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The Comtek BST 75-216 has different EQ options: Pro Audio EQ or Communication. Does anyone have experience of what these actually sound like? One of the Communications EQ versions allows you to use it to drive a Phonak Invisity earwig which would be handy but I wouldn't want to sacrifice too much of the listening experience when using the PR216 to listen to program sound. all the best SW

This is actually a fix and not a question. I’ve been having issues with a M-216 transmitter sending out a consistent ticking sound. I tried everything to fix it and it ended up being the rechargeable battery that was causing the issue. Switching to an alkaline battery immediately fixed it. Related, if you have a brand of 9V that doesn’t give you an issue, I’m taking recommendations, haha!

Hey guys, anyone have experience with the listen tech receivers? I use a comtek 216 system and was tossing around the idea of adding some LR-400 receivers to the mix as they appear to be compatible but I have zero experience with them. I am happy with the pr-216 receivers as they are tough and reliable but the Listen Tech gear has a much lower price tag. Thanks

Hey Sound Peeps! There is a host of affordable [cheap] chinese radios that reach up to 520 MHz. I was wondering if anyone had experience transmitting in the 420 Block and using these as comtek substitutes. At $15-25 dollars a piece, it's hard to not consider handing them out to crew instead of comteks or lectro ifb's. The only consideration is if the narrow fm receiver works well enough with a wide fm transmitter to make it acceptably intelligible. This is what I'm thinking about: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/6pcs-Mini-Walkie-Talkie-Retevis-RT22-Long-Range-UHF-400-480MHz-16CH-CTCSS-DCS-TOT-VOX/32741929692.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.265.2RrKbv&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3_10065_10068_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10060_10061_10062_10056_10055_10037_10054_10033_10059_10032_10078_10079_10077_10073_10070_10052_423_10050_10051,searchweb201603_2&btsid=70ad5d16-83dc-458f-a072-9e0910497ff7 I've tested these units and they actually transmit and receive up to 520 MHz, though you'd turn off the TX in this application. The other consideration is that the audio output is a 2.5 mm jack so you would need a 'step up' adaptor to 3.5 mm, but at that price.... Any input? Thanks, dB

I had an interesting issue crop up a few days ago. I have two Comtek feeds: one for my crew and one for Production (which includes Director & Scripty, as well as agency types in VV.) Transmitters are two BST-25 216. So I was working on a commercial shoot in a home. My cart ended up in a corner in the kitchen, and I installed my two Mini-Mite antennas upside down so as not to hit the ceiling. Everything was tested, no problems found. At some point, a four-foot Kino fixture with four bulbs was put next to the car, vertically. It was connected to a Variac dimmer, at what I would call minimal intensity. After all adjustments were made, the light ended up about one foot from the Mini-Mite, directly in the path to where Director and Scripty were seated, some 25' away. Eventually (don't know the timeframe, it was a pretty busy and tense set) we heard that the signal is "cutting out". My boom op checked and, indeed, it was cutting in and out intermittently. We moved the cart to get a clear line of sight to them and it mostly was resolved. Unfortunately, we were short on time and dealing with a difficult shoot, so there wasn't much time to test and troubleshoot properly, so I can't share any more information - but I'd love to hear comments or experiences from my colleagues, in case the issue crops up again. TIA, BK

I figured I would post a picture of the comtek caddy that I made last week for Lorenzo Millan and the upcoming House of Cards season starting in a few weeks. It securely holds 16 comteks in their own individual slots, 14 headsets and a box of Duracell 9 volts. It's completely waterproof and will soon have a clear vinyl rain cover with velcro attachment, similar to the velcro rain covers on most of our sound bags. The BEST part about this project is that all the wood is completely recycled from pallets and at zero cost! This was somewhat of an adaptation of a 6pack beer caddy that I've been making in bulk and selling. Only took about 10 hours worth of work and it works great! If anyone would be interested in something like this, let me know and I can get one mocked up for you. I also make reclaimed furniture as well, so if you're interested in any of that, please feel free to let me know! I'm open to any new designs or ideas! Cheers, Steve

Picking up some Comteks for IFB pretty soon. I am getting Opt 7 for the bag transmitter, but probably not for client monitoring. However, since the Comtek uses the headphone wire as the antenna, if I were to put these on cameras for scratch audio where I don't want unnecessary cable lengths will I need the Opt 7 antenna? I really don't care about range benefits or occasional hits since it will be for scratch, but I'm wondering if anyone is using them on cameras without the additional antenna and if the cable causes any issues. Thanks.

Hi! Someone gave me a set of the companion set of comtek, M-72AT transmitter and PR-72b reciever. Tho, theres no antenna for the transmitter. I know that this model is old, ancient, thats what my friend who gave this to me calls it, im planning to use it as back up. Where can i buy a whip antenna suited for the M-72AT Transmitter? I sent an email to comtek but they haven't replied. Thank you so much!

Hey Guys, Curious what people are using for your boom operators to listen on. Comtek? Lectro IFB? Zaxcom IFB? Hard wired? (duplex cable?) Boom box? Or maybe listen off the signal pre-recorder with a SD MM1?

On August 23rd a friend of mine left my schoeps cmit and a comtek pr-216 receiver in a taxi on the west side of L.A. The serial number on the microphone is 757. If anyone has any information a reward is in order. Message me here.

I'm investing in a Comtek system to compliment my (rather extensive and elaborate) ERX2 IFB config. I've read the all the literature I can find. Looking for practical guidance on the difference performance in terms of range and fidelity of the following: M216 (10 mw) M216-P7 (10 mw) (will these either of these two cut if for cart use with the right antenna configuration? I'd like to go this route if realistic. I heard a M216 raised on the mast works quite well for some.) BST75 (100 mw) Thanks in advance. - Patrick

Howdy JWSounders, Are there any NYC mixers still using any of these Comtek frequencies in NYC? B=72.3 C=72.5 D=72.7 G=75.7 If so, are you happy about it? Any feedback would be appreciated. Cheers, Sean O'Neil Brooklyn NYC

Hi all! A quick question to Comtek 216 users in Europe. How do you guys and gals handle the incredibly strong interference leaking into the PR-216 receivers when mobile phones in close proximity to the set are switching to the EDGE data network? I haven't noticed any interference on the Comteks when mobile phones are on the 3G network, but on EDGE, the interference spits out at full level through the headsets and you'll see directors, ADs, producers, continuity people et al ripping their headsets off their heads and giving you angry looks. I'm using either a BST-75 216 transmitter with the MiniMite antenna or the M-216 pocket transmitter with its whip antenna and PR-216 receivers. The M-216 transmitter's input cable is the original Comtek, filtered XLR to minijack cable which comes with the transmitter. But I don't think the issue comes from interference sneaking its way into the transmitted signal. It seems to affect the receivers directly, even with the transmitters switched off. I don't know if the older EDGE data transmission technology is (still) being used in the US, but here in Europe it gets used a lot as a fallback when the 3G network is too weak. And as we often shoot in real locations as opposed to soundstages, we sometimes cannot control the cell phones in close proximity to the set. And even a single cell phone in EDGE mode will ruin the reception on Comtek receivers in a perimeter of 5 to 10 meters. Thanks for any tips or insights! Cheers, Jürg

I'm not sure which thread to post this in, so I'll drop it here. A buddy of mine and I did a range test today using the following gear: Sennheiser G3 Zaxcom TRK900LA / QRX100 Lectrosonics SM / UCR411A Comtek 216 series Zaxcom ERX2TCD I understand that there's a lot of variables to doing a test such as this, but we had a lot of fun doing it, we just wanted to test our gear, and to just get a general idea on how the range was since we have never found a solid answer.. Keep in mind, this was all LOS (Line of sight) testing. All results are based on when there was a complete dropout in signal. Each test had spotty results about 30-50ft before dropout. We didn't have a way of tracking distance, so I used this site to figure it out afterwards. I'm confident that these numbers are correct. This is why we used landmarks to measure later. http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-go...calculator.htm We set everything we could to the same (or close) frequencies for the best results with what we had. We used a Zaxcom Nomad for the test. I strapped on all of the wires and IFBs and started walking. We did this same test for every piece of gear, running an IFB and a wire at the same time for communication. The results surprised us both. Starting with the Lectro, we got roughly 470ft. This was impressive since we were using only the ENG style rig with no fins. We didn't have the SMV, so I believe the output power was default 50mw, which was still great. Sennheiser G3, I believe, has an even lower mw output, but nearly got the same range. it was about 100ft shorter before cutting out. Not bad, but the sudden loud hisses were a little annoying. Zaxcom TRX900LAs set to 50mw went about 3/4 the distance as the lectro did until we bumped up the power to 125. Then it reached about where the SM went (470ft). It was still spotty. We were also still able to send commands to the transmitter via zaxnet, including the recording ability, but this could only be done when we were moved a bit closer (roughly 360ft). We also set the QRX back and forth from Dual to Single. It really didn't seem to add to the range much though. The Zaxcom ERX2TCD and the Comteks were an easy test. The ERX went almost 500ft before giving out. Sure, there were a few dropouts on the way, but overall it still sounded very good. Almost as if I were listening to the recorder itself. The Comtek didn't even go half the distance before hissing at us and making noises. The ERX was crystal clear the entire way, while the comtek sounded angry almost the entire time. Now here's the fun part. Since we both own a nomad, we wanted to try something neat. Using Zaxnet, we paired our nomads together (him transmitting and me receiving) so that he could send me audio signal from his to mine via the built in IFB. He kept the QRX and I took the TRX and a nomad with me. I was monitoring his receiver from his bag, in my headphones from my bag. This was very cool. I got a little farther than the ERX before dropping out. A little over 500ft. Of course, I couldn't hear the TRX anymore, but I could hear his slate mic when he would talk to me. This seems like a fun way to chat with other fellow zaxcom users on multi mixer ENG shoots. Haha They all had range far better than we were expecting, other than the comtek. I do believe that all of the gear reached more than enough distance for what they'd be used for. Especially in an ENG setup. Of course, if we had fins, the distance would have multiplied, I'm sure. I wish we could have had the lectro IFB with us, but I'm thinking it would have been around the SM, which was very good. Again, this was just a fun thing we wanted to do and the results came out surprising for us both. They'd be different for everyone, but now we have a general idea of what they're capable of. If there's anything anyone notices that we could have done better or something we can try next time, please let me know. I'd love to do it again with any new advice or settings. Also, any questions are welcome. I may have missed a few things. Our test was pretty extensive. - Sessoms

Hello ~ I'm getting ready to do some shooting, and I was wondering exactly what comtek equipment i would need to run a wireless headphone feed to on-set people. Ideally the director would wear a belt pack that he could plug MDR 7506's into. Give me some suggestions and a general context on wireless headphone equipment. No foldback mic required, just playback! thanks commpost

Hi, I've been using comtek pr 72-b (25 frequency) to send TC to a timecode slate. It was working fine. I got an old comtek (freq F) that I tried to use but whenever I have the Freq 25 (as TC Tx), I don't hear anything from the Freq F comtek except noise. It seemed to interfered a lot whenever I have the 2 units on at the same time. Any ideas? I know these are so old and I should get new ones but they are expensive... Any suggestions other than buying a new set? Thanks.

Hey folks, Some time back, I made the mistake of purchasing a pair of Lectrosonic LMa/UCR 100's. I wasn't happy with the sound, and rarely took them out. Now, as I'm gearing up for this film, I'm wondering if I can make some kind of Comtek system out of them for my clients. Could that work? Rachel

I discovered a great feature of the 788t when I was testing an ifb today. I have one of my outputs for my utility PL routed to x2 mix with all inputs including mine set on postfade. I was playing back the L mix track and not hearing anything in the ifb. I realized that if I want video village to only hear the live mix, and nor hear the playback, all I need to do is re-route the output going to the comtek xmitter to an output (like x1) . This is very useful if you have to review your tracks regularly. Just FYI