Radio Mic "switch off" - Channel 38 confirmed as replacement for Channel 69

On 30th June Ofcom made it's latest statement on the future of the channel 69 radio mic band.

The Clearing the 800 MHz band statement confirms that channel 69 will be cleared and replaced by channel 38.

Ch38 (606 - 614 MHz) will become available on a UK wide basis from 1 January 2012, as a replacement for Ch69 (854 - 862 MHz);

Ch38 will be available on the same terms as Ch69, you will need to be licensed to use it and you will share it with other licensed users.

PMSE users will continue to have access to Ch61 - 69 (790 - 862 MHz) until at least 1 January 2012, and possibly up to the end of DSO in 2012;

PMSE users will continue to have access to Ch31 - 35 (550 - 590 MHz) until the end of DSO in 2012;

Users of Ch36 (590 - 598 MHz) will be given 12 months notice to vacate once the spectrum has been awarded

Funding will be provided for the move from Ch69 to Ch38 subject to eligibility criteria, but the details won't be announced until October 2009 following a consultation.

JFMG have been devising a channel 38 shared plan and will be consulting with users over the coming months to develop something that best satisfies all requirements.

Digtal doesn't neccessarily mean better.....

A lively debate can be heard on You and Yours (via Radio 4 listen again) discussing the switch to digital radio.

That section of the programme starts at around 34 minutes in but the rest of the programme is also very interesting, discussing other digital issues.

I think the government have this completely the wrong way round. National stations need FM, cheap for people to listen to wherever they are. Niche interest and ultra local stations would be at home streaming on the internet - cheap at the point of broadcast.

By all means have DAB as well but replacing all our radios with more expensive versions that draw more power is just not green or cost effective! I have a wind up / solar powered radio that costs nothing to run. I don't see that for DAB yet.

Just because it is digital does not mean it's better quality, the sound quality of FM is better than DAB because the broadcasters cut bit-rates in order to cram as many stations as possible into the bandwidth available. More stations doesn't necessarily mean more quality choice - look at digital tv for goodness sake. There's room enough on FM for all the choice we need. Many areas already have a local BBC station, several independent stations and a community station. Internet streaming can provide anything else we really need and the main mass appeal, large listenership stations can stay where they are and be listened to on the radios we already have.

If you feel as I do you can sign this petition on the number 10 website.

Digital Britain Report and channel 69 - what should we buy?

I've already commented on the transfer of the UKs radio stations to digital only by 2015 announced in the "Digital Britain" report yesterday. Also in the report, buried on p78 was an interesting comment on the channel 69 radio mic spectrum. It reads as follows;

"The Government is committed to the timely release of 800 spectrum and will work with Ofcom to understand and meet the technical challenges. It has already endorsed Ofcom’s proposal setting out its plans to clear channels 61, 62 and 69. The Government will facilitate this re-planning and will meet the costs incurred by broadcasters and PMSE users as a result of these changes."

It will be interesting to see what we are offered as current users of channel 69. The whole report can be read here.

I've been asked a lot recently what people should do if they need to buy radio mics now. As far as I can see their are currently three options as it seems very unlikely that the government will provide funding to replace mics in 2012 if they are purchased now.

1. Don't buy, rent instead. if that's going to cost you more than the value of the mic before 2012 then it might be worth buying anyway.

2. Buy a microphone that works on channel 70 (the licence free band), even if it includes channel 69 and you licence and use that up until 2012 at least you will be able to use channel 70 for free after that. This is probably the best option for community groups who may not want to buy a licence anyway. Be aware though that there may be more traffic on channel 70 after 2012 as others do the same thing.

3. Buy a channel 69 mic but be a knowledgable buyer! Ask your supplier if the mic you are buying can be converted to channel 38 in the future and what the costs will be. Ask them if they will "future proof" that mic for you by doing the conversion when you need it at a fixed price.

Chaos? - Government announces analogue switch off

The End of an Era

Not radio mics this time but something that is going to directly affect way more people. The Government has announced that all radio stations in the UK will be digital only by 2015. Most radios in the UK by far are analogue and they will all become pretty useless (in this country) in 2015 when the signal is switched off.

Just think how much junk that is going to generate. I don't know how many analogue radios there are in this country but I personally own at least four so that's got to be a lot of technology to throw away. I don't want to throw it away either, we throw way too much away. My car radio also plays CDs and talks to my ipod, but what it's doing most of the time is bringing me the wonderful radio four. I'm not sure I can even drive without it! On my allotment I listen to a wind up radio. I thought I was being green by buying it, but now I find that I am going to have to replace it with digital in 8 years time.

Sad that as I write that I'm thinking that 8 years is an ok lifespan for a piece of technology. Technology moves at such a pace we replace things like mobile phones and computers way more often than that, but radio had so far remained apart, sets my parents had when I was a child still continue to work with pleasurable reliability.

It's an overwhelming shame, the radio is such a simple piece of technology and so cheap to make and power. I grew up in a house with radio in every room and while that may not change, with stations streamed over wi-fi a beautiful simplicity will be gone. As a child I built a crystal set and marveled at being able to hear a scratchy signal from something with so few components. Will the children of tomorrow have anything to listen to if they make such a set?

Don't get me wrong, I love new technology. I love that I can listen to radio online or via freeview. I love that I can download programmes as a podcast or "listen again" these things have brought radio up to date. I shall miss the simplicity of analogue, it always works it's not reliant on wi-fi or broadband or even mains electricity. If people are still broadcasting, we can hear them, can we really not have both? The FM spectrum we are told is going to be used for "ultra local" and community stations, so at least the amount of analogue radios that are bound to still be in use in home and cars in particular may help to boost their audience.

The blurry picture at the top of this rant is a crystal radio set I made a year or so back, well it would be, but the diode is missing, but you get the idea of how simple and how few components it has. It also needs an aerial that's a piece of wire that goes all the way down the garden..... but try receiving a digital signal on something that simple that you can build with instructions from a ladybird book. The end of an era I say.

Radio switch-off
Crystal radio sets

BBC launches probe to find out why so many of us can't hear actors on TV

By Liz Thomas

Viewers are turning off modern television shows because background noise and music are drowning out voices.
Hit programmes including Panorama, Ashes to Ashes, Newsnight, Waking the Dead and Mistresses have all come under fire from viewers unable to hear what is being said.
Now the BBC is backing a major study into the problem of 'ambient sound' after pressure from influential lobby group Voice of the Listener and Viewer.

read whole article in The Mail Online

Ofcom sets out Olympic spectrum plan

Read the full article at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/28/ofcom_olympic_spectrum_plan/

Ofcom sets out Olympic spectrum plan
Government asked to pay for it all
By Bill Ray

Posted in Wireless, 28th May 2009 07:33 GMT


UK regulator Ofcom has laid out a consultation plan for radio spectrum use during the London Olympics in 2012, ensuring that even if the games fail to be spectacular, at least the coverage will be wireless.

Ofcom reckons there'll be more than 21,000 accredited media personages descending on London come July 2012, who will want 350 wireless mics, 75 simultaneous HD video streams - three of which will be in the air - and a fair proportion of the 781 talkback* channels the event is expected to use, with the UK government footing the bill at the calculated market rate for enough of the electromagnetic spectrum to carry it all.

Channel 69 Report

The Channel 69, radio mic saga continues with this report published on the website for the department for culture, media and sport.

"Report from the Independent Spectrum Broker: findings and policy proposals

The Interim Digital Britain Report set out a Spectrum Modernisation Programme to address a range of key issues in the transition to next generation mobile services.

In February, the Government appointed an Independent Spectrum Broker to determine whether a series of market led spectrum trades between operators could be achieved to facilitate this objective. The Independent Spectrum Broker has concluded his discussions with industry, the regulator and government. He has now published his conclusions and his report and accompanying statement."

I have not yet read the whole report (it's 60 pages) but someone who has picked out the following paragraph from page 54;

"If PMSE users, who are geographically concentrated, could be cleared from Channel 69 by the second half of 2012 then a 2 x 10MHz block suitable for mobile communications would become available nationwide. However, this could impose some costs on PMSE users and were Government to consider such a move, compensation and assistance to users might provide
for a smoother transition."

You can download the whole report as a PDF or word file below.

Report from the Independent Spectrum Broker: findings and policy proposals PDF (506kb)

Report from the Independent Spectrum Broker: findings and policy proposals MS Word (775kb)

The Bristol Hum

For decades people in Bristol have reported hearing a persistent low frequency hum, it made headlines in the 70's with one newspaper asking "Have you heard the Hum?" Almost 800 people said they had. Various sources have been blamed but now Dr David Baguley, Head of Audiology at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge says over-sensitive hearing may be to blame.
Read more about the hum on the BBC website

Lock it box settings

Lock-it boxes are a very useful way of locking sound recorder and video timecode together, allowing sound to be recorded separately and / or several sound or video sources to be locked together.

The set up of the boxes depends on the device they are linked to, the frame rate and other variables.

Peter Gray, a US based Director of Photography, includes on his website a very useful list of settings for the Denecke and Lock-it time code boxes.

Panasonic AG-HVX201E P2 Camcorder

Things to look out for with this camera:
This is one of a new breed of DVC Pro HD/SD cameras that can record onto cards as well as tape.
Most of these little cameras have some way of putting the sound from input one onto both channels, so make sure to check for this if you are using more than one sound source and want to keep them separate.
The brochure for this camera is available online.

If you have used this camera and any useful hints and tips especially if they are helpful for sound recordists, please leave a comment.

Is this how sound should be used?

This is the sound of a Mosquito Ultrasonic Teen Deterrent designed to be played in areas teenagers are gathering and causing a nuisance. It's pitched at 17Khz which won't be heard by most adults but can be heard by teenagers and children. If you couldn't hear that, you might be able to hear this version at a slightly lower 15Khz it will give you an idea of how annoying it would be to remain in an area where this noise was present.

Is this though a fair way to treat our young people? And even if it is what about the teenagers and younger children who are doing nothing wrong also be affected by the noise? The National Youth Agency and others involved in the Buzz Off Campaign say that the device is neither a fair nor reasonable way for a civilised society to treat young people and are calling for the end to the use of all ultra-sonic dispersal devices, of which there are estimated to be 3,500 in use across the country.

There is evidence however that some young people are using this sound to their advantage by using the mosquito sound as a phone ringtone only they and not teachers or parents can hear allowing them to leave their mobile phones on in school.

Other links:
The Mosquito
Sonic Weaponry
Buzz Off Campaign
The Mosquito in Bristol

Today's "one man band"

Musical Tractors

This made a few sound recordists laugh this morning on IBSNet (email group of the Institute of Broadcast Sound). If you have never found tractors entertaining before then try out this clip!

Countryfile in Romania

Here's something that I worked on a while ago. BBC Countryfile's special report filmed in Romania.