Wireless Changes (The Sky is not Falling)
by Ray Rayburn
If you are in the USA, sometime between now and June 12, 2009 there is a chance that wireless mics you have been using will start to experience interference or even stop working. What is going on and why should wireless mics that have worked for years suddenly start to have problems?
Most wireless mics operate in unused portions of the TV bands. If there is no TV station in your area on a given channel, then 6 or more wireless mics could operate in that channel.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been planning a changeover from analog to digital TV broadcasting in the USA for many years. Many digital TV stations are already on the air, and by June 12, 2009 the last of the analog TV stations will cease broadcasting, and all TV broadcasting in the USA will be digital. Since there will no longer be both analog and digital TV stations there will be more spectrum for wireless mics. However, you may well find that frequencies you have been using for wireless mics are occupied by a new digital TV station or other user. Many wireless mic systems can be tuned to different frequencies, and you may find you need to select a different frequency if you experience interference on your existing frequency. If your wireless mic is not tunable and you experience interference, you may have to purchase a new wireless mic system. Many of the wireless microphone manufacturers are offering trade-in deals, or will modify your existing system to work on a different frequency.
The FCC has also reduced the number of channels available to TV broadcasters, and therefore wireless mics. There were very few TV broadcasters operating on channels above 51, and those frequencies (698 to 806 MHz) have been sold by the FCC to commercial users, or assigned to public safety agencies. There are wireless mics operating in this "700 MHz band" which may experience interference as these new users come on the air. The FCC has issued a preliminary ruling that wireless mics must cease using these frequencies, but has not yet made this an official final ruling. If you own a wireless mic that operates in this band you may wish to take advantage of the frequency change or trade-in offers from the wireless mic manufacturers.
We will soon be sharing the "white spaces" between TV stations with new TV Band Devices (TVBD). In their rulings the FCC has stated that these TVBD must not cause interference with wireless mics. To facilitate this, the FCC plans a central database where you can register what frequencies your wireless mics are on and the location where they are used. TVBD will have to check the database and avoid using any frequency used by a wireless mic in any given area. Since there are an estimated 2 million wireless mics in use in the USA, once this database is started, it will take some time to get most of those who own wireless mics to register. As soon as the database is setup and accepting registrations, we will let the church community know via this newsletter.
Meanwhile, don't panic. The sky is not falling. Most wireless mics will continue to work with at most a retuning to a different frequency. If you are in the market for a new wireless mic, make sure it is tunable, and not in the "700 MHz band" that is being cleared. Buy a name brand quality wireless, and you will be fine.
Ray A. Rayburn
Senior Consultant
K2 Audio LLC.
http://www.K2Audio.com/
Ray@K2Audio.com
