Author Topic: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!  (Read 1692 times)

cotten

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Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« on: April 30, 2017, 10:28:46 PM »
I am going to have to replace wireless mic and in-ear monitor systems that are working perfectly fine, thanks to the FCC's selling two frequency bands. https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/fcc-wireless-spectrum-auction/?utm_source=insync&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20170428 (The remainder of this post is a quote from the linked article.)

The US government authorized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to auction off a portion of the wireless spectrum (TV bands) to make that spectrum available for wireless broadband and cell phone uses. These frequencies are where many wireless mics and in-ear monitor systems have been operating for years. So what does this auction mean to you, the wireless mic user? While this is an enormously complex and technical issue, here are some simple answers to the questions we are hearing from our wireless customers.

When is the auction happening?

The auction concluded in March 2017, and there’s a 39-month transition that will be complete by 2020.

What does this mean to me as a wireless user?

Wireless systems operating in the red bands of frequencies shown below will need to be replaced/retired within the next 39 months or sooner depending on the purchaser’s transition rate, to be in compliance with the law... The frequencies are 616–653MHz and 663–698MHz.



cotten




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Cindy

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Re: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2017, 07:33:07 PM »
Thanks for this info. I will let my church know so they can look into this.
Cindy

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Re: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2017, 10:46:56 AM »
The bad news is this is going to happen. The good news is that it will take a while, probably more than a year.

cotten

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Re: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« Reply #3 on: May 04, 2017, 09:22:18 PM »
Imagine if our government made a new ruling that our present guitars will no longer make music after next year, and we have to buy replacements or do without. Or maybe our cars will quit working. Not a good situation or precedent! And no, this is not a political discussion, though as in most everything, politics are involved. As frugally as I live, I just hate to have to replace perfectly good equipment.

cotten
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Cindy

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Re: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2017, 12:21:50 PM »
The bad news is this is going to happen. The good news is that it will take a while, probably more than a year.

According to cotten's article, they are allowing 39 months to make the switch. The problem is many people might not find out until it happens.

Imagine if our government made a new ruling that our present guitars will no longer make music after next year, and we have to buy replacements or do without. Or maybe our cars will quit working. Not a good situation or precedent! And no, this is not a political discussion, though as in most everything, politics are involved. As frugally as I live, I just hate to have to replace perfectly good equipment.

cotten

I wonder if there is any way some type of adapter or converter can be made which would allow people to use their current wireless systems if they incorporate it. Kind of like when people travel overseas and use electrical converters for hairdryers, phone chargers, etc.
Cindy

cotten

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Re: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« Reply #5 on: May 05, 2017, 02:29:34 PM »
I'm no engineer, but I don't think so, Cindy. If there were, the companies that sold these soon obsolete units would be offering them and perhaps not such deep discounts on units that operate on safe-for-now frequencies. Or at least some enterprising entrepreneur would be offering such an adapter - this isn't exactly breaking news, but has been in the works for a while. The end is just closer now than it's ever been.

cotten
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Epic Audio

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Re: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« Reply #6 on: May 05, 2017, 04:45:05 PM »
To Cindy's question and cotten's respone - I am an engineer, electrical with a lot of experience in wireless technologies. It would be possible to create a 'converter' to shift the frequency of the wireless so it could be used going forward. The converter would be complicated, requiring two radios (one to receive the existing signal and one to transmit on the new frequency) and have a substantial development cost. It would also be a fairly expensive piece of hardware once in production. Given the small market it is unlikely anyone would develop this product as it will be much less expensive and easier to purchase a new wireless.

Cindy

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Re: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« Reply #7 on: May 05, 2017, 06:21:21 PM »
...this isn't exactly breaking news, but has been in the works for a while. The end is just closer now than it's ever been.

cotten

I appreciated learning about this. After I read your original post, I shared the info with my church. They hadn't heard anything about it. And that may very well pose a problem for lots of people when the end of the time arrives. So thank you for sharing this.

To Cindy's question and cotten's respone - I am an engineer, electrical with a lot of experience in wireless technologies. It would be possible to create a 'converter' to shift the frequency of the wireless so it could be used going forward. The converter would be complicated, requiring two radios (one to receive the existing signal and one to transmit on the new frequency) and have a substantial development cost. It would also be a fairly expensive piece of hardware once in production. Given the small market it is unlikely anyone would develop this product as it will be much less expensive and easier to purchase a new wireless.

I understand. It's an expense my church doesn't need, but hopefully it will help to change the system. They said they've heard a local radio station being broadcast, and on another time, they heard the f-bomb get dropped but never knew where it came from. :o
Cindy

cotten

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Re: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« Reply #8 on: May 06, 2017, 11:18:32 AM »
To Cindy's question and cotten's respone - I am an engineer, electrical with a lot of experience in wireless technologies. It would be possible to create a 'converter' to shift the frequency of the wireless so it could be used going forward...
Thanks, I appreciate your wisdom and experience. One question though:  even if someone like you built such a "converter," wouldn't its use be complicated by the frequent use of the 600 Hz. band by those who bought it? (I assume this was telephone companies.) So while a converter would technically work, there might be so many others on that band that it might be practically useless? I'm not an engineer by any means, of course!

cotten
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Epic Audio

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Re: Wireless Systems - Two Bands Evaporating!
« Reply #9 on: May 06, 2017, 11:30:33 AM »
Good question cotten. For reasons that I can't explain I continue to think about this as if I was going to design it... maybe I will. I actually used to have my own amp company, Bedrock Amps, back in the 80's and 90's. So building equipment for the music industry is not out of the question, although highly unlikely for this potential product.
One way to make this work would be to put a converter on the transmitter connected to the guitar. The transmitter would need it's antenna removed and replace with a hardwired connection to a converter or the converter could accept the antenna (assuming it's external) into a shielded enclosure where the converter would get the signal form the antenna but the shield would prevent other signals from being pickup. The converter would take the signal from the transmitter and shift it to a new good frequency. Either the reverse of this would need to be done on the receiver or the receiver would need to be replaced with one that will accept the new 'shift' frequency. Both approaches would not be too cost effective compared to buying a new wireless system.