# production intercom



## patrick201009 (Nov 11, 2009)

Hello All,

I run video announcements/ AV at a high school, and need a decent system for communication. Right now, I have a crappy wireless eartec system that is virtually useless. Basically, I need to be able to talk to 3 other camera people (me as director). Looking for a wired system, no more than $1500. Is this possible?

Thanks,
Patrick


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## Footer (Nov 12, 2009)

http://www.beltpack.com/


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## David Ashton (Nov 12, 2009)

_URL Redacted_

or cheaper with our economy headset

_URL Redacted_


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## DaveySimps (Nov 12, 2009)

I second Kyle's recommendation. They make great systems.

~Dave


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## JChenault (Nov 12, 2009)

David Ashton said:


> _URL Redacted_
> 
> or cheaper with our economy headset
> 
> _URL Redacted_



David

I looked at the ebay listing and I am confused. I see belt packs and headsets - I do not see a power supply unit. But the description mentions power supply. Do I need a separate power supply for your system? If so is it part of the package? If not where do I get one? Can I interface your beltpack systems with other manufacturers?

Thanks.


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## mrb (Nov 12, 2009)

Production Intercom is the way to go. Use the SMH-310 headsets, these are the best value and highest quality without spending >$200 a headset. Get an econocom power supply and use BP-1 beltpacks.


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## gafftaper (Nov 12, 2009)

Another vote for Production Intercom. I love the BP .15 beltpacks if you can afford the extra. They are so tiny! They have a full size XLR plug for the headset. However, there isn't enough room for any more full size XLR plugs on them. So they have a mini XLR connecting to a 3' pig tale for your line in XLR plug to connect. In order to daisy chain you have to buy an adapter which adds the line out off the end of the pig tale. 

I have SMH910 headsets. They are more expensive but very comfortable. Beware the two channel belt pack is huge and I would not recommend trying to wear it. We have one as at the stage manager's station which works out fine. The BP 1 is also a little big but survivable. My theater has a Clearcom base station and then all but one beltpack and headset is from Production Intercom. It's great equipment. The build quality of the ALUMINUM BP .15 is vastly superior to the PLASTIC Clearcom pack. Everything is fully compatible. If I remember right, pricing on production intercom was about 15% less than similar clearcom components... with the exception of the BP .15 which is priced about the same or a little higher. Find a dealer and get some price quotes. 

Clearcom beltpack size:
H 4.58" x W 3.73" x D 1.34"
Weighs 7.3 oz (plastic)

Production Intercom beltpack sizes:
BP 1
H 3.70 x W 4.30 x D 2.50 in.*
Weight: *13.5 oz. (aluminum)

BP .15
H 3.4 x W 2.1 x D 0.9 in
*Weight:* 4.8oz (also Aluminum)


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## Spiceboy (Nov 13, 2009)

Not sure if you qualify but you might want to check out Clear-Com's Non-Profit/Educational program

Non-Profit and Educational Program


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## SouthFloridaSFX (Nov 17, 2009)

Does the beltpack.com/ production intercom work with clearcoms equipment too?


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## gafftaper (Nov 18, 2009)

Yes I have a Clear-Com Base Station, One Clear-Com belt pack and headset, and half a dozen Production intercom beltpacks and headsets. All work together perfectly. 

I believe Van posted a year or so back that they did a show at his place where both theater booths needed to be able to communicate. One theater had a clear-com base station the other had a P.I. base station and it all worked together with no problems.


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## David Ashton (Nov 18, 2009)

All the manufacturers gear is compatible, if you use the gear daily then spend the money and get what is comfortable, if you are in a school which uses it once a year and it will possibly get trashed then the cheap but tough gear that I'm not allowed to mention is probably a good idea, as a complete 4 way system will cost less than a master station from a "name" company.You can make your own for a couple of hundred dollars.I started getting mine made in China as paying $300 for $25 of components struck me as a little crazy, and I got fed up with making my own.If I hire out a $5k system to a school, [which I have] and they break a unit, it just blew the profit of their show, with the budget gear a smashed headset is a $50 inconvenience.So I guess it's "horses for courses".


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## shiben (Nov 19, 2009)

Personally, having used PI and Clearcom systems, I would avoid the PI ones. They are cheaper, which is nice. And Yeah, they make the belt packs out of aluminum. Ill let you know when I manage to break a plastic component on a clearcom one. Keep in mind that some plastics are nearly as durable as metals, and in some ways superior to them. In addition, I really hate the form factor of the PI rack units, but that might be our old system. Other issues include constant hum, issues with daisy chaining, and we have had some compatibility issues with non-PI systems. However, for the budget, its the best deal you can get.


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## gafftaper (Nov 20, 2009)

shiben said:


> Personally, having used PI and Clearcom systems, I would avoid the PI ones. They are cheaper, which is nice. And Yeah, they make the belt packs out of aluminum. Ill let you know when I manage to break a plastic component on a clearcom one. Keep in mind that some plastics are nearly as durable as metals, and in some ways superior to them. In addition, I really hate the form factor of the PI rack units, but that might be our old system. Other issues include constant hum, issues with daisy chaining, and we have had some compatibility issues with non-PI systems. However, for the budget, its the best deal you can get.



I want to defend one of my favorite products and refer back to my previous post that I haven't had any of these issues even though I have a mixed system. Perhaps you have problems because of the P.I. base station (my base station is Clear-Com), although Van has a P.I. base station and no problems. Perhaps your problem is caused by some older gear, grounding issues, or something else wrong in the system not the fault of P.I. As for the daisy chaining, yes it's a little different if you have the BP .15. However, to me the advantages of having such a tiny belt pack completely outweigh any minor disadvantage of having the daisy chain run through the end of a pig tail. If I remember correctly the BP .15 is priced about the same as the Clear-com pack. Don't tell anyone at P.I. but I would gladly pay more than Clear-com for the advantages of having such a tiny, well built, pack.


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## shiben (Nov 20, 2009)

I checked with the installer of the system today, and our base station is very, very old. Not sure how old, but he said that it was also one of the lower end models they had at the time. So as an add-on to my above statement, I have not used the newest PI equipment. It is quite possible that the quality has improved, and also that our gear has aged.


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## David Ashton (Nov 20, 2009)

There is a Spanish manufacturer called Altair, who make a small light unit with great features like remote mic switch from the master station, I have all makes in my collection and the Altair beats them all.They also have radio units.


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## gafftaper (Nov 21, 2009)

I've never heard of Altair. They don't list any distributors in the US on their website. It may be kind of hard to get their stuff here in the states.


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## David Ashton (Nov 21, 2009)

They may have decided it's not worth getting the UL listing and whatever other stuff you need to sell in the US, especially with the competition of local manufacturers, but this site is read throughout the World, not just the US.So those people might find it well worth a look.
Note; I am not an agent I do buy and use their stuff and it is excellent, but I have no vested interest in it, unlike the cheap ones I make in China.


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## waynehoskins (Nov 21, 2009)

The Clear-Com bus is wonderfully simple (well, the remote mic kill and other later additions are more complicated). Tech Projects (who became Production Intercom), as I remember, began as a kitmaker, and one of their most popular kits was CC-compatible intercom stations. Tech Projects and original-spec CC are 100 percent compatible. The new microprocessor stuff doesn't work both ways, but the intercom part should.

The circuit is so simple (and CC used to provide schematics in the manuals) that compatible circuits are easy to build. R. Crowley makes a kit, Com-Clone, that as best I can tell is a part-for-part copy of the original CC circuit. Ten years ago, my dad used the provided schematic to design a compatible circuit using completely different components and slightly different circuit topology. We built a few of those (and I still have the boards), and they're also 100 percent compatible. Very very simple -- speech amp, duplex hybrid, party line bus (which is line level audio), call circuit (DC bias on the audio line), and headphone amp.

While CC is standard in theatre, RTS is standard in TV, and with a proper interface both systems can be tied together.


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