Wow, Chickenhawk, thanks so much for your detailed responses!! Extremely helpful and much appreciated! Also, sounds like you have a really cool job on set and have worked on productions much much larger than ours…
First, I would say that we are probably looking for license-free radios. The FHSS radios sound promising, since they are UHF and can be used indoors and outdoors.
I looked up the Motorola DTR series as you suggested and they look ideal. The only thing is they are probably out of our price range for the time being. Maybe I can find them used on eBay or elsewhere, or rent for the time being with an eye on purchasing them in the future. Any particular model you recommend?
I started looking into buying radios because we will be shooting overseas for over a month, but on a very limited budget. I’ve gotten rental quotes (mainly CP200s it seems) but have been also investigating purchasing our own since we will definitely be using radios in the future.
One possibility that occurred was buying a larger number of inexpensive amateur radios, such as the following Baofengs or the slightly more expensive Wouxuns:
Baofeng BF-F8+ Dual Band Two Way Radio
Baofeng UV-82 Dual Band UHF/VHF Radio
Baofeng UV-5R Dual Band UHF/VHF Radio
Ham Radio Starter Kit - HT
It seems that these dual band radios would be versatile, but I don?t really know the difference between an “Amateur Radio” and a “Business Radio”. So I’m not sure if they would be appropriate for our usage scenario or if a license would be required. From reviews on Amazon, they appear to be used by a wide variety of people, including regular people in work situations, but also radio enthusiasts and some SAR (search and rescue).
Baofeng Fan Page
I?ve heard differing opinions about the quality of these radios, but in general it seems they will not hold up as well as more expensive radios. But for the price of one business class radio, it looks like we would be able to purchase a large number of these cheaper radios, and just replace the ones that go bad:
BaoFeng BF-888S Two Way Radio (Pack Of 6): $89.70
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-888S-Two-Radio-Pack/dp/B00ECWE4WC/
BaoFeng BF-888S Two Way Radio (Pack of 20): $283.31
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-888S-Two-Radio-Pack/dp/B00ECWHI8E/
BaoFeng 10 Pack BF-888S (USA Warranty) 400-470MHz Two Way Radio - With Battery, Antenna and Charger (UHF Only): $153.99
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-888S-Warranty-400-470MHz-Radio/dp/B00N296B5O/
It does look like they would need to be programmed, but it seems like there are places that will program for you before shipping. I could also purchase the programming cable and attempt to program them myself (I’m fairly tech savvy).
However, I understand that these radios probably do not fit the description “quality that lasts”. And I believe that buying quality pays off in the long run. But they are certainly cost-effective!
On another note, I heard back from BuyTwoWayRadios.com (I emailed them), and they recommended the Motorola RM RMU2040 radios:
I would recommend looking at the Motorola RM RMU2040 radios they are very durable water resistant and have great battery life but they do not have the vibrate function. Vibrate is not available on most commercial grade models unfortunately and VOX really want help you in a theater setting either .
The link to the radio and headsets is below that I would recommend
noise canceling headset for loud environments
the M1 connector would be required to be compatible
speaker mic
M1 connector would be needed as well
I also found a blog post on BuyTwoWayRadios.com (Dec. 2014) suggesting alternatives to the soon to be defunct CP200 (which is the only model I’ve used on film sets). They include the Motorola RDU4160d, the Motorola RDV5100, and the Vertex Standard VX-231.
http://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2014/12/motorola_to_discontinue_the_cp200.aspx
Finally, I really appreciate your advice regarding headset and microphone combinations. I will take that to heart and pick some up, as your suggestions seem spot on. I had one question: what is the difference/benefit of using an acoustic tube surveillance earpiece vs. a standard headset earpiece?
Again, thanks so much for your advice and opinions!! I hope I haven’t offended anyone with my lack of knowledge in this area, but I am seeking to learn more and hopefully benefit from your impressive expertise and experience.