The latest from Ofcom on the future of Radio Mics

[AndyL]

They only fund the mods or new eqpt based on a life cycle of 10 years and its pro rata, see post 11 above

 

Direct quote from the Ofcom PDF below

 

5.69 At this initial stage, we believe the level of such financial assistance to which PMSE

users may be entitled should be based on the lower cost of either modifying

equipment or replacing it, the latter based on the residual equivalent value of existing

equipment and not the cost of buying new equipment. This avoids the situation where

public money is used to buy new equipment that would have replaced old equipment

with little remaining usable life anyway

 

 we would only consider assistance for equipment purchased before publication of

this consultation document (i.e. 2 February 2009);

 claimants would need to hold a licence to use channel 69 valid before publication

of this document;

 the equipment would need to be capable of tuning to channel 69 but not channel

38; and

 the full lifecycle of equipment from the date of its original purchase is 10 years

 

....and at the risk of sounding like a broken record....

 

If you think that any of the criteria for deciding who gets funding and who doesn't are wrong, then send in a response to the consultation saying how and why they are wrong. None of this is set in stone yet, these are proposals.

 

You don't have to write a whole novel or even an essay. If you only want to comment on one aspect then maybe one paragraph is all that is needed.

 

If you are a member of any trade organisation or union then let them know your thoughts on this matter, they may well already have people working on a response so make sure that your views are represented.

 

And yes, at least one response will contain input from me...

[TAG1960]

Pretty much all the ch69 devices should be able to work there shouldn't they?

 

M

 

No ,only if they transmit on CH70 aswell as CH 69. CH69 only kit like the Sony Freedom range will not tune up to ch 70 without modification which may not be possable despite what Ofcomm says. Check the range of your kit for more info.

[stagemanagement]

Does this mean that AM-Dram's and School shows will stop bringing 40 rad mic's to plug into a 32 channel desk?!

 

Does this really mean I'll have to stop p*ssing about re-tuning all the extra rad's they bring in because they have about 10 receivers all set to the same frequency?!

 

Does this actually mean that people will have to learn to PROJECT, rather than blithely mis-casting shows with performers who are simply not up to the job?!

 

Does this mean I can start a nifty sideline in selling all those old "SM58 necklaces" to allow a performer to use a cable mic hands-free?!!

[boswell]

No,No,No,No

 

HTH

[stagemanagement]

No,No,No,No

 

HTH

 

Oh bugger..!

[AndyL]

BECTU have just opened a forum on their website to discuss Channel 69

 

It's at http://www.bectu.org.uk/get-involved/forum

 

[theoholloway]

This might _actually_ be the least worst option:

 

* After 2012, ch.69 will not be contiguous with any other usable spectrum, whereas 39/40 will be usable interleaved spectrum.

* Having a decent (planned) mobile broadband system reduces the commercial case for cognitive/whitespace devices (and the big players who've just paid for access to it won't want other people developing competing devices that use "free" spectrum).

* Ofcom have at least acknowledged the principle that they need to meet the cost of the retuning.

 

However, their claim that ch.38 is already available doesn't really stand up to much scrutiny - especially if you live within 90-odd miles

of Jodrell Bank (or any other radio telescope, for that matter). The February cut-off date for kit that qualifies for retuning assistance money effectively puts a 3-year moratorium on buying new radio mics.

 

Furthermore, that their compensation proposals fall well short of what it'll actually cost the industry. Many organisations still derive significant income from kit that is over ten years old (having spent large sums keeping it well-maintained), and they do not propose to meet the other business costs that go with retuning this quantity of kit (logistical costs, having kit out of operation during re-tuning).

 

They also mention, then fail expand on, the cost of vacating 61/2.

 

Perhaps most critically, their claim (perhaps "aspiration" is more appropriate) that adequate interleaved spectrum will be available post-DSO is shaky at best – personally, I find BEIRG's analysis* far more convincing, and comfortable reading it aint…

 

For those of you who've yet to join BEIRG, now would be a very good time. They've lobbied effectively so far, but they need to keep going, and this costs money. I worry that a bad deal on spectrum, and/or a massive inflation in the cost of owning or renting radio mics means that the UK Touring Musical circuit will die out, probably having a disastrous effect on the West End. If this were to happen, a significant proportion of us, perhaps a majority, will lose our jobs.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Cheers,

Theo.

 

* http://www.beirg.org.uk/BEIRG%20response%2...gust%202008.pdf

[boswell]

BECTU have just opened a forum on their website to discuss Channel 69

 

It's at http://www.bectu.org.uk/get-involved/forum

 

 

It's a very busy forum !

/sarcastic mode

[spectrumforthestage]

I Hope that several thousand users will write to mr Canavan, I Know I will. For anyone who doesnt know, Ofcom can be found at Riverside House, 2A Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 9HA

 

From this I can assume that the large stock of CH69 Radios I own will become doorstops after 2012...Better try and get them out between now and then!

:D

Neil

 

Same here, I'm a student studying performance and have taken it upon myself to set up an organisation (www.spectrumforthestage.com) try and tackle this situation, in the same line as BEIRG I suppose except I am working on this almost full time and trying to drum up public attention and support on the issue.

I have a petition on 10 Downing Street (http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/spectrum69/) and a facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=42929622625)

 

Anyway this was actually a hot topic a few years ago but has taken a back seat recently for many people and organisations, but I am working on getting newspapers and magazines to take this up as a story again. So many people still have no idea that this is going on, at least this is what I have found having spoken to a number of places of education and theatre's/opera houses.

 

Everyone replying to the condoc?!

[Solstace]

Yes, I will be replying to the condoc. Not quite sure what I make of this, as in my venue we have six units, two of which need replacing - so for us there is a significant cost, but it will be small-fry compared with many pro venues and hire companies out there.

 

If radio mics have to be used less then perhaps we need to think about new production methods and values?

 

Further, what worries me is how little I'm hearing from the manufacturers about new technologies that might help us get around the potential issues. Are the manufacturers holding back because nothing has been made certain yet? Or am I just misinformed through not having my ear to the ground?

 

As an aside, I'm not sure I'm looking forward to so many of us being beta-testers for whatever new technologies emerge - at least for most new and emerging technologies in the last few years (digital mixing, and the like) there have been workable older technology solutions to work from. In this situation it looks as if we're initially being sold less overall functionality with little or no overlap time to use alternative solutions until the newer kit and methods mature to an acceptable standard.

 

Or am I just being paranoid?

 

Either way - bring on the challange!

[ph507]

Assuming that the digital switchover is only affecting 470MHz - 865MHz am I right in thinking that VHF equipment will be fine to use after this switchover?

 

I can quite happily get 8 VHF mic's working together within the licence free/VHF spectrum and have never had any problems with interference.

[AndyL]

Assuming that the digital switchover is only affecting 470MHz - 865MHz am I right in thinking that VHF equipment will be fine to use after this switchover?

 

I can quite happily get 8 VHF mic's working together within the licence free/VHF spectrum and have never had any problems with interference.

 

Almost but not quite.

 

The digital switchover is only affecting 470MHz - 862MHz. VHF is not currently affected by this particular issue, although changes to DAB use of Band III may be of concern.

 

I am intrigued by your claim that you can "happily get 8 VHF mic's working together within the licence free/VHF spectrum", the only licence exempt VHF spectrum (in the UK) being from 173.7MHz - 175.1MHz which is normally only big enough for about three radio mics. JFMG - Licence Exempt

Other VHF frequencies are not licence exempt.

[Dave]

On this whole topic, I was wondering if anyone has found out if their radio mics (typically channels 67-69) could be modified or retuned to cover channel 38? My instinctive feeling is that this is not practical, but it would be good to have it straight from the manufacturers.

 

If I don't have any responses by tomorrow morning, I'll drop Shure and Sennheiser an email.

[ph507]

Assuming that the digital switchover is only affecting 470MHz - 865MHz am I right in thinking that VHF equipment will be fine to use after this switchover?

 

I can quite happily get 8 VHF mic's working together within the licence free/VHF spectrum and have never had any problems with interference.

 

Almost but not quite.

 

The digital switchover is only affecting 470MHz - 862MHz. VHF is not currently affected by this particular issue, although changes to DAB use of Band III may be of concern.

 

I am intrigued by your claim that you can "happily get 8 VHF mic's working together within the licence free/VHF spectrum", the only licence exempt VHF spectrum (in the UK) being from 173.7MHz - 175.1MHz which is normally only big enough for about three radio mics. JFMG - Licence Exempt

Other VHF frequencies are not licence exempt.

 

Sorry, I meant licence exempt and shared VHF spectrum.

[Matt Riley]

On this whole topic, I was wondering if anyone has found out if their radio mics (typically channels 67-69) could be modified or retuned to cover channel 38? My instinctive feeling is that this is not practical, but it would be good to have it straight from the manufacturers.

 

If I don't have any responses by tomorrow morning, I'll drop Shure and Sennheiser an email.

 

WRT sennheiser stuff, there have been rumblings that all G2 stuff will be modifiable by senn to work on the new frequencies for a cost of £200 a unit. Also they have promised to rechip the 3000 series, although probs not for free. See both earlier in this thread for the press release, and in the recent thread 'how do I persuade the client that he wants 3000 series instead of evo stuff'. I can't comment on Shure.