Does anyone know of cheap headset walkie talkies for communicating between camera operators at a wedding. I could have done with some at the last wedding I shot.

I searched the web and found a reference and a link to some kids ones on a yachting site - they were used for communicating between the helmsman and crew at the bow on a 40 foot yacht. If the link doesn't work, try key words 'headset walkie talkie'. Unfortunately Argos does not ship international or I would try some out.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3474602/Trail/C$cip%3D49651.Toys+and+baby%3EC$cip%3D49731.Interactive+and+electronic+toys%3EC$cip%3D49732.Other+in teractive+toys.htm


Then I found a picture of another type, also boating related, but have no clue as to what they are or where they come from, and the article doesn't say.

http://www.48north.com/aug_2005/dont_yell.htm

Any clues?

Hey Renton,

I'm in the UK. Happy to help if you need a set sent over.

You can e-mail me via my sig.

Have a look on Maplins

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=walkie%20talkie&source=15&SD=Y

Thanks Alistair, your offer is much appreciated. I'll wait a bit and see if anyone else comes up with options. I've emailed the yachting mag I linked to to see if they have any info about the ones in the picture.

I like the idea of headsets as complete units so that except for whispering ideas to each other, there would be no sound outside them - well I presume that would be the case. Maybe the regular units with a headset attachment would be the same. I have no experience with walkie talkies.

Re the Argos ones, I thought that if they weren't any good for the use, I could just sell them on.

If they worked, maybe they would need to be spray-painted black to look professional, and match the recommended black attire of wedding videographers. :-)

I'm pretty sure Patrick with Still-Motion uses headsets. At least I saw a headset on his head during the wedding they shot in co-op with Canon.

I have used the http://www.eartec.com/Videographer/td904proseries.html for years now.

Hmmm...eartec are out of my price range. Thanks all the same.

We use Motorola GRS radios with the headsets. We paid about $100 (usd) from the Motorola website about two years ago, but you can probably buy them cheaper elsewhere.

The headsets include microphone and a little button (you press the button to talk). They also have a voice-activated feature but it runs the batteries down too quickly.

They can be hard to hear clearly sometimes at the louder receptions, but all in all, they are a life-saver.

- Hank Castello

Hi there

Came across this 2 way radio system on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Midland-GXT650VP1-GXT650-VP1-2-Way-Radios-Headsets-18Mi_W0QQitemZ230181942521QQihZ013QQcategoryZ72405QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Regards
Wayne

Hi Renton
I don't recommend those kids walkie talkies - they're pretty crude with very limted range and often very hissy. There's nothing more aggravating than a comms set-up that doesn't work reliably.

After a quick web search, I found that New Zealand and Australia have a licence-free 2-way radio band (also called UHF CB) which has some much better semi-pro walkie talkies with headsets at a reasonable price.

There's some listed here:
http://search.dse.co.nz/electronics/walkie%20talkie

They look very similar to the PMR446 walkie talkies we have in Europe, and the FRS radios in the US, except the NZ/Aus regs allow you to run them at higher power which will give a longer range. Might be worth a look?

I use four PMR 446 sets in the UK and they work fine for short distance crew communications.

Cheers
David

Hi Renton and all.

Those walkie talkie's shown in the sailing article

www.48north.com/aug_2005/dont_yell.htm

are sold by Cruising Solutions

http://www.cruisingsolutions.com/headsets.asp

Mariner 500 Head Sets
Walkie Talkies are just like cordless telephones. They enable both parties to talk and listen at the same time. The headsets style allow your hands to be free for other activities.

Fore Deck to Helm

Deck to Mast Head

Nav Station to Helm

No More Yelling!

No More Anchor Dance!!

We like to call them the Marriage Savers!!!
Our Aviation Style Headsets operate on a 9V battery snapped into one ear-set. The volume selector offers Lo or Hi. The headband adjusts to your comfort. The range is rated at 300 feet but most of us don't have a boat that long. Therefore we recommend that the antenna be tucked in to prevent contact with boat parafanalia such as fore-stay or spreaders, that may want to knock the headsets off.

The microphone has a foam wind guard to reduce wind interference. Speak in a normal tone with the mouth piece about 3" (7cm) from your mouth and your conversation will be one to one as though you are facing each other in the cockpit.

If you are near a radio tower, you may have some musical accompaniment, but your private conversation will still be crystal clear.

The headsets come with a padded storage case and one year warranty.

$59.95/Pair with Padded Travelling Case


or 1-800-460-7456

I saw someone rig up a workable set-up very cheaply using wireless telephone headsets. Not sure of the details but it cost less then $50 and worked very well.

Here in the US there is a frequency band allowed for personal communications use that does not require a license for use. The radios are short range, perhaps a mile at most under optimum conditions, inexpensive (around $50US per pair, sometimes less). They have 10 or so programmable sub channels for a measure of privacy. They only allow one way communication at any point in time, and one must press a transmit button to speak and be heard. Communication must be deliberate, no "flow of consciousness". An always-on, two way communication system, like the ear-tec, is significantly better. Still, these systems are useful. Is such a thing available in NZ?

Thanks guys for the further info and links.

I got some kids ones that clip on your ear but they are not suitable - too tight on the ear. I'm trying to sell them.

On another group, it was suggested that using walkie talkies could affect/interfere with the operation of cameras. Has anyone heard of this happening?

If anyone has used walkie talkie radio communication between cameras, I would like to hear your experience. Is it worth while? Any pit falls?

I anticipate the main use would be to make sure mulitple cameras aren't zooming/panning at the same time, so that solid shots can be had at all times.

Renton,

The Cruising Solutions headsets are fully duplex, so both can speak & hear simultaneously, even in a whisper. The cost is fully refundable within a year if they are found not suitable....i.e. causes interference with cameras.

So, has anyone used the cruising solutions headsets? They look pretty practical and at $60 / pair, it's probably the cheapest full duplex system I have ever seen. If they work decent at all, I would be tempted to purchase some.

If anyone has used these, could you post your thoughts on them?

Thanks
Kit

Hi Renton and all.

Those walkie talkie's shown in the sailing article

www.48north.com/aug_2005/dont_yell.htm

are sold by Cruising Solutions

http://www.cruisingsolutions.com/headsets.asp

Mariner 500 Head Sets
Walkie Talkies are just like cordless telephones. They enable both parties to talk and listen at the same time. The headsets style allow your hands to be free for other activities.


Trouble is, they are just a pair - so having more than two won't work.

Cheap reliable RF communications is very difficult. All the professional quality ones I have used are very expensive, and all the cheap ones total rubbish!

Trouble is, they are just a pair - so having more than two won't work.

So 2 pairs are not compatible with each other? That doesn't sound right....

You are correct, Paul. I just confirmed this with them and they said that more than 2 will not work together but they could not give me a reason why. They said they were working on a solution for more headsets.


Guess it's back to the Portacoms.....

You know...

Having just a pair that's fully duplex wouldn't be too bad though, if your doing a two person event shoot. I'm thinking this might be a worthwhile set to try out. It certainly is much cheaper than the Eartec set up.

Jeff

I've been looking at a few this morning - Motorola, Uniden, and a few others. Some of the kits come with headsets, some don't.

They all seem to have far bigger range than these cruising ones - they're only good for 300m, which isn't too much of problem on a yacht - if you had a yacht that big you wouldn't be going cheap-skate like this!!

In NZ there are sets of two with headsets going for $NZ169. Some kits come with four sets but without headsets. A guy on another group says he wouldn't be without his when videoing weddings. He uses 'Midland LXT310 GRS radios with headsets' though they're not sold anymore apparently. Swears by them - see similar here:

http://direct.motorola.com/ENS/web_producthome_FV200R.asp?Country=USA&language=ENS

Full range:

http://direct.motorola.com/ENS/phoneselect_TwoWay.asp?country=USA&language=ENS&productid=29129&web_page_name=TWOWAYRADIOS

He says divide range by 5 if not on smooth land, and inside buildings even more. Theirs works when they are on separate floors of buildings - have a range of a couple of miles.

I have used cell phones with wired headsets before. Worked out really well actually. Weekends are unlimited minutes too.

I saw someone rig up a workable set-up very cheaply using wireless telephone headsets. Not sure of the details but it cost less then $50 and worked very well.

Brilliant! A cheap and effective solution. And, no push to talk as it's full duplex.