In article , Phil Allison
scribeth thus

"Serge Auckland"

I volunteer at our local Hospital Radio station, and we've just been given
a license as a Community Station. We've had an old very cheap VHF radio mic
which has worked sort of Ok for us in the past, but that's now become
unreliable and the audio quality was never great so I'd like to replace it.

I've seen radio mics at £50, even Sennheisers at about £100 and others at
around £400 for a single handheld transmitter. I can't tell from the specs
what the differences are, and I have little experience of speccing radio
mics, as it was something that I very rarely got involved with
professionally.

Can anyone here advise me what the differences are between cheap mics and
expensive mics, and recommend any favourites. Is it sound quality, range,
reliability or what? I don't have a budget in mind, but even as a
Community Station, we have limited funds, so a £100 would be better than a
£400 one if the cheaper one will do the job. Sadly being based in rural
Suffolk, there aren't any dealers round here I could go and talk to, but
anyway, what dealer would actually give me impartial advice?


** OK - the very cheapest radio mic systems operate in the VHF band, have
only one fixed frequency and are flimsy in construction with a mediocre to
poor sound quality.

The ones to go for these days operate in the UHF band, have several
switchable frequencies, are of much sturdier in construction and have an
essential feature called " true diversity " built into the receiver. Without
this feature, a radio mic systems suffers from severe signal "drop outs" as
you move the mic around a room.

It is also a good idea to go for one of the major brand names, like Shure or
Sennheiser.

Have a look at the Sennheiser " Freeport " system - has all the features
I mentioned and is still inexpensive at around 130 UK pounds.



...... Phil




Trantrec are UK based and offer high performance at a reasonable price
find them in the Canford catalogue...
--
Tony Sayer

In article , Phil Allison
scribeth thus

"David Looser"
" Don Pearce PITA ****** "

Digital switch over is now so close that in all fairness I could not
recommend anyone to but a UHF analogue mic. It would be money wasted.


It's all that is available. But I don't agree that it would be money
wasted. Just keep on using it regardless, there's very little chance of
anyone even noticing that you are using it whatever the official position.
That's what 99% of existing radio mic users will do especially as most of
them are totally unaware of any of these proposed changes.

For best advice I would recommend the OP to read an Ofcom statement:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/cond.../statement.pdf

This lays out the timings and concession on the UHF band.


That paper was pure bureaucratic gobbledegook, a classic bit of moden-day
waffle that said nothing of any help to anyone. Why radio mic users have
allowed themselves to be treated in the shabby way that Ofcom have for
years is a mystery to me.


** For once I totally AGREE, 100% with David !!!!



..... Phil



Jeeezzzz no wonder we have a heatwave;!....
--
Tony Sayer

"Don Pearce" wrote in message
news:4a4fb9e9.1478537015@localhost...
On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:59:44 +0100, "David Looser"
wrote:


Anyone who goes the official route, using PMSE to find and guarantee
empty channels will be very aware of the situation.

But of course most people don't, they just buy the things and use them.

I have been
fighting against the move (ok, because I want the digital band they
are moving to) but to no avail. The allocation at 1790 MHz was made at
a European, not national level.

I would have thought that 1790MHz was rather too high for reliable operation
in a cluttered theatre/studio.



No clout, I'm afraid. The numbers are just too small. Ofcom doesn't
understand that for each mic in use there are thousands of people
enjoying the result. They just count the units.


They may not have that sort of "clout", but theatre is an important
industry. I would have expected the big London theatres to put up more of a
fight with Ofcom. ISTM that this case is a good example of how the current
fashion for treating spectrum allocation as a matter of market forces is
failing society generally.

David.

In article , David Looser
scribeth thus
"Don Pearce" wrote in message
news:4a4dad2d.1475276390@localhost...
On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:15:33 GMT, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

Did I dream this or not, I seem to recall that the government proposed to
move the radio mic band at some point, and wondered if this might have
some
impact on the choices. Like others have said, not into the radio mic
scene
myself, so have not kept up.

I agree about diversity though, some terrible nulls occur just where you
need them to work I understand. its that chap Murphy.

Brian

Part of the "digital switch over" will see the radio mic band move
from an analogue system in the TV UHF TV channels to a digital system
in the 1790 to 1798 MHz band. At the same time their status drops from
primary to secondary. What that means is that in the new band the mic
user must ensure he causes no interference to other services. The
current user of this higher band is the Home Office,

Digital switch over is now so close that in all fairness I could not
recommend anyone to but a UHF analogue mic. It would be money wasted.

It's all that is available. But I don't agree that it would be money wasted.
Just keep on using it regardless, there's very little chance of anyone even
noticing that you are using it whatever the official position. That's what
99% of existing radio mic users will do especially as most of them are
totally unaware of any of these proposed changes.

For best advice I would recommend the OP to read an Ofcom statement:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/cond.../statement.pdf

This lays out the timings and concession on the UHF band.


That paper was pure bureaucratic gobbledegook, a classic bit of moden-day
waffle that said nothing of any help to anyone. Why radio mic users have
allowed themselves to be treated in the shabby way that Ofcom have for years
is a mystery to me.

David.




Http:\\www.jfmg.co.uk

should be your first port of call, they manage the spectrum for SAB (Services
Ancillary to Broadcasting) these cover fixed and temporary sound and vision
links and of course radio mics. Several bands are in use, some licence exempt
some licenced some shared and exclusive etc etc..

Of course Ofcom ,AKA consult-a-com are having a dabble where ever they see an
opportunity to prolly flog off a bit of spectrum to raise loot for the
goverrmint!...


And of course JFMG are now owned and operated by good old Arqiva ;!....
--
Tony Sayer

In article , David Looser
scribeth thus
"Don Pearce" wrote in message
news:4a4dad2d.1475276390@localhost...
On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:15:33 GMT, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

Did I dream this or not, I seem to recall that the government proposed to
move the radio mic band at some point, and wondered if this might have
some
impact on the choices. Like others have said, not into the radio mic
scene
myself, so have not kept up.

I agree about diversity though, some terrible nulls occur just where you
need them to work I understand. its that chap Murphy.

Brian

Part of the "digital switch over" will see the radio mic band move
from an analogue system in the TV UHF TV channels to a digital system
in the 1790 to 1798 MHz band. At the same time their status drops from
primary to secondary. What that means is that in the new band the mic
user must ensure he causes no interference to other services. The
current user of this higher band is the Home Office,

Digital switch over is now so close that in all fairness I could not
recommend anyone to but a UHF analogue mic. It would be money wasted.

It's all that is available. But I don't agree that it would be money wasted.
Just keep on using it regardless, there's very little chance of anyone even
noticing that you are using it whatever the official position. That's what
99% of existing radio mic users will do especially as most of them are
totally unaware of any of these proposed changes.

For best advice I would recommend the OP to read an Ofcom statement:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/cond.../statement.pdf

This lays out the timings and concession on the UHF band.


That paper was pure bureaucratic gobbledegook, a classic bit of moden-day
waffle that said nothing of any help to anyone. Why radio mic users have
allowed themselves to be treated in the shabby way that Ofcom have for years
is a mystery to me.

David.


http://www.jfmg.co.uk/

should be your first port of call, they manage the spectrum for SAB (Services
Ancillary to Broadcasting) these cover fixed and temporary sound and vision
links and of course radio mics. Several bands are in use, some licence exempt
some licenced some shared and exclusive etc etc..

Of course Ofcom ,AKA consult-a-COM are having a dabble where ever they see an
opportunity to prolly flog off a bit of spectrum to raise loot for the
goverrmint!...




And of course JFMG are now owned and operated by good old Arqiva ;!....
--
--
Tony Sayer

On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:33:42 +0100, "David Looser"
wrote:

"Don Pearce" wrote in message
news:4a4fb9e9.1478537015@localhost...
On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:59:44 +0100, "David Looser"
wrote:


Anyone who goes the official route, using PMSE to find and guarantee
empty channels will be very aware of the situation.

But of course most people don't, they just buy the things and use them.

I have been
fighting against the move (ok, because I want the digital band they
are moving to) but to no avail. The allocation at 1790 MHz was made at
a European, not national level.

I would have thought that 1790MHz was rather too high for reliable operation
in a cluttered theatre/studio.


Provided you have a decent diverse receiver it works fine.



No clout, I'm afraid. The numbers are just too small. Ofcom doesn't
understand that for each mic in use there are thousands of people
enjoying the result. They just count the units.


They may not have that sort of "clout", but theatre is an important
industry. I would have expected the big London theatres to put up more of a
fight with Ofcom. ISTM that this case is a good example of how the current
fashion for treating spectrum allocation as a matter of market forces is
failing society generally.

Dead right, but market forces are the only language Ofcom understands
(or rather pays lip service to). They sacked all their RF engineers
years ago, and have no notion of the nature of the resource they are
managing.

d

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...

Of course Ofcom ,AKA consult-a-com are having a dabble where ever they see
an
opportunity to prolly flog off a bit of spectrum to raise loot for the
goverrmint!...


Which seems to me to be the problem, Ofcom can't see a way of making money
out of radio mic users.

Don mentioned the big London theatres, but they are only the tip of the
iceberg when it comes to radio mic users. The vast majority of these mics
are used in small theatres, gyms, village halls etc. all over the country.
Look at any aerobics class these days, the chance is high that the teacher
is using a head-worn radio mic. And *most* radio mics are owned either by
individuals or by very small groups such as amateur theatre groups, amateur
bands etc. These people have neither the money nor inclination to buy a
licence, and are blissfully unaware of the machinations of Ofcom. And yes,
they will continue to use their existing equipment for as long as it works
regardless of Ofcom.


And of course JFMG are now owned and operated by good old Arqiva ;!....
--

'nuff said!

David.

No clout, I'm afraid. The numbers are just too small. Ofcom doesn't
understand that for each mic in use there are thousands of people
enjoying the result. They just count the units.


They may not have that sort of "clout", but theatre is an important
industry. I would have expected the big London theatres to put up more of a
fight with Ofcom. ISTM that this case is a good example of how the current
fashion for treating spectrum allocation as a matter of market forces is
failing society generally.

Dead right, but market forces are the only language Ofcom understands
(or rather pays lip service to). They sacked all their RF engineers
years ago, and have no notion of the nature of the resource they are
managing.

d

Actually they have now realised that they are short, and have some new
ones in training!...
--
Tony Sayer

On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:56:17 +0100, tony sayer
wrote:

No clout, I'm afraid. The numbers are just too small. Ofcom doesn't
understand that for each mic in use there are thousands of people
enjoying the result. They just count the units.


They may not have that sort of "clout", but theatre is an important
industry. I would have expected the big London theatres to put up more of a
fight with Ofcom. ISTM that this case is a good example of how the current
fashion for treating spectrum allocation as a matter of market forces is
failing society generally.

Dead right, but market forces are the only language Ofcom understands
(or rather pays lip service to). They sacked all their RF engineers
years ago, and have no notion of the nature of the resource they are
managing.

d

Actually they have now realised that they are short, and have some new
ones in training!...

I wonder what the training comprises...? I think that anyone who works
for a regulator should have a great deal of experience at the sharp
end, designing networks, deploying links, hanging off tall buildings
aligning dishes etc. I have a nasty feeling the "training" will
consist mainly of learning to drive computer tools like Seamcat.

d

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , Phil Allison
scribeth thus

"Serge Auckland"

I volunteer at our local Hospital Radio station, and we've just been
given
a license as a Community Station. We've had an old very cheap VHF radio
mic
which has worked sort of Ok for us in the past, but that's now become
unreliable and the audio quality was never great so I'd like to replace
it.

I've seen radio mics at £50, even Sennheisers at about £100 and others
at
around £400 for a single handheld transmitter. I can't tell from the
specs
what the differences are, and I have little experience of speccing radio
mics, as it was something that I very rarely got involved with
professionally.

Can anyone here advise me what the differences are between cheap mics
and
expensive mics, and recommend any favourites. Is it sound quality,
range,
reliability or what? I don't have a budget in mind, but even as a
Community Station, we have limited funds, so a £100 would be better than
a
£400 one if the cheaper one will do the job. Sadly being based in rural
Suffolk, there aren't any dealers round here I could go and talk to, but
anyway, what dealer would actually give me impartial advice?


** OK - the very cheapest radio mic systems operate in the VHF band,
have
only one fixed frequency and are flimsy in construction with a mediocre to
poor sound quality.

The ones to go for these days operate in the UHF band, have several
switchable frequencies, are of much sturdier in construction and have an
essential feature called " true diversity " built into the receiver.
Without
this feature, a radio mic systems suffers from severe signal "drop outs"
as
you move the mic around a room.

It is also a good idea to go for one of the major brand names, like Shure
or
Sennheiser.

Have a look at the Sennheiser " Freeport " system - has all the
features
I mentioned and is still inexpensive at around 130 UK pounds.



...... Phil




Trantrec are UK based and offer high performance at a reasonable price
find them in the Canford catalogue...
--
Tony Sayer

Thanks to all for the comments. I did look at the Sennheiser Freeport
system, as you say, Phil, they're pretty inexpensive, but as Sennheiser also
do the G2 system at betwen £400 and £500 depending on microphone, I wondered
what the differences would be. As bit of further information, our use of a
radio mic is for Outside Broadcasts at Country Fairs and the like where we
send off a Presenter into the crowd and do inpromptue interviews, so
crowding isn't a real problem for us, range is more important, I'd need
about 100 metres as that's as much as the wireless headphones give us.

I'll look up Trantec as well.

S.

www.radiowestsuffolk.co.uk