Eartec Comstar Wireless Intercom Opinions?

[bdkdesigns]

So we got a 4 user system to start off with. First tests look promising. Haven't run in show conditions yet. I went with the ultralite headset instead of the all in one.
Things of note: sidetone level is a little quiet. There is a tone in the headset indicating mic on/off, but no LED to indicate a hot mic. The Power LED is SO bright it can function as a flashlight. (no joke). Gear feels solid and comfortable. I like that the beltpack doesn't have antennas to hang up on. I'm interfacing with a Clearcom wired system, and that was easy to get up and running. Packs use a two mini-connectors (I assume one for talk and one for listen) and the connection is nice and secure. I've attached pictures for real world comparison.

We just got some in today and we go into tech tomorrow. We don't seem to be too far apart in purchase times but ours has a LED to indicate a hot mic, it's just reversed so that a hot mic isn't lit and an off mic is lit.

I am a bit concerned though as they aren't very loud in their loudest setting, which can be problematic for musicals. I might be grabbing an earplug from the shop...assuming we put them in right away. As long as we don't have any issues, we are going to switch it out from our old Clearcom system.

 

[bdkdesigns]

So it has worked out pretty well so far. Hearing people hasn't been as tough as I was expecting, in fact I had to turn it down at some points. I think that ear muff does a much better job blocking out sound than I was expecting. We are using their UltraLite headset which they classify as mid weight. It was pretty comfy all day too.

I've been sitting at the center of our house for tech and we just had a new sound system installed that made the house MUCH louder at first until the A1 got used to it and adjusted.

I will say that the one thing that is annoying to me is that the volume control buttons are just arrows and have no indication of up or down. This is fine if you are wearing it because your orientation doesn't change but having it sit on a tech table is another story.

 

[chouston]

We are looking to replace our intercom system as well. We have to go wireless since we doing have a permanent performance space in our school. We literally build a theatre in the large atrium area in the middle of our building.

I first ran across Eartec at USITT this past spring. I certainly do like the price point, tough the equipment seemed a little on the light side compared to Clear Com and the like, but I can get a 6 person system for a fraction of what it would cost to replace our old Clear Com 4 person system. Plus I like the 2 channel conferencing feature. That means when I'm running an event where I have a stage crew and a video crew at an event like graduation, the two crews can communicate separately, but I can switch from one crew to the other or bring them both together when I need to. This seems like the right system for us. I just hope it turns out to be reliable.

Also, as far as I can tell, the system operates in the 1900 Mhz range, which should not interfere with our wireless mics with run at the 540 to 690 Mhz range.

 

[Ben Blackburn]

So a comment on @chouston 's post, and then an update on my previous post.

If I remember correctly, the Comstar system uses to channels with up to 4 units per channel, and those channels can be run separate or conferenced.
Each headset is numbered, and they are programmed to work on channel 1 or 2, so when the system is set up (usually at the factory), it is decided how many headsets on on each channel, and there is no easy way to change it, or switch between channels like with a ClearCom/Portacom wired system with the A/B switch.
So you can run 2 crews, but with a 6 channel, I think it will come from the factory as 3 and 3. My 8 unit is 4 and 4.

Now for my update.
So on Bill's suggestion I talked to James, and then later with others.
I sent the entire set back, they repaired the faulty ones and redid the ones that hadn't failed yet (they had a known bad batch), replaced missing ear pads and mic windfoams, and returned them in like-new condition, with no cost to me except for shipping. The original set had come with 4 single-ears and 4 dual-ears, but I don't like the duals for most of the crew, so I asked them to swap it out so I ended up with only 2 dual ears, the rest single ears, and one beltpack style. They had used ones in stock, and swapped me out no problem! I had to purchase a new headset for the beltpack was my only cost. No guarantees they can do this again, but they happened to have equivalent units available, and my units are babied and don't look used.

I talked to their tech folks about my complaint about the base station defaulting to 2 channel instead of Conference, and they said depending on the exact chip used, it might be switchable.
So I sent the base station also, and it came back set to Conference on power-up, switchable to 2 channel!
I am adding a live broadcast ministry, and when we get it going with a wired Portacom system through the cameras, I will send the base station back again and have them add the converter option that lets me plug the Portacom system into the Comstar system.

My other complaints about the mic mute tone being the same for mute and unmute, and the large clunky aspect, and the battery being hard to deal with still hold true, though they said they would look at making the mute tone different in a future version.

One thing I noticed on some of the swapped out sets they returned was a small foam rubber "dot" in the battery tray, which would help pop the batter back out.

Anyway, they aren't ClearCom quality, but they did an excellent job of Customer Service, and minus the annoyances, they seem good!

 

[jose lemus]

So we have a show under our belts with the Eartec gear and here are the general opinions:

This biggest issue for me was sidetone. There is sidetone in the headset but it isn't controllable beyond the headset volume. There is no indicator beyond the beep of pushing the mic button whether your mic is hot or not. We had a lot of open comm during this tech & run.

Sound quality was OK, but quieter folks really need to eat the mic to be heard. Durability seems OK too.

Student opinions came down to a rating of 2/12 - 3 stars out of 5. The gear is functional and OK for the price point. Moving up to a more robust headset increases the cost of the system, but might be preferable.

If you can't afford the big ticket pro-systems, I think the Eartec systems are an alternative you might want to check out.

I'd give the system 3 out of 5 stars.

What system do you suggest for church i need a four person system under $2,000 that is good.

 

[gafftaper]

What system do you suggest for church i need a four person system under $2,000 that is good.

First of all, be clear you are not going to get "good" for under $2000. You are going to get okay. I believe that most of the discussion above has been about the Comstar system. I believe that is the only option Eartec sells with full duplex conversation and the ability to interface with a wired system. If you don't need to interface with a wired system then the cheaper Simultalk series may work for you. The best thing to do would be to call your local dealer and ask for the options in your price range. If you don't have a dealer to call, send a private message here on CB to @BillESC he is an Eartec dealer.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Our Comstar system has sidetone. A system using belt packs that I installed at a local church also provided sidetone.

BTW, I've always referred to hearing yourself as radio...

Sidetone is the multi-industry standard term for that characteristic, dating back to at least 1960s telephony, and perhaps further.

It is usually adjustable, at least on base stations (my PI-200's for example), and it's done by unbalancing the hybrid.