October 30, 2012

Waterproof Your CellCom/FreeSpeak Beltpack

What can you do to waterproof your CellCom wireless beltpack? We've got a tip for you about that!
 
SealLine pouches and bags such as the ones in the image below can be purchased at REI. Simply cut a small hole on the bottom for the headset jack. Then, it can be sealed with waterproof sealant. That's all there is to it!
 

October 26, 2012

Church Production with Clear-Com (Video)

Here's a cool video of the service at Browns Bridge Community Church. This video was produced with the help of Clear-Com.

Watch it here.


http://vimeo.com/22659816

October 25, 2012

Back When? Sports Broadcasting

1921 was the year of the first sports broadcast on the radio. It was on the Philadelphia Phillies game.

1936 was the first year that the Olympic Games were shown on television. This broadcast in Berlin and Potsdam was seen by over 162,000 viewers.




Feb. 4, 1937 was the first time that sports commentary was heard on TV. They first commented on amateur boxing. 

1939 was the first year that an NFL game was televised. The first game was between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Eagles to approximately 500 TV set owners.
 
May 16, 1960 was the first night a major league baseball game was on TV in color. 

Sept. 1979 was when the first all-sports network (ESPN)  aired.

Source:
Television Sports Production
Olympic Broadcasting Services
The History of Sports Television Broadcasting

October 23, 2012

Connecting Cameras to Partyline

Clear-Com's MS-704 Encore Partyline
 
If you want to learn how to connect cameras to Clear-Com's MS-704 Encore Partyline unit, here's how:

First off, the MS-704 unit has four beltpack channels.



You have two options to connect depending on the type of camera CCUs that you have.

1) If your camera’s CCUs are Clear-Com partyline compatible, then you can wire them in a chain into one of the MS-704 channels.
 


2) If the CCUs are four-wire type, then you need an extra interface before you can connect them to the MS-704.
 
 
a. Connect an XLR mic cable from the MS-704’s channel “A” to the IF4W4’s channel “A”.
b. Connect an XLR mic cable from the MS-704’s channel “D” (engineering channel) to the IF4W4’s channel “B”, “C” and “D”.
c. On the front panel of the IF4W4, select “B to A”, “C to A” and “D to A”
d. All cameras will participate on the master station’s main partyline channel A.  When you want to select CCU1’s intercom to have the “D” engineering channel, switch off the “B to A” and that allows camera 1 to be on the engineering channel. When the issue is addressed, it can be switched back to “B to A” and rejoin the main partyline.
 These are the switches to move all the CCUs to channel "A" (main partyline).
 

October 19, 2012

Comics for the Comms Geeks


Photo Credit: Ohmz.net

Photo Credit: dirknoy.di.funpic.de
Photo Credit: strugglingmuso.files.wordpress
 
Photo Credit: zazzle.co.uk
 

October 18, 2012

What's the Difference?

For those that are new to the world of intercom, here are some terms you don't want to confuse with each other:

Analog vs. Digital


    
Encore Analog Partyline

HelixNet Digital Partyline
 
Analog systems record waveforms as they are. Digital systems will convert the analog waveforms into sets of numbers and record the numbers instead. When played back, the numbers are converted into a voltage stream that approximates the original analog wave.

Two-wire vs. Four-wire

Four-wire communication systems have a talk and listen path that are separate. The term four-wire comes from the fact that the system uses a transmit pair and a receive pair for the audio to and from the intercom (two paths). They can be interfaced to other four-wire audio devices and most wireless intercom systems.

Two-wire communication systems have a path is the same for both talk and listen. There are two wires (one path) for the transmit and receive. They can be interfaced to only some wireless intercom systems.

Handset vs. Headset
 
                 Clear-Com Handset                                                   Clear-Com Headsets 

A handset is a telephone-style connection to an intercom station with an earpiece and microphone. A headset has one or two earphones with an integrated microphone on a boom arm and connects to a beltpack.

 

October 16, 2012

How Do Divers Communicate?

1. Scuba divers can use hand signals to communicate.



2. They can also use underwater writing slates.



3. They can use wireless and hard wired communication systems as well. A transducer on the diver's face mask will converts his or her voice into an ultrasound signal. The other diver will have an ultrasound receiver that receives that signal and changes it back to a sound that the diver can understand.

The divers’ helmets, which have built in microphones and speakers, can be also linked to intercom stations, such as Clear-Com, on board the ship though an umbilical, enabling them to correspond with the Dive Supervisor and the crew on the deck.

Read the full case study here: World Class Vessel Maximizes Well Intervention Collaboration


October 12, 2012

You’re the Genius. Share with us!



Have you made any interesting adaptors or interfaces for use with Clear-Com gear? If so, we want to hear from you! Let us know what, how, and why you made it.

Every week, Clear-Com brings you intercom and audio industry information from across the globe, but the part you play in contributing is very important. Whether it is an article, photo, video, or diagram, please share it with us since it can make a world of difference to our many readers.
 
Below are the different ways to send in your contributions:



Email
Email your articles, pictures, videos, and/or diagrams to us at clearcommarketing@clearcom.com with “Blog Submission” in the subject line.

Blog
Submit your information here: My Brilliant Ideas/Invention

October 11, 2012

How do Mics Work?

Learn how microphones work in the video and article below:



"Microphones are a type of transducer - a device which converts energy from one form to another. Microphones convert acoustical energy (sound waves) into electrical energy (the audio signal)." Read full article here: How do Microphones Work?

October 5, 2012

Yankee Doodle

Photo Credit: pawls.lib.ms.us
Did you know that the first sound recording of music was the recording of Jules Levy playing Yankee Doodle on a cornet? Jules Levy first started playing the cornet at the age of 17 and eventually became the most celebrated cornetist of the 1800s.

Jules Levy
Photo Credit: able.hive.no/trumpet/levy
The process of recording onto a membrane or thin paper was invented in 1857 by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, but at that time, the sound could not be replayed. Later, magnetic recording was invented, but it was only used to record telephone messages. Inspired by a visit to Edison's lab in New Jersey, Oberlin Smith worked to record Jules Levy's Yankee Doodle onto a record.  



Sources:
First audio and video recordings
Jules Levy
History of Sound in Chronological Order

October 2, 2012

Health Benefits of Music

Photo Credit: slodive.com
Loving music is a good thing! Did you know that there are tremendous benefits to listening to music?
Here are some of those advantages:
  • A study from the University of Gothenburg shows that listening to music every day lowers stress.
  • Researchers from the University of Maryland Medical Center discovered that joyful music is linked with heart health.
  • Music lessons improve verbal memory in children according to a researcher in the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
  • A study at Stanford University indicates that those with depression gained self-esteem and saw an improvement in their mood when they were visited by a music therapist.
  • Patient stress is also reduced during surgery according to Cleveland Clinic's research.

Sources:
11 Health Benefits of Music
The power of music: It's a real heart opener
Using Music to Ease Patient Stress During Surgery