Buying a radio mic in the UK, will it be legal in Australia?

[cameraoperatorsydney]

Hey everyone,

I have just a quick question to hopefully put my mind at rest. I am currently in London and looking to buy a set of radio mics (Sennheiser EW 112p G3)
I have heard about the new channel 38 being introduced probably by the end of the year so when i am looking at websites to buy the mics, a lot of them are saying "2012 channel 38 compliant). That's great, but by October i will be in Sydney and will be needing to use the mics.

My question is:

Will mics that i buy here in London be legal in Australia? (Do they use the same frequency?)
Is the new channel 38 law just concerning the UK or the rest of the World?

Essentially, if i buy the above brand of mics here in London (channel 38 compliant ones) will i have any issues in Australia?

Sorry if this is an obvious question to some, i just want to be sure before i spend the cash

cheers

Paul

[John Willett]

Hey everyone,

I have just a quick question to hopefully put my mind at rest. I am currently in London and looking to buy a set of radio mics (Sennheiser EW 112p G3)
I have heard about the new channel 38 being introduced probably by the end of the year so when i am looking at websites to buy the mics, a lot of them are saying "2012 channel 38 compliant). That's great, but by October i will be in Sydney and will be needing to use the mics.

My question is:

Will mics that i buy here in London be legal in Australia? (Do they use the same frequency?)
Is the new channel 38 law just concerning the UK or the rest of the World?

Essentially, if i buy the above brand of mics here in London (channel 38 compliant ones) will i have any issues in Australia?

Sorry if this is an obvious question to some, i just want to be sure before i spend the cash

cheers

Paul

Firstly, Ch.38 was introduces a couple of years ago, but with some limitations intil January this year.

Ch.38 is fully open in the UK now, and has been since January (I don't know where you are getting your information from).

Ch.38 is *ONLY* legal in the UK - it is not legal anywhere else in the world due to the frequencies being set aside for Radio Astronomy.

As Radio Astronomy use extremely large and sensitive antennas (EG: Jodrell Bank) you can cause interference even if you are 100 miles away.

The UK got special dispensation to use Ch.38 and UK Radio Telescopes now concentrate on different frequency bands, with Ch.38 being used by other Radio Telescopes in Europe.

The Australian frequencies are listed HERE.

From 1 January 2015 Operation in Australia will be limited to frequencies between 520 MHz and 694 MHz due to the Digital Dividend.

G3 version GB is 606-648MHz which is inside the above band (and the Ch.38 frequencies are only a small part of this).

To be absolutely sure, I would ring up Syntec (Sennheiser Australia) and talk to them; but it does seem OK to me.

You *will* need a licence to use Ch.38 in the UK - it is *NOT* free use. Licences are obtainable from JFMG.

A bonus with version GB is that it is also legal in the USA as long as you avoid the frequencies 608-614MHz.

I hope this helps.

John

[Allan Black]

Ask a buddy in Aust to phone Senn here and check it out, it's too much of a risk not too.

Email him a list of questions first and include your best price and get the latest prices here, imo because of the current online price battles someone here will match it and you won't have any worries. Tell them you want 2 sets, that'll do it

Cheers.

[ceejay7777]

Here are the rules ....

http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_312475

[cameraoperatorsydney]

That's great advice, thank you everyone,

Thanks for listing the rules link John Willett & ceejay7777. I've had a look and it does indeed look like the senn mics operate below the 694Mhz cut off so i theory, i should be fine. i'll also get my mate to give senn a call just to make sure though.

Have a great weekend.

Paul

[John Willett]

That's great advice, thank you everyone,

Thanks for listing the rules link John Willett & ceejay7777. I've had a look and it does indeed look like the senn mics operate below the 694Mhz cut off so i theory, i should be fine. i'll also get my mate to give senn a call just to make sure though.

Have a great weekend.

Paul

If you have any problems, talk to Robert Sloss - he is the boss of Sennheiser Australia.