Looking for a intercom system?

[MillburyAuditorium]

The Motorola radios noted are potentially even more of a problem as they are FRS/GMRS and GMRS is much more tightly controlled than FRS. GMRS is limited to direct family of the license holder. Yep, have to be FCC licensed to use GMRS radios and while you could conceivably use them in an application like this, that would be possible only by every user being licensed. A license is $85 plus the paperwork, but I also believe that you have to be 18, so probably not an option for your application. You could use those radios without a license but only on low power and only on the 14 FRS channels, and how are you going to enforce that?

Between that, the potential of interference and reliability/durability, using FRS/GMRS radios may not be as practical a solution as it initially seems.

And talk about being a tempting thing to steal, a few years ago our house was broken into while I was on a job site at a theatre being built. They broke the door on our deck right out of the frame and went through every closet, drawer, etc. but the only things stolen were any cash they found, one of my wife's rings and two new FRS/GMRS radios I had just bought. Left the cameras, computers, stereo, TVs, instruments, and all the other jewelry, took the two Kenwood radios.

We need a license? The description says no license required :/

And as I have said before, For the last 15 years we have had NOTHING to communicate with backstage, no radios, no intercom, nothing. So even if there is interference, it will be better than nothing, what we have now. Also it wont be used for cues, as the directors are always backstage.

And on theft again,
As well as being locked in a booth, in a 7 door all locked theatre, completely enclosed within the school, the school has its heavy duty windows and doors, two sets for the main entrance, aswell as fire and security systems, and if it does get stollen, the school will back it up.

 

[MillburyAuditorium]

We have just purchased "Coaches Intercom" from Telex. It is two channel wireless with up to 9 headsets. Our purchase included 7 beltpacks al in a carrying case. Instead of Channel 1 and Channel 2, one is Green (O) for offense and the other Red (X) for defense. It is IP protocol and searches automatically for clear frequencies. HOWEVER, the cost was about HALF the standard theatre systems.

I'll look into that system you mentioned.

 

[museav]

We need a license? The description says no license required :/

Which is technically correct, as long as you use only the 14 FRS channels and operate on low power, then no license is required.

 

[newdaypro]

I believe there may be a couple of different levels of this system. This is the same system the Big 12 and C-USA uses.

 

[MillburyAuditorium]

Which is technically correct, as long as you use only the 14 FRS channels and operate on low power, then no license is required.

Oh, okay then. We have a small town and the school isn't close to anything really, so I think it will be fine.

 

[MillburyAuditorium]

I just tested out a walky talkie set I have at my house around the school and went to every public channel 1-22 and had absolutely no interference and it was as crystal clear as radio is going to get. Hope it works out : ) I will update this when we order the set and tell you how it works out.




And quick question, This may be seem odd, but I was chatting with the sound op about the walky talkies, and he said we should get those ones special services and managers use. The ones with the small earpicw and the clear winding wires going down their shirt behind there ear, Was wondering if anyone knew what those would be called and what the microphone is on those.

 

[Van]

There are a couple of different names for the earpieces. IEM In ear monitors is one, and there was a recent thread on here about them. Sometimes those earpieces are the earpiece and monitor allin one. They pick up you voice via bone conduction and cutaneous transmission, More often than not the "Mr. Smith" versions like what's used in the Matrix and by the Secret Service have a microphone concealed in the sleeve of ones shirt and the earpiece is just an earpiece.

 

[MillburyAuditorium]

Thanks : )

 

[rochem]

Not trying to hijack this thread, but does anyone know what the approximate cost of having a PI system installed would be? At my school, we are still stuck using walkie talkies, but due to constant use and damage we end up having to buy a couple new ones every year. Previously in this thread someone mentioned $1K I think - would it really be that cheap? I'm talking about a 2-channel wired system, in an existing facility with no conduit currently in place. I know the cost of installation will vary widely based on individual application, but does anyone have a ballpark figure for me to go off?

 

[cprted]

Unless you're looking at the wall mount units and such, there isn't much "installation" that needs to be done. All you need is 3-pin XLR. I assume there is an audio snake between the FoH and the stage? You can use one of the returns for the com line.

As to cost, it depends what type of base station/power supply you want, how many belt packs, etc. Best to call your local PI dealer.

 

[museav]

I'm talking about a 2-channel wired system, in an existing facility with no conduit currently in place. I know the cost of installation will vary widely based on individual application, but does anyone have a ballpark figure for me to go off?

Not based on the information provided. You'd have to know things like how many connections, how many beltpacks, how many speaker stations, whether the system concept is two channels with one for house and one for BOH with single channel devices or two channels everywhere with two channel devices, etc. And to estimate the related costs for conduit, etc. it would really take knowing the device locations and building conditions.

However, I believe the numbers noted earlier in the discussion were $1,000 for the Master Station and $3,000 for a system of unknown size rather than $1,000 for a system. I currently have what is effectively a two channel Clear-Com system (actually four channels but two wired channels, one channel to tie to an existing Telex wireless system and one channel tying back to an existing digital matrix to allow all the arts and music facilities to communicate) going into a Black Box theatre. The conduit alone for the Black Box portion is about $2,000 and would have been more if the Electrician wasn't already working on the campus and they didn't have some of the physical conduit itself left from another recent project.

 

[Seldred]

Hi, all - I see I'm entering this thread pretty late and maybe should be starting a separate thread, but thought it would be good to start here. We currently have a Telex wired system in our auditorium (with beltpacks that are steadily wearing out) and are seeking to upgrade and expand our system with a set of compatible wireless headsets. It looks like there are now some viable options for doing this which don't completely break the bank.

The first is the "Anchorman" system, which Production Advantage (Quality Theatrical Supplies and Equipment?Production Advantage, Inc.), a reputable New England Theatrical supply company, is pushing as a great new solution. Anchor audio is at: Portable Sound Systems | Public Address and Wireless Sound Reinforcement. This looks like a very good, full duplex, wireless system - you can get 4 headset/beltpacks that all talk to each other in full duplex without needing a base station. And you can buy a "WingMan" unit to put in your rack that will interface the wireless sets with your existing wired system. The cost for 4 Anchorman units is somewhere between $3,200 & $4,000, depending on where you buy. HOWEVER, I noticed in the specs that the Anchorman range maxes out at 250 feet, which should be fine for most theater setups, unless that distance is only for unobstructed signal. I'm wondering how well these will work around corners and through walls between backstage, in hallways, and upstairs in our booth.

The second system I found is less expensive and has a greater range (1/4 mile) - it's the Eartec "PCX-1000" system (index). As far as I can see, it does exactly what the Anchorman system does. They sell the system directly - you can buy a 4-set system for about $2,400 - $2,900, depending on the headsets you choose. This system doesn't seem to have a way to connect to the wired system, but after checking back, I see that Eartec offers about 4 different wireless systems that connect with each other and a wired system in different ways, at different prices.

A key question with most of the Eartec systems is whether/how any of them allow party line talk amongst all users, or is it a pain to switch from "listen-only" to full duplex mode one user at at time - it seems all of the Eartec systems that can connect with a wired system employ one master transceiver and up to 3 subsidiary sets - I'm not sure how this setup plays out in real-time production usage.

So... my QUESTION is: has anybody out there worked with any of these, or similar systems? I'm trying to figure out if they would really work well in our environment. I'd love to hear any feedback on this subject at all, including how well master/slave systems work compared with everybody in full duplex all the time systems (something tells me this is what I should insist on getting).

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Stephen Eldredge

 

[Anonymous067]

Clearcom. j

 

[ChrisPistols]

Depending on what kind of system you have now I'm guessing a two wire system there are converter boxes that you can use to simply interface handheld radios into and then have them work on your current com system. Clear Com makes one that works on a two wire system and you hold down on the call button to communicate with the people which are on the radios. One benefit to this is that you can add as many radios onto the system as you want. The only problem with this solution is your wireless system would only be a half duplex system meaning that from a safety stand point if any alert was said over the com it would not be heard on the radios. This is extremely dangerous!!!! Any com system that I would put into a theater would be a full duplex system. The reason why so many of these wireless com systems are so expensive is due to the fact that they are full duplex.

 

[Spiceboy]

Not sure if you qualify but it might be worth checking out Clear-Com's non-profit and educational program here

Non-Profit and Educational Program