2-Way Radio, Walkie Talkie Options with the HMC150

MadHMC150

MadHMC150

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I was wondering what type of systems you guys use for communicating with your other cameramen. Something small & effective to be used at weddings and live events for at least 2 if not 3 people...

Ive seen 2-Way Radios used with PTT in ear mics and cell phones used...
I cant use the cell option since anyone with AT&T knows your will be inducing a horrible noise in your audio with the 850 freq they use...

Should I be looking for systems with VOX capabilities if my hands are going to be full?

Any technologies that are going to interfere with the cameras?
 
Have used Eartec TD900 systems a few times. It works best line-of-sight, perfectly good for a handful of videographers in a close area such as at a wedding ceremony.

Have also used during a reception.

One unit is master, others are remote. Everyone hears master, master hears everyone...but there is no talk between the other remotes. Never had a problem with it personally, since I like to be in charge :)

Around $300 for 2 unit set at B&H.
 
Make sure you get VOX. That means you don't have to push buttons. I've had bad luck with Cobra. I've had to return two different units.
 
I just use Cobra walkies with headsets at horse shows to communicate with my alt camera, the front desk taking orders, and my spotter. Cheap and effective. I don't like VOX personally, there's a lot I don't need broadcast nor do I care to hear other people's coughing and wheezing and chatter.
 
The thing about vox, though, is that I can be riding iris, panning, and zooming while telling my wife to get a reaction shot of the groom. So often I don't have time to hit and hold a button. Even so, I'm having bad luck making this a reality from Cobra. Their quality and customer care is not good.
 
Great question man! This is an issue for many videographers I think...

Essentially the eartec systems are the only option that is actually marketed for us. And they're full duplex (both parties can talk at the same time and hear eachother). The downfall to the eartec system is that they're 2.4Ghz, basically they have the power of the most home phones. I actually helped a friend shoot a wedding about a month ago and we used the eartec. Even though we were in a perfect line of sight and only 75 feet away from eachother I got terrible interference. If she were to go anywhere out of sight the eartec system would basically be worthless. Considering their power and how much they cost it seems like a con to me.

I tried what I think a lot of people are trying... Getting a 2 way radio system with headsets. I did a lot of research but then I found a system at walmart. It's a Midland 2 way radio system with VOX and PTT. It has a great signal and the audio comes through the little headset very loud. The only issue with this system I have is the VOX isn't sensitive enough for whispering. But I foudn if I place the little plastic mouth piece on my lips (like a cig... and no I don't smoke) and whisper it comes across really loud. My assistant prefers to use the PTT button and that is fine.

Overall I suggest getting a 2 way radio system. Those eartec systems are too low quality and power to be worth as much as they charge. They're making a killing!
 
I normally don't do weddings, but I had a friend getting married and begged me to shoot his, so I did. I did a low tech approach. I bought 2 boom headsets for mine and the other camera guys cell phone. Most cell phones companies have free weekends and most weddings are on a weekend. Also you could do a conference call to connect more than 1 other person if needed. Hook it up and just call the other person before the wedding starts and leave it on the whole time. Then you could return the boom headsets the next day like I did. It's low tech, but it work perfectly.
 
If it wasn't too expensive, I might go for a commercial unit. I have hearing issues and the static that normal two way radios produce is painful and loud. Furthermore, everyone nearby is distracted from it -- which is the last thing I want at a ceremony. I'm convinced there is no solution that makes any sense, and I've tried most everything, so sign language it is. We'll use our (stupid) walkabouts for coordinating before and after the ceremony, though wearing those earpieces all day gets old.
 
Brian@202020 said:
I normally don't do weddings, but I had a friend getting married and begged me to shoot his, so I did. I did a low tech approach. I bought 2 boom headsets for mine and the other camera guys cell phone. Most cell phones companies have free weekends and most weddings are on a weekend. Also you could do a conference call to connect more than 1 other person if needed. Hook it up and just call the other person before the wedding starts and leave it on the whole time. Then you could return the boom headsets the next day like I did. It's low tech, but it work perfectly.
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Did you have AT&T? Sometimes they interfere with audio equipment...

I'm worried ill get that horrible buzzing in my audio.
 
It hit me that I could try a couple old wireless units and use a headset instead of lapels. We use Zooms for audio, so interference wouldn't be an issue. With wireless I wouldn't have to worry about any of the walkie talkie settings. I'll give it a try and post my results.
 
What are you using to get a wireless LAV to transmit to the others? Or you using it as a 1 way kind of thing.

We went with 4 Midland walki-talkies and headsets. They work great if you are close by, and OK if your more then 100 feet away. Once in a while I have to repeat myself. I was impressed when they worked from inside a huge building to about 200 yards away outside by the front sign.
 
For quite a while I was looking for a good radio communication system to use for production. I had certain requirements that were hard to find in a system that was somewhat affordable. The main reason I needed the radios was for shooting weekly stock car races at race tracks and other multicam events. And if you are familiar with auto racing, it is extremely loud. First there was just the issue of protecting our ears from the noise and and being able to listen to the camera's headphone output so I modified ear protecting headsets with headphone speakers to be able to hear the audio in the loud environment.

For radio communication, I tried the usual consumer talkabouts with earpiece and ptt/vox mic, but they sucked.

I then got instpired by the race crews that I saw wearing headsets to communicate with their spotters, crew and driver and realized that their systems cater to the same needs as I. Most of them use radios and headsets from a company called Racing Electronics. Even with these, there is still the problem of also listening to the camera's audio while wearing the headset. The quick fix would be to wear earbuds under the headset, but it kills your ears after a short time.

Finally, I saw that Eartec had an option on their headsets called camera monitoring, which was a headphone input on one side of their extreme noise canceling headest. This allowed you to have radio comm in the left ear and camera audio in the right, which was exactly what I wanted. However I didn't want to use thier radios becuase of their price and limitations.
So I called eartec and got headsets custom made with camera monitoring and ptt for the professional 2 way radio of my choosing!:happy:

I had them made for vertex radios that I bought and because of the power output and frequency of the radios, they require an FCC radio liscence with cost about $400/10 years which gives you 4 itinerent frequencies that are yours so you don't have to worry about someone on you channel, which is essintial for pro work. They are serious radios that have a range of a couple miles and options like private line codes. No duplex, but I can live without it.

The radios and headsets work great, the sound is clear and the noise canceling boom mics pick up the voice even in the loudest places and I can still monitor my cam's audio! I only had one unexpected problem. Because of their power output, they cause interference in the camera's image. The solution was to simply clip the radio to your belt behind you back to shield the camera from it.

Even with the FCC liscence, it was still cheaper than a telex or eartec wireless system, and more versitile too.
 
I got tired of the wireless units breaking down, so I bought some el cheapo Midlands with vox. I bough single ear headsets with boom mics. I love my Bose QC3 noise canceling headphones, so I plan to rip off the earbud on the Midland headset and wire out a male plug to plug into the Bose headphones, then permanently attach the boom mic to the headphones. That way I can have sound in both ears with headphones that cancel out everything else and protect my hearing. (In-ear doesn't work for me). It also means just one wire going down to the transmitter.

I'll need to get a second set of Bose QC3s for my wife, but I want to try it first on mine. The only downside I see is the inability to talk at the same time that wireless afforded me.
 
I have found that you really can't save money here and expect great results. You either get bad signals, RF interference or the units just don't hold up. Clear-Com and Telex are the best bet if money isn't a consideration.
 
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