of wireless can be
tough task even in places where there are relatively few UHF TV channels
like Cleveland.  (Heck I was having a hard time to get 24 clear Channels
last fall in Evansville Indiana.... hardly a metropolis.. )  I can't even
imagine places like New York and Vegas, what it must be like there...
Better them than me that's all I can say.  :-)

My personal recommendation would be that you keep working what you have now
until you can no longer use it.  If you are looking at buying new wireless
in the near future I would hold off if at all possible, until the dust
settles and keep up on the subject.  That way you won't buy something now
that could be useless 5 years down the road.  However sometimes you simply
can not wait as long as it will take for all the politics to sort itself
out.  In that case I would just get the most frequency agile units you can
afford and have a good conversation about these issues with your equipment
vendor and/or the manufacturer.  If you ask them about this and they don't
know what you are talking about... well walk out the door and find someone
else that knows what they are talking about.

Hope that helps some....


Richard B. Ingraham
RBI Computers and Audio
http://www.rbicompaudio.20m.com