Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1152338
The dust is beginning to settle from the FCC's 600 MHz Incentive Auction, as UHF-DTV stations are being repacked into the 500 MHz band. The bottom line is that many areas centered around large municipalities will end up with a relatively small set of available frequencies for professional, licensed, wireless microphone use in the entertainment industry. To add insult to injury, though the costs of repacking UHF-DTV stations were completely underwritten by the Auction, the costs of more than fifty percent of existing professional wireless microphone equipment becoming "instantly obsolete" were ignored by the FCC and are being borne by us users. At this point in time, all of the UHF-DTV stations in the greater Los Angeles area that were located in the 600 MHz band and that have opted to remain on the air, have been repacked into the 500 MHz band. Not counting the newly opened up VHF and 941 MHz bands 1 and the Duplex Gap 2 , which are above 608 MHz, the only "clear" 3 bands that are available for wireless microphone use in Los Angeles are between 500.5 MHz and 517.5 MHz (a 17 MHz band that straddles Lectro Blocks 19 and 20), and a band from 542.5 MHz to 553.5 MHz (an 11 MHz band within Lectro Block 21). Lectro Block 22 is completely filled with DTV. FCC Part 74 Licensing: In the last few weeks, the FCC floodgates opened, and almost three hundred new Part 74 Low Power Auxiliary Licenses were granted by the FCC. Our licensing guide in San Francisco, Bill Ruck, SBE, now feels that he has a template that will enable Local 695 to update our "How to Get an FCC License" pages, that interface with the FCC's Universal License Server, which will enable us to once again provide that service to all. The Technical Trends Committee will get together with Bill and Laurence Abrams in July to get that ball rolling. The Committee is now assessing the growing issue of multiple departments using the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands on production, and designing a curriculum for the purpose of training interested members in the skills required to coordinate the ever-growing Wi-Fi traffic. Footnotes: 1. Wireless microphone products are now available in the newly opened VHF and 941 MHz bands. 2. At this point in time, there are no products available that meet the new masking and power requirements for use in the Duplex Gap. 3. "Clear" refers to use of the spectrum outdoors. Users may find that wireless use in the frequencies used by UHF-DTV stations may be interference free inside of a well shielded studio, as long as the wireless mic transmission does not interfere with nearby DTV reception. Respectfully submitted, Jay Patterson CAS The Technical Trends Committee FCC UPDATE ZMT3 PHANTOM 2 QRX200 WIDE-BAND DIGITAL RECORDING WIRELESS WITH ENHANCED RANGE AND AUTOMATIC TRACKING FRONT END RECEIVER FILTER DIGITAL MODULATION 100% digital modulation for superior quality ENCRYPTED AUDIO keeps transmitted audio private QRX200 LIGHT AND VERSATILE THE ULTIMATE IN RECEIVER FLEXIBILITY records and transmits at the same time accepts both lavalier and phantom microphones smallest, lightest phantom powered transmitter available C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Zaxcom_CAS-695_ZMT-QRX_HR.pdf 1 1/17/19 4:53 PM