sdog Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 Hey, this topic pops into my mind on rare occasion when I'm going through old equipment. I have an old C-band (aka >700MHz, aka illegal) Sennheiser G2 system in my "old equipment pile". If I recall correctly, I went directly to Sennheiser a year or two ago to see if they do frequency mods on old systems and they didn't want anything to do with it (presumably because they prefer to sell their newer systems). I have two questions: 1.) Does anyone know of any third parties that do frequency mods on old C-band G2s to bring them into a usable range (or is such a thing even possible)? 2.) If so, would it even be worth the cost? (I know. Question #2 is a little vague and subjective but I'm a guy that actually likes all the wild and subjective opinions on this site!!) Although it wouldn't be my first piece of gear left behind by the incessant onward march of time and technology, it seems kind of criminal to simply toss a piece of gear that was once so expensive . Thanks All, Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Reineke Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 1.) Does anyone know of any third parties that do frequency mods on old C-band G2s to bring them into a usable range (or is such a thing even possible)?- No 2.) If so, would it even be worth the cost?- No Though In an underpopulated rural area, I don't think the FCC dream police would be interested or would ever get close enough to pick up a signal from a 30mW source. I'm not condoning an illegal action though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 I think you'll find pretty clear scans for your C band Senny's these days. If and when that area gets crowded (you'll see it on your scans, right?) you can use them for target practice or sell them overseas. p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmfsnd Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 Sell them to one of those "videographers". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdog Posted October 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 Thanks, guys. All points well taken and kind of what I suspected. The difficult part would be trying decide whether I would get more pleasure from the target practice or selling it to the "videographer". Piling on the unfortunate just seems mean though, so target practice it is! (after I weary of running from the FCC dream police!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 I sold all my G2s on Ebay, incl a clear warning about the legal use of the frequency band. I was really surprised how much people were still prepared to pay for these things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Thomas Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 It totally depends where they're going. We've just had 823-832MHz open up Europe-wide, but there's a bit of a shortage in manufacturers making equipment in that range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 In Norcal those freqs are still pretty wide open. Not legal, yes, but not being used either, mostly. When they do fill up then the radios won't work anyway, and that's what you'd have to be straight about with a buyer. p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karri Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 It totally depends where they're going. We've just had 823-832MHz open up Europe-wide, but there's a bit of a shortage in manufacturers making equipment in that range The 800 band Sennys also have another 2 MHz wide free slot in the upper range. Someone doing Sennheiser maintenance can do a firmware update to your Sennys that only leaves the allowed frequencies selectable, making them totally legal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 I don't think owning gear that is capable of transmitting illegal frequencies is illegal. Only using the illegal frequencies is, well, illegal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdog Posted October 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks, guys. A fair amount of illumination on this topic. And I believe Constantin's last comment is correct. At least in the ham radio world, the FCC regs are all about "operators", not "owners". I presume that's true for the entire RF universe. Hey Karri, do you know off the top of your head what that free frequency range is? No worries if you don't - I can look it up. Just thought I'd ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Waelder Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 I don't think owning gear that is capable of transmitting illegal frequencies is illegal. Only using the illegal frequencies is, well, illegal Of course, no one from the government is going to pursue users for simply owning equipment capable of transmitting on restricted frequencies. But there can be an issue with some venues when trying to use gear, like Block 27, that spans a range, lawful at one end of the range and restricted at the other. While using the unrestricted frequencies is perfectly OK, I have heard that some lots and stages restrict the equipment they will permit clients to bring on the property to gear that operates only in the permitted ranges. They want to be certain that no one transmits on a restricted frequency so they would not be liable for any FCC action that might penalize the larger operation. I'm not sure how they might go about policing this policy - I think it unlikely that they would inspect every sound cart that was brought onto the property. I expect it would be a contractual limitation and they would rely upon the various producers to pass the word to their employees. Probably by incorporating the restriction in the rental agreements they inoculate themselves to some degree against a possible government charge. But, however it works - and I have only anecdotal report that some lots and stages are doing this - it does mean that a technician may find that gear, still capable of being used lawfully, may be use-restricted in some places. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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