This topic was "expanding" in a radio specific thread so I thought I would post a generic version for those of you who are not fortunate enough to own a PRO106... ;- )
A set of frequencies I have always monitored is wireless microphones. I worked in the AV business most of my life and I always kept a scanner in my workbox. It was a great way of troubleshooting a wireless microhone system to see if the transmitter was working when there was no audio coming out of the reciever. One thing most people who use wireless microphones don't realize is that when the audio is muted on the console, that transmitter pack on their hip or in the handheld unit is still transmitting. That is how a lot of "oops" moments show up on the local news. Someone leans over and whispers something in the ear of an associate assuming nobody else can hear because the engineer has the channel muted on the main sound system. Most don't realize that there may be a media person with a scanner connected to a recorder in the audience or in the broadcast truck. Whenever I was dealing with a political or celebrity type client, I always warned them about this and turned off their belt pack until they were ready to step on the stage and give their speech.
Wireless microphones are everywhere nowadays--local churches, civic clubs, remote broadcasting (media), product demonstations, concerts, weddings, etc. You can find the frequencies by going to the websites of the manufacturers where they post the specifications on their products. The newer more expensive ones have gone all digital but there are millions of the older FM types out there.
A few months ago I was sitting on downtown Phoenix near all the big hotels (waiting for a contractor to show up) and I picked up no less than 13 different transmissions in a space of around 10 minutes. Most of them were idle chatter before or after speeches in the ballrooms.
Many years ago I was listenning to the wireless transmissions of a travelling "preacher." Off the stage his language was worse than I heard when I worked on the trucking docks. That's just one of the many interesting experiences I've had listenning to wireless microphones.. ;- )
I no longer have a list of the specific frequencies as the last time I used the things they were in the 159 MHz range for the "cheapies" and the 400-500 Mhz range for the expensive models. Now they go all the way up to the 1.3 - 1.5 GHz range. I would guess that there are still millions of the things out there in the VHF and UHF range. Most of the manufacturers have the frequency specs on their websites. Many of the better systems are "frequency agile" now, meaning that they can be programmed to any one of a number of different channels. These channels still fall within the frequency lists that the manufacturer is licensed for.
Some of the more popular brands when I worked with them were:
Sennheiser
Vega
Sony
Shure
AKG
Samson
Panasonic
And a host of smaller manufacturers. If you want to know who makes wireless microphones, google the subject and go to their websites. There are also a lot of AV forums and sites which have frequency lists since it is always a good idea to know what you might run into (for cross talk purposes) "out on the road."
Tom F
A set of frequencies I have always monitored is wireless microphones. I worked in the AV business most of my life and I always kept a scanner in my workbox. It was a great way of troubleshooting a wireless microhone system to see if the transmitter was working when there was no audio coming out of the reciever. One thing most people who use wireless microphones don't realize is that when the audio is muted on the console, that transmitter pack on their hip or in the handheld unit is still transmitting. That is how a lot of "oops" moments show up on the local news. Someone leans over and whispers something in the ear of an associate assuming nobody else can hear because the engineer has the channel muted on the main sound system. Most don't realize that there may be a media person with a scanner connected to a recorder in the audience or in the broadcast truck. Whenever I was dealing with a political or celebrity type client, I always warned them about this and turned off their belt pack until they were ready to step on the stage and give their speech.
Wireless microphones are everywhere nowadays--local churches, civic clubs, remote broadcasting (media), product demonstations, concerts, weddings, etc. You can find the frequencies by going to the websites of the manufacturers where they post the specifications on their products. The newer more expensive ones have gone all digital but there are millions of the older FM types out there.
A few months ago I was sitting on downtown Phoenix near all the big hotels (waiting for a contractor to show up) and I picked up no less than 13 different transmissions in a space of around 10 minutes. Most of them were idle chatter before or after speeches in the ballrooms.
Many years ago I was listenning to the wireless transmissions of a travelling "preacher." Off the stage his language was worse than I heard when I worked on the trucking docks. That's just one of the many interesting experiences I've had listenning to wireless microphones.. ;- )
I no longer have a list of the specific frequencies as the last time I used the things they were in the 159 MHz range for the "cheapies" and the 400-500 Mhz range for the expensive models. Now they go all the way up to the 1.3 - 1.5 GHz range. I would guess that there are still millions of the things out there in the VHF and UHF range. Most of the manufacturers have the frequency specs on their websites. Many of the better systems are "frequency agile" now, meaning that they can be programmed to any one of a number of different channels. These channels still fall within the frequency lists that the manufacturer is licensed for.
Some of the more popular brands when I worked with them were:
Sennheiser
Vega
Sony
Shure
AKG
Samson
Panasonic
And a host of smaller manufacturers. If you want to know who makes wireless microphones, google the subject and go to their websites. There are also a lot of AV forums and sites which have frequency lists since it is always a good idea to know what you might run into (for cross talk purposes) "out on the road."
Tom F
