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Confusion on Upcoming Wireless Switchover


jasony

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Can anyone point me to a simple explanation on which frequencies will and won't be available for our wireless mics in the upcoming switch? I'm looking at purchasing a few Sennheiser G2's and don't want to get them if they're only going to be good for a few months.

Thanks

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Look out re: freq.s 700 MHz and above for the short run, although exactly how that spectrum sale will play out in terms of use is not clear in every locale yet.  I'm keeping my Lectro block 27/28 stuff for now--it's old enough that I'd rather have the use of it until it is literally run over, but I'm not buying any more gear in those blocks.  For later on in the indefinite future it seems like most of the UHF band will get sold off to someone for something--but how that will work is still science fiction.

Philip Perkins

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I'm all Audio Ltd all the time, but I'll relate my recent experience.

Systems in the TV 54-55 range (710 to 722 mHz. or blocks 27/28): Worked fine in October '07 on the national Mall, between the Washington Monument ant the Lincoln Memorial and at the Grant Statue down in front of the Capitol Bldg. In December '07 none of them worked well in any of those locations. Actually didn't work at all.

I suspect there is something other than the TV sell-off behind this issue, as the freqs in question were all-OK all the time on any radio mic channel-checking page. 54 was claimed, but nobody had anything on CH 55.

Best regards,

JG

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Can anyone point me to a simple explanation on which frequencies will and won't be available for our wireless mics in the upcoming switch? I'm looking at purchasing a few Sennheiser G2's and don't want to get them if they're only going to be good for a few months.

I think the problem is that you have to look ahead a year or two to try to figure out which bands are going to wind up being most crowded.

At least for the U.S., you can check this site:

http://www.fccinfo.com

then do a search based on zip code and distance, then look and see how the frequencies break out. Blocks 21 and 22 are about to get a lot more crowded. Everything from Block 27 on up are destined to be used for cell and other purposes, but that won't happen overnight. And most of the VHF band will be gone before too much longer. (And thanks to Bruce Jones of Lectro for the FCC website info.)

--Marc W.

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Can anyone point me to a simple explanation on which frequencies will and won't be available for our wireless mics in the upcoming switch? I'm looking at purchasing a few Sennheiser G2's and don't want to get them if they're only going to be good for a few months.

Thanks

jasony, I always thought that the G2s are pretty good sounding lav mics, but they simply are not work horses.  They have drop outs occasionally because of there design, that lack a lot of features that the Letros have, and they can use up a lot of batteries on the set.

However, they are slightly smaller especially on the receivers, cheap on the cash, and they operate in the 500MHz range.. so no need to worry about loosing that range for a long time.

I have 3 sets of these G2s, and I plan on using them for possible camera hops, IFB, or transmitting TC code to other remote devices..

-Richard

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jasony, I always thought that the G2s are pretty good sounding lav mics, but they simply are not work horses.  They have drop outs occasionally because of there design, that lack a lot of features that the Letros have, and they can use up a lot of batteries on the set.

However, they are slightly smaller especially on the receivers, cheap on the cash...

I am inclined to agree.  They work and sound great in a controlled setting like a day full of interviews but don't perform quite as well during a day out in the park.  Lectros are of course amazing and I always make sure they come with me.  I was quite pleased that I was able to mix above ground while shooting was taking place on a subway platform!  And the receiver was picking up full signal!  But if you're on a budget, the G2s are definitely appealing.

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How do you determine what frequencies to use with the G2's?  It has a scan function but that appears to scan only a portion (1/4th?) of the frequencies it uses.  Even when it has chosen one I can still sometimes get hits and my theory is that because it can only scan  this small slice of spectrum, it chooses the best channel even if it isn't great.  Any suggestions would be a great help.  I like the G2's for a lot of things but want to use them to the fullest.

A.

I am inclined to agree.  They work and sound great in a controlled setting like a day full of interviews but don't perform quite as well during a day out in the park.  Lectros are of course amazing and I always make sure they come with me.  I was quite pleased that I was able to mix above ground while shooting was taking place on a subway platform!  And the receiver was picking up full signal!  But if you're on a budget, the G2s are definitely appealing.

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