# Communication with Loading Gallery



## MarceloC (Jan 13, 2012)

Hey all,

I'm trying to do a little research in the best method to communicate with the loading gallery from the deck "without" yelling over other work on stage. I've been in a road house back east somewhere where they had CB style mic's with small speaker boxes upstairs as well as at the rail. I'm sure there is some economical way of doing this... 

What about using the existing Clear-com system and adding some squall boxes (KB-702GM)



Thoughts?

Thanks in advance...


----------



## DuckJordan (Jan 13, 2012)

We use clearcom headsets in our road house.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk


----------



## gafftaper (Jan 13, 2012)

I've seen clearcom head sets, commercial walkie talkies with and without the CB hand sets on them, and of course good old fashioned yelling. Personally I like the clear com best, but the wires can get annoying to deal with.


----------



## rochem (Jan 13, 2012)

In shorter or less busy spaces, we generally just shout. For anything at the road house and in the 90+ foot grid venues where I work, we use radios. I've never worked somewhere with a permanent com line run to the load rail, but I personally don't think I'd like it. There are usually two or three different people throwing weight at once where I work, and I feel like the cords would just get in the way - plus that could make communication between loaders more difficult. 

Just thinking off the top of my head, a cheap but slower method might be to attach a note to an unused batten, fly in the pipe, and have the loaders do whatever's written on the note. Virtually no chance of mistakes, although this assumes no one minds you bringing a pipe into the deck every few minutes.


----------



## MarshallPope (Jan 13, 2012)

I'm personally partial to radios with the clip-on shoulder thingy when doing high work. Comm units can get bulky and in the way, but radios are unobtrusive enough to just be there when you need them and not have to bother with them when you don't.


----------



## Toffee (Jan 13, 2012)

We all carry around radios and have dedicated channels for each theatre and we just use that to communicate between all of us who are working that day.

The one that I use:


----------



## avkid (Jan 13, 2012)

That's a classic Motorola.


----------



## chausman (Jan 13, 2012)

rochem said:


> Just thinking off the top of my head, a cheap but slower method might be to attach a note to an unused batten, fly in the pipe, and have the loaders do whatever's written on the note. Virtually no chance of mistakes, although this assumes no one minds you bringing a pipe into the deck every few minutes.


 
or find some rated hardware and just setup a little pulley you could attach your notes to, without bringing in a full pipe. Just put it somewhere in an empty lineset like behind an electric, or on the far end.


----------



## venuetech (Jan 13, 2012)

perhaps a pair of FRS radios


----------



## avkid (Jan 13, 2012)

venuetech said:


> perhaps a pair of FRS radios


 Umm... no
Unreliable and technically not approved for commercial use.


----------



## venuetech (Jan 13, 2012)

avkid said:


> Umm... no
> Unreliable and technically not approved for commercial use.



Family Radio Service (FRS) | FCC.gov



> Licensing
> The Family Radio Service (FRS) is licensed by rule. This means an individual license is not required to operate an FRS device. You can operate an FRS device regardless of your age and for personal or business use so long as you are not a representative of a foreign government.



It is just a 1/2 watt transmitter, plenty for the few line of sight yards between deck and load plate.


----------



## chausman (Jan 13, 2012)

I've never gotten good sound out of one. Always very hard to understand. And there's a big difference between line four and line fourteen.


----------



## gafftaper (Jan 13, 2012)

chausman said:


> I've never gotten good sound out of one. Always very hard to understand. And there's a big difference between line four and line fourteen.


 Perhaps you need to buy a better radio. Back in the mid 90's when the Motorola FRS were new and sort of expensive, I had a set of them and they were fantastic. I could drive to 7-11 half a mile from school and my students could still communicate with me perfectly. The new high powered ones are amazing. I've used them hiking a good 3 or 4 miles from camp. 

However this talk of radios is potentially breaking a cardinal rule. How do you secure that FRS/Commercial Grade radio so it doesn't fall and kill someone below? This is one of the reasons I prefer the Clear Com. If you have a crew just put the lead person on the com. No problems with lots of cable in the way, just one cable you can run to a more convenient location. You need one person making final decisions right, that person gets the com line. Easy. Plus it's safer because it can only fall as far as it's cable allows it.


----------



## chausman (Jan 13, 2012)

gafftaper said:


> Perhaps you need to buy a better radio. Back in the mid 90's when the Motorola FRS were new and sort of expensive, I had a set of them and they were fantastic. I could drive to 7-11 half a mile from school and my students could still communicate with me perfectly. The new high powered ones are amazing. I've used them hiking a good 3 or 4 miles from camp.
> .


 
Yes, we probably do. I've used some of the nicer ones and those were great, but the ones we have are terrible. Couldn't understand anything, and had terrible static.


----------



## MarshallPope (Jan 13, 2012)

gafftaper said:


> However this talk of radios is potentially breaking a cardinal rule. How do you secure that FRS/Commercial Grade radio so it doesn't fall and kill someone below?


 
That is the one thing that terrifies me about using radios. The way I see it, using the shoulder clippy thing (What is the name?) mitigates the risk by allowing you not to mess with the radio itself, leaving it securely clipped to your belt. Even so, I always find myself clutching the radio for dear life when stepping over a slot in the grid.

I will say that when there is no other work going on in the vicinity, I have been known to take a lav pack up with me and leave whoever is on the ground with a mic as well. It saves you from having to yell, at least, and the pack can stay securely clipped inside your back pocket or waistband.


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 13, 2012)

MarshallPope said:


> ...The way I see it, using the shoulder clippy thing (What is the name?) ...


Harness? Holster?


avkid said:


> Umm... no
> Unreliable and technically not approved for commercial use.


Approved or not, it says on wikipedia.com (so it *has* to be true) :

> ... FRS has also seen significant adoption by business interests, as an unlicensed, low-cost alternative to the business band.


These are what the vast majority of riggers I know use.


----------



## MarshallPope (Jan 13, 2012)

This is what I was referring to:


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 13, 2012)

Oh, "speaker mic." Or, if one prefers a lot of extra syllables, "remote speaker microphone."


----------



## avkid (Jan 13, 2012)

derekleffew said:


> Approved or not, it says on wikipedia.com (so it *has* to be true) :


 The ruling was deemed unenforceable shortly after it was issued.

Many units are now GMRS/FRS hybrids, GMRS requires a license and specifically excludes commercial operation.


----------



## Footer (Jan 13, 2012)

derekleffew said:


> Oh, "speaker mic." Or, if one prefers a lot of extra syllables, "remote speaker microphone."


 
Always called them fist mics. 

We have around 50 clearcom connections in both of our theatres (including all FOH cats, grid, and loading gallery), so we could technically use a com on the loading rail. In general though all communication goes from the deck, to the mid rail (25' off deck), then to the loading gallery. All is done by a form of yelling. I don't have enough radios for everyone so this is how we work.


----------



## Sony (Jan 14, 2012)

derekleffew said:


> Oh, "speaker mic." Or, if one prefers a lot of extra syllables, "remote speaker microphone."



We call them Squawk Box's around here, mostly cause you always have people squawking in your ear when you're wearing one.


----------



## gafftapegreenia (Jan 14, 2012)

For some reason I know them as "cop mic's", or as "shoulder mic's". Clear-Com calls it a "push to talk handset". Telex calls it a "push to talk hand-mic".

Squawk Box is the Clear-Com station permanently installed on the wall.


----------



## Sony (Jan 14, 2012)

gafftapegreenia said:


> Squawk Box is the Clearcomm station permanently installed on the wall.



They are used interchangeably here, but yes I know what you mean.


----------



## gafftapegreenia (Jan 14, 2012)

gafftaper said:


> However this talk of radios is potentially breaking a cardinal rule. How do you secure that FRS/Commercial Grade radio so it doesn't fall and kill someone below?


 
Why, with a Setwear chest pack or belt pouch, of corse!


----------



## blackisthenewblack (Jan 14, 2012)

gafftapegreenia said:


> Why, with a Setwear chest pack or belt pouch, of corse!


So with regards to that snap closure or elastic covering, what are people's opinions about taking that up to the grid? I have been curious lately about things in zippered pockets, velcro closures and the like. I want to see some opinions on it for my own sake and policy, so I just wanted to put the question out there.


----------

