Wireless Radio Mics

[Jordy-Gaz]

Hi guys, i've been given the opportunity to upgrade the schools audio / visual side.
we currently use radio mics but they are sometimes intermittent.
i want to have available 5 hand held mics, 5 tie mics and 5 headset mics all on different channels and all used simultaneously.
can anyone suggest any companies i can use to obtain quotes?
thanks in advance!

[Cwizard]

Have a word with Stage electrics, I use them a lot for the audio and lighting in our Main Hall. If give Ally a call she's pretty quick to reply with a quote and never had a problem with price.

Alison DeCourcy
Customer Service Representative
Stage Electrics
175 Long Lane
London
SE1 4PN
Tel: 020 7939 3000
Fax: 020 7939 3001
Stage Electrics

[stevehill06]

I would say have a word with Stage Electrics as well. Used them in the school I used to work in.

Steve

[nicholab]

Canford audio

[Andycat]

Be wary. Stage Electrics and Canford are both good, but the Wireless frequencies currently used are being sold off within the next couple of years, and many currently available sets will become redundant then!

[Jordy-Gaz]

thanks for the replies! i will let you know how i get on

[Andrew_C]

Be wary. Stage Electrics and Canford are both good, but the Wireless frequencies currently used are being sold off within the next couple of years, and many currently available sets will become redundant then!

+1. Now is definitely NOT the time to be buying 1 dozen sets on mics. The UHF licence exempt band, good for four channels is safe (for the moment) but the standard UK systems won't tune to that AND the proposed new band. Be VERY careful when choosing!

I've yet t see any systems, except the very high-end, that will be suitable for you post 2012. You will also need a licence, but that is only £140 or so for two years. Please don't just go "They'll never catch me", as that is why it is so difficult to make govt. see that their sell off is causing problems. Apparently there are only a couple of thousand radio mic users in the country...

Another supplier to consider would be AC Entertainment Technologies. Done well for me in the past. They have a FAQ on the switchover here.

[Jordy-Gaz]

what would be the price comparisions for going digital now?...
would i still be able to get what i want to achieve...
our whole audio visual department could do with a shot in the arm, and the mic/audio is the best place to start..
eventually i want to redo the lighting rig-up but this will be over a number of years, so i want to bottom the mics out this summer, if possible.

[localzuk]

I just spoke to a very helpful man at Shure UK who explained the big issues as they stand.

1. The 863 - 865Mhz band will remain in use. This is the cheap band, and can handle 4 mic systems in total.
2. The old bands of 854-862, 550-606 and 790 - 854Mhz are being replaced by 470-550 and 614-790Mhz. There is licensing involved.
3. The government currently proposes to only provide 'residual value' as compensation to users. So if you buy a system now, and in 2 years time it is out of warranty etc... you will not get enough money back to cover its replacement or retuning.
4. If you buy entry level equipment, accepting that you will need to retune it in a couple of years time, you may find that the cost of retuning is as much as the original system cost to buy. (The example I used was the Shure Performance Gear range).

There is a campaign currently being carried out by the industry, Save Our Sound . This campaign aims to increase the compensation, as the effects of this will damage the industry a lot.

We're in the same situation - we can't justify spending £1000's on new wireless mic's to potentially have to shell out the same again in a couple of years.