Headset advice?

I have seen several people use those Eartec wireless kits. They seemed to work reasonably well. I expect that kind of system cannot be expanded beyond four stations. But if you will never need more than that, it seems like good value for the money.
 
UltraLITE system

UltraLITE system

Hey Firehawk, I just purchased the two headset version and have not used it at an event yet...only tested it with family. But compared to my experience with the walkie-talkie system I have I am really looking forward to putting the Eartec system to use. Headset is comfortable, sound is clear, and the full duplex ability to talk is wonderful. Microphones are sensitive. I've seen comments that the single-ear system is not loud enough for noisy events, but for the events I am taping (school plays, musicals, etc) I expect the single-ear headset, which allows better awareness of event sound/activity, is best for my needs. You hear your own voice as you speak and sound quality seems quite good. Volume range seems decent, although I haven't really tested this yet...need some real event experience.

And you can mix double-ear and single ear headsets in the same system, as well as adding in their 'Hub' you can go up to 7 headsets (one headset wired to the hub; 6 wireless)...so the system is very flexible. The UltraLITE is billed as 'medium weight', compared to the more professional ComStar version of their headsets, but I believe this is the perfect weight versus performance versus build quality versus cost balance for small events. And no belt pack...its all in the headset...brilliant...!!

Eartec ran out of stock of the double-bay charger, so the kit that came from B&HPHoto came with their eight-bay charger...a nice unexpected upgrade. I ordered two extra batteries from www.defender.com so I have lots of power available, and am planning on adding a third headset (probably another single-ear). The kits come pre-sycronized to the master headset, so you just turn on the master headset and push the power button on the 'remote' headset, and if you add more headsets there is a process to sync the new headset to the existing master.

I also ordered Garfield headphone softies so that my crew can use these for hygiene...the softies can be washed and tossed back in the case for the next user.

I exchanged a few e-mails with James from Eartec, they responded quickly to my questions and I get the feeling that they put customer service high on their priorities. Heaven forbid I ever need a repair, but my sense is that they are very responsive.
 
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Thank you much, Richard and mrveronn! I've been wanting a better sytem than my Cobra radios I've been using for 15 years.
 
Wanted to update this thread for others that may be looking for a similar solution. I bought the 4 unit Eartec system back in 2016 and it has worked great. We use it for events indoor and out to communicate and sometimes also to communicate during drone operations. I also used it vehicle to vehicle when doing driving car shots. The navigator, camera op and star car can all communicate which helps a lot!
It's worked so well that I just ordered a 3 unit set because I have two events happening at the same time this month at 2 different locations. Hope that helps.
 
Thanks FH!

What sort of range are you getting with this? And how's the isolation, as in how loud can things get before you can't hear each other?
 
An interesting system that may work well for some is the Unity (http://www.unityintercom.com). It requires wifi and the individual "radios" are phones (or iPods), but there are many great features and sound quality is excellent. I've had a long standing project to build a belt pack that will package an iPod with a long-run battery but haven't cracked the nut on it yet.
 
Haven't taken an actual range measurement, but at one outdoor event we had 3 guys roaming around outdoors with the venue building in the middle, separating us. No problems. So we were several hundred feet apart at times.

I was concerned about isolation during indoor crowded music events because the volume doesn't go very high. However it's not been a problem so far. While shooting vehicles driving on interstate I was the camera op out the rear of the vehicle and could still hear everyone fine. For the 3 unit set I just ordered I went ahead and got a 2 earphone unit on one of them just in case someone needs it. One guy is hard of hearing and though so far it's been fine, I want to be ready for an extra noisy situation.

The set I ordered in 2016 came with the 8 battery hub charger which was a nice bonus. The 3 unit set I just received only has a 2 battery charger hub.
 
Thanks Charles, that looks really good and should have far greater range than the ones I was talking about since it would be like cell phones. Since you work in the LA market it's always great to get your input
 
Charles is there a way to hit the PTT without looking (tactile button)? I don't want to have to look at a screen to hit the PTT in a lot of applications.
 
Yes, they sell a PTT bluetooth button about the size of a quarter that you can fix to the pan handle etc. And their headsets have PTT inline buttons as well, like a walkie setup.
 
Another alternative is the CAME-TV WAERO sets, very similar in features to the Eartec ultralites, but with one neat feature...the headsets fold up in a very compact way, and the sets come with a hard case (compared to the soft case with the Eartec) which would give more protection while shipping. However, if you want a dual ear headset then you need to go with Eartec who offers this option...WAERO are single ear headsets only (at least at this point in time).

https://www.came-tv.com/collections/wireless-headset

Comparing retail price (at the time of this note) the WAERO 2-headset version sells for $268 versus Eartec at $385.
 
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I have been using the Eartec headsets for many concerts and other musical events over the past few years and they have been excellent. Zero complaints from me. Highly recommended.
 
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