By George Petersen

AFTER A LOT OF GLOOM/DOOM SCENARIOS for the future of pro audio wireless, a few streaks of blue are starting to break through the crowded clouds of RF. The problem stems from the February 2009 end of analog television and the possible loss of frequency bands for wireless mic use. Since pro wireless never had an “official” frequency allotment from the FCC, we’ve typically “borrowed” unused “white space” frequencies—essentially the guard-band easements between analog TV channels.

As digital TV has no such guard-band requirements, a cash-strapped FCC looks toward auctioning these unused frequencies to other industries, with a keen eye toward the burgeoning wireless Internet market. Once analog TV goes dark, vacant frequency bands in that region will be available as well, but to who is anybody’s guess.

Earlier this year, the congressional bill “H.R. 1320, The Interference Protection for Existing Television Band Devices Act of 2007″ was introduced by Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) to protect the needs of pro wireless users in the face of possible interference from wireless Internet devices. The good news is House members Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Jim Cooper (D-TN), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), and Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) have pledged their support for the bill.

It’s a start, but the pro audio community needs some more help. Encourage YOUR local representatives to support bill H.R. 1320. Best of all, it won’t cost you a dime and it’s even fun! Just go to www.house.gov/writerep, enter your state and zip code and an e-mail form pops up with your representative’s name. Let ‘em know that the possible loss of frequencies for wireless microphone use represents a major loss to users in the broadcast, sports, film/TV production, live entertainment, house of worship, business, government and educational markets.

AUDIO-TECHNICA SPECTRAPULSE

At InfoComm this week, Audio-Technica unveiled one possible solution to the white spaces issue. Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology has been used in military and government communications for years, and now A-T has applied this to offers near hard-wired performance without concerns about RF competition, frequency coordination, white space issues or infringement from other wireless sources.

Recently licensed for commercial use by the FCC, Ultra Wideband technology allows the wireless transmission of data in extremely short-duration pulses over a wide spectrum of frequencies. Rather than using conventional channels and carrier frequencies, UWB uses a series of short nano-second pulses that occupy an instantaneous bandwidth of 500 MHz within the 6 GHz frequency spectrum. In precisely timed sequences, the signals result in the reliable transmission of information at near noise-floor levels. And latency—always a concern with any digital system—is said to be a low 2ms.

A-T’s first UWB system is the SpectraPulse Ultra Wideband wireless microphone system, designed for conferences, courtrooms, corporate events and more. The first SpectraPulse products ship this fall, but there’s more information and a detailed white paper available at www.audio-technica.com. Check it out!

When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Check ‘em out at www.jenpet.com.

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