Wireless monitoring AND communication?

S

Spoke Lee

New member
I have read this forum religiously the past month while researching for my future equipment purchases but have a question I have been looking to find an answer to.

I was looking for something I could plug into the headphone jack a beachtek so I could monitor my sound wirelessly. Comtek seemed to be the way to go. I was going to get the Comtek M-216P7 Transmitter, Comtek PR216 Receiver, and some Sennheiser HD280PRO headphones.

Now I was wondering if there was a way I could monitor and talk to my cameraman at the same time, then I could just get a pair of the version of those Sennheisers with the microphone. I was going to go with the setup I mentioned earlier and just use 2-way FRS to communicate, but I would really like an all-in-one solution.
 
Spoke,

First, I actually use the ListenTech's (http://www.listentech.com) as I think they are a better value for the money (If you do a search on listentech you will find a couple of posts where I talk about my experiences with them).

I've set up a bit of a convoluted way to communicate with my boom op. I have a mediocre wireless kit I bought (an AKG) and so I basically wire my boom op up with a wireless mic, and take it into a little crappy mixer I have (Azden POS). I go into my mixer from the Azden, and on roll, I mute that channel and roll the recorder. When I first set up this way, I occasionally forgot to mute, but now it's second nature. And, when I want to have a private conversation with just the boom op, I can go to the Azden (my old slate mic is also attached) and bypass the primary mixes.

Yes, I know, a duplex cable would have been far more efficient, but I already had all the pieces, so it wasn't that big a deal (since I didn't feel comfortable selling all the crap stuff on ebay). (Oh, btw, if anyone wants an AKG wireless kit and an Azden mini-mixer, I've got a great set up I'd love to sell you cheap. ;-)

Anyway, it works. Depending on your mixer, there are probably ways you can route it without having to go out to a separate mixer like my setup. I believe I will be able to do this when I switch up to the Onyx series later this year.

HTH,

Phil
 
Hey Phil,

What price did you pay for the ListenTech receivers. I am seriously considering a move over to them soon. The list price I saw was $150, is that the sale price?

Cheers
 
I got mine through Trew, and as I remember, I got a better deal than $150. Okay, found it. $136 for each Rx, $380 for the portable Tx. Not sure if that was the best possible deal, but it worked for me. Coffey might provide you with a better deal...I don't order from Coffey any more because then I have to pay shipping and sales tax. With Trew, just shipping. ;-)

Phil
 
I have a System from Eartec that has a headset with a switchable 2nd input for camera monitoring.

http://www.eartec.com/td902_video.html
They have a bunch of systems, but the above videographer's special is the kit with the dual input headset.

You have com in one ear, and camera monitoring (mono) in the other. I wouldn't use it for active critical monitoring (like for a boom operator) but it's fantastic as a confidence monitor ("yeah I'm recording, and no the radio mic didn't just crap out").

The quality of the Com is decent - akin to a cordless phone, in both range and quality.

- Mikko
 
I was looking at the eartek. The problem is that I am disabled and can't bring my hand up to the headset. I was hoping to find something where both channels were always on or I could use a PTT switch, or if need be, the switching would be done on the unit itself and not the headset.
 
Both headphone channels are always on. The switche is just for set up (So that if you arn't monitoring audio, you can have com in both ears). Once set up and plugged in, it's all hands free.

The beltpack buttons are all latching too.

So you you can talk to the other person, and they can hear and talk to you. You hear them in one ear, and the audio monitor feed in the other. All at the same time without any switching. :)


- Mikko ... may be simple, but always uses duplex.
 
Sounds good. I am still not sure because I am going to be the one monitoring the sound, so I may need better quality and both ears.
 
Yeah, fair enough. Good luck :)

Maybe some way to combine the Camera operator's audio and comunication before it's transmitted to you?


- Mikko
 
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