Hello David and Danny,
Don't count on compensation. The FCC is remarkably overburdened and has been forced to do a job they were not funded to do with no where near the people needed to do the job.
As a result, we as members of the production community get hosed. I guess you could say it goes back to most of us not registering our wireless rigs when we got them and following the FCC rules about the use etc..
Back in the late 90s, as technology journalist, I attended a session at NAB in which this topic of was addressed. At some point I asked the rep from the FCC if they expected a problem for operators due to the vanishing spectrum. His response was that, based on their list of registered users, there would be no problem. I then suggested that if he took a look at the sales figures from the wireless mic mfgrs in the US, he would realize that the registered user base was probably 1/10 of the actual user base. Some of the mfgrs were in the room to hear me say that and mumbled in agreement.
He said something about they would know more about how big the problem was when they started hearing complaints from registered users. He has since retired.
So my present take on it is, NO ONE KNOWS. Remember that each TV station will be giving back 6 MHz of spectrum when they turn off the NTSC. Many will move their DTV signal to their old NTSC channel. I also hear that DTV antennae are being sold that are cut to start at channel 7, and that channel 2 here in Baltimore will be moving up, so I'm wondering if the FCC and congress has already decided to do something with channels 2-6. (I don't have solid sources on the channel 2 info, but I'm looking into it.)
A lot depends on what actually gets put on those auctioned frequencies, where the transmitters are placed, how many watts they pump, how far away they are from each other and how long it takes to sell the spaces. Could be it's not as bad as we expect, or at least not for some time.
Re-crystalling wireless mics, presently, is not an inexpensive procedure. BUT, mfgrs didn't even offer much in the way of multi-frequencies over several blocks until this problem raised its head. I think they know they'll have to make some new changes that will allow inexpensive, field-changeable blocks. I'm sure they can do it. They just haven't needed to do it. Why put the R&D into something until you need to?
Hardest hit will be production companies that travel a lot. Maybe it will cause a temporary spike in the rental industry. For sure there will have to be a lot more frequency coordination unless technology figures out a way that multiple spread spectrums (or other protocols) can talk to each other to prevent on-channel collisions.
Given the faith I have in the wireless mic mfgring community, I'm not prepared to say the sky is falling. It'll probably be more like SSDD.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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