CAS Quarterly

Summer 2019

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C A S Q U A R T E R L Y S U M M E R 2 0 1 9 15 reality TV shows, and maybe a few narrative TV shows and movies, use a production-issued walkie-talkie in order to stay plugged into the workflow and timing of the production department. Some sound mixers patch the walkie signal into the mixing board and mix it into the IFB feed. This is great for selective monitoring of the production channel but does not allow for any verbal reply from the sound department. For some, utilizing a walkie-talkie is as simple as having the utility sound technician or A2 wear their own walkie with a surveillance mic and earpiece. Most likely, they have to share their ears with the walkie and IFB system where the surveillance mic set's THE ABILITY TO LISTEN TO INDIVIDUAL TALENT TRANSMITTERS ON THE URX IS LIKE GIVING THE GIFT OF MOBILE PFL. A LUXURY USUALLY ONLY AFFORDED TO THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THE MIXING CONSOLE. earpiece is in one ear and another single earpiece or over-the-ear headphone is placed on one or both ears for listening to the IFB feed. Some use a specially wired surveillance mic set that has a combining cable used to feed a signal from the walkie and IFB. You then set your own mix by balancing the walkie and IFB sources. Depending on the brand of the IFB, they have to be wired differently so several versions are available. This is often not ideal as it forces the user to monitor the IFB program material from a lesser quality earpiece supplied with the surveillance mic. A similar rig available includes this same concept of a combiner cable tapping off of the walkie and IFB, but is terminated to a female 1/8" connector for use with your favorite headphones (or IEMs) where you also create your own listening mix by adjusting the volume of the walkie and IFB to the desired balance. Sound complicated? Well, it doesn't have to be. This URX receiver with walkie-talkie integration cleans all of this up. The production-issued walkie plugs directly into the URX100 via a TA5 connector on the side, the Zaxcom lanyard plugs into the 1/8" headphone out, and you plug your headphones or IEMs into that. The lanyard has a push-to-talk button that remotely operates the push-to-talk of the walkie, allowing for sound department reply. The lanyard also gives the user easier access to the volume control of the URX100 so they don't have to twist and reach for it on their belt. Pretty slick. CONCLUSION I love testing new technology that is specifically designed and manufactured for our unique sector of audio engineering. I want to thank Doc Justice CAS for providing some insight on initial operation of these units, and I want to thank Gene Martin CAS for shipping the units back once I was done with my tests. I want to thank Glenn Sanders and Colleen Goodsir for letting me get my hands on this new tech to put through the paces. Zaxcom is always doing something innovative and listening to their customers about what kinds of creative solutions are needed in our niche market. Thank you for making these products for our family of users in production sound. Keep up the good work! URX100 shown with walkie-talkie lanyard and Motorola walkie-talkie. TA5 connector for walkie-talkie interfacing.

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