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12 members have voted

  1. 1. Is TECPRO Walkie-talkie interface worth having?



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What sort of radio system do you have? The difference between half-duplex and full-duplex can be the difference between an unusable system and a usable one. Likewise the difference between digital and analogue radios.
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The AD913 works but it is fairly basic.

 

You'll need to take a bit of time to balance the wired and radio comms relative to each other - and this will need to include access to both master station/base station for the respective comms systems. Audio quality is best described as functional. However, once set you should be able to leave it alone.

 

Depending on what outputs your master stations have, you may also be able to use the AD903 (2 to 4 wire converter) which I always found a little easier to balance (particularly the PTT button squawks ...)

 

Do remember to purchase the correct adaptors with this (or double check the pin outs if you are making your own)

 

You should also make time (each year for a school) to remind people that only one radio user at once can talk and be heard ...

 

Cheers

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  • 4 weeks later...
Getting the AD913 to work as you hope it will is, in my experience, an absolute nightmare. I have heard tales of it working with no trouble so it might be worth trying - but we tried on two occasions, didn't get it to work successfully and sent it back.
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TECPRO AD913 Walkie-talkie interface

 

Has anyone used the Tecpro radio interface with comms to include radios with their comms system?

 

My school is looking at buying one, and I'm not sure it will provide much benefit.

 

all views welcome

 

I would be very surprised if anyone in school management knew what an AD913 was or how it could be used. Do you really mean that you want to buy one and have been asked to justify the expense? If so, put your money into something more useful like some extra gels, lamps or colour frames.

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I would be very surprised if anyone in school management knew what an AD913 was or how it could be used. Do you really mean that you want to buy one and have been asked to justify the expense? If so, put your money into something more useful like some extra gels, lamps or colour frames.

Good idea, but..... Presumably someone with the head's or the finance department's ear thinks that walkie-talkies are a jolly good idea, so it will be bought anyway, won't do what they hoped for & will end up as another item on the school's "white elephant" list.

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Are they handy? Sure for certain situations... for example I have worked in venues where there is an emergency channel on 2 way radios for security and paramedics as well as a FOH channel and backstage tech channel.

 

Having these accessible from the sm's console was really nice.

 

Pre show, from the comfort of my headset I could talk to the FOH manager to pass control of the house and monitor FOH comms.

 

When floor lx had to jump up into the roof and fix am issue with a critical special on a foh bridge he could grab his 2 way and quickly radio back to the board op and get him to test a channel.

 

I would say that these interfaces become valuable at scale - I would not be using them to try and replace wireless comms for shiw cuing.

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FoH bridge with the audience in?

 

 

Yep - FOH bridges 1 & 2 in this particular venue were recessed in the ceiling space - so there was no risk of items falling - although empty pockets and tools on lanyards was still a requirement - and generally high enough that if you were quiet no one could tell you were up there.

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Walkie talkies in schools are the bad idea - any form of comms discipline is wrecked by radios. On top of this the TX is initiated by people having to remember to press the yellow button to speak to the radio, otherwise they don't hear anything, but the radios appear on the comms all the time. They're awkward and tricky to make work properly. Give it a miss!
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  • 3 weeks later...
OH YES GIVE IT A MISS! Since this topic started a client asked for 2 portables on their techpro intercom. As there is no PTT available I created a VOX system but of course as soon a portable keys up and speaks their audio is also on the system, making the base transmit. My solution was a base radio (VHF) in permanent transmit and a (UHF)for receive. So portables had to carry 2 radios rather like the old police system. Because they could hear themselves coming back, it felt just like using the beltpacks and they tried to both speak together. I resolved this by adding a small mixer and second receiver on a second channel so both portables could speak. As I write this now it doesn't sound too bad but there were 7 radios in use to get 2 portables working (and 3 more for every additional portable). I reckon it's taken 40 hours to set up and keep tweaking and loads of phone calls every time they did something wrong. I think I'd be tempted to try IEMS next time for base TX.
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  • 2 months later...

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