Walkie Talkie Headset for Outdoor Events

If you have ever been involved with the planning or organizing of an event then you’ll know just how important it is to keep everyone informed with what’s going on. Failing to properly communicate with other event planners can have disastrous consequences and the whole event could fall apart.

Walkie talkies have a wide range of applications, but they are used primarily at events â€" whether it’s by event planners and organizers or the security personnel at the door.

A Quick Introduction to Walkie Talkie Headsets

A walkie talkie can be a great way to communicate, especially during events. The majority of events are now held at large venues, have a lot of attendees, and require proper communication amongst planners and organizers.

Walkie talkies are a standard way to help you communicate with everyone involved with the planning and organizing of the event. A headset takes it a step further and allows you a hands free operation of the walkie talkie, which is crucial in many circumstances.

Walkie talkies have two main uses: to ensure proper communication with event planners and organizers, and to ensure that security personnel can handle threats accordingly.

Where Can Walkie Talkie Headsets Be Used?

When it comes to events, walkie talkies have a wide range of uses, including the following:

• Nightclubs

• Festivals

• Sporting events

• Charity events

• School/college events

• Shopping centres

• Outdoor activities

Finding the Right Headset for You

The best important thing when it comes to choosing the right headset for your walkie talkie is brand. Two of the most reputable brands are Sordin and Peltor. These two brands offer headsets to suit just about any occasion, whether you need an aviation headset or an in-ear device.

If you are anticipating loud noises at the event then you’ll also want to think about noise cancellation for your headset, you have two options here: active noise reduction and passive noise reduction. We won’t get into technicalities, but active noise reduction will give you the best results.

Also, don’t forget about accessories for your walkie talkie. Depending on the type of event you are planning, you might want to think about accessories such as earpieces, microphones, carry cases, spare battery packs, headsets, and more. Make sure that any walkie talkie you are planning to use is compatible with the accessories that you need.



Not Quite Ready to Buy?

So, after reading all of the advice and guidance provided for you above, you probably have a good idea about the headset you are planning to purchase . However, what if you’re not quite ready to purchase it just yet? Well, that’s completely fine!

The vast majority of two-way radio retailers will allow you to hire your chosen radios and accessories. This is an ideal option for anyone who wants to try before they buy or just need the equipment for a few days.

Closing Notes

Hopefully you now have a much better understanding about walkie talkies and how they are so important for events. You should also know that just any standard walkie talkie won’t get the job done right, you need to have a specific criteria so you can be sure that your equipment will be good enough.

The information provided above will help you make the right decision when it comes to choosing a walkie talkie headset for events. It should also help you decide whether you should rent the equipment or buy it.

Titanic, Avatar and Star Trek Composer James Horner Dies In Plane Crash

James Horner, one of the best known and most respected composers in cinema history, has died, aged 61. He leaves behind him a musical legacy that helped to define an era.

Throughout an incredibly successful career, Horner scored in excess of 100 movies. First Oscar nominated for his work on ‘Aliens’ (1986) and again for ‘Field of Dreams’ (1989), amongst others, Horner’s work would eventually earn him two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, ten Oscar nominations, seven Golden Globe nominations and three Bafta nominations.

The list of films scored by James Horner is a long and impressive one. From ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’ (1982) and its sequel, 1984’s ‘The Search For Spock’, to more recent hits such as ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ (2012), ‘The Karate Kid’ (2010) and ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ (2008), Horner scored more Hollywood blockbusters than some people have seen.

His rich, fluidic tones and warm, sweeping scores were occasionally offset by moments of experimentation, such as the African-style vocal harmonies used in his score for ‘Avatar’ (2009) or the steel drums used in cult Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle ‘Commando’ (1985), all with the effect of serving the plot and the director’s vision. He was also an extremely versatile mind, every bit as capable of scoring hard-hitting drama as flippant comedy or high-octane action. Perhaps this was why James Cameron chose Horner to score ‘Titanic’ (1997), a decision that proved to be very fruitful indeed. Both the score, and the song ‘My Heart Will Go On’ (performed by Celine Dion) won Oscars, while the song itself sold 15 million copies worldwide.

However, the list of hit films helped along to box office success by Horner’s talents doesn’t end there. 90’s crowd-pleasers ‘Braveheart’ (1995), ‘The Mask of Zorro’ (1998), ‘Deep Impact’ (1998), Apollo 13’ (1995), ‘Casper’ (1995) and ‘Jumanji’ (1995) all benefited from Horner’s orchestrations, as did later films like ‘Troy’ (2004), ‘The Legend of Zorro’ (2005) ‘The Forgotten’ (2004), ‘Iris’ (2001), ‘A Beautiful Mind’ (2001), ‘Bicentennial Man’ (1999), ‘Windtalkers’ (2002) ‘The Perfect Storm’ (2000) and ‘Enemy at the Gates’ (2001).

The list of films upon which Horner worked, or conducted for, is longer still. After you’ve read this piece, head on over to IMDB and be amazed.



James Horner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1953. His father, Harry Horner, was an Oscar winning art director and set designer who had won the coveted awards for his work on 1949’s ‘The Heiress’ and 1961’s ‘The Hustler’, respectively. James learned to play the piano at age 5 and went on to study at the Royal College of Music in London, before studying music at the University of Southern California and doing postgraduate work at the University of California, Los Angeles.

His early successes included the movies ‘48 Hours’ (1982), ‘Cocoon’ (1985), ‘*Batteries Not Included’ (1987) and ‘An American Tail’ (1986) â€" which earned him an early Oscar nomination.

From there, Horner became one of Hollywood’s most in-demand composers, scoring ‘Willow’ (1988), ‘Honey, I Shrunk The Kids’ (1989), ‘The Rocketeer’ (1991), ‘Ransom’ (1996) and ‘Mighty Joe Young’ (1998), amongst (many) others.

On the 22^nd June it was reported that one of Horner’s private planes had crashed into the Los Padres National Forest near Ventucopa, California. He was the sole occupant of the craft when it crashed. Our best wishes and sincerest condolences go out to Horner’s family, friends and fans. He shall be missed.

Motorola 2 Way Radios: Effective and Secure Communication for your Business and Home

Motorola is the established market leader when it comes to communication solutions for coordinating how your on-the go workforce go about their operations. The company's array of two way communication devices, from pagers to two way radios; give you the means to efficiently coordinate operations on a secure and dependable platform.

For instance, MOTOTRBO is just the radio communication device for enhancing the operational efficiency of your mobile work team. In addition, you can trust the dependability of Motorola's TETRA solution, a platform designed to offer efficient and reliable communication, custom made to suit the needs of different markets. This solution complies with the Project 25 network standard, allowing for interoperability within a diverse set of agencies or communities whether this is in terms of routine every day communication or in times of emergency disaster response.

Other than the basic equipment, Motorola offers a complete set of accessories including batteries, chargers, headsets, chargers, speakers and many more to ensure you have everything you need to keep communication lines open and performing at optimal levels around the clock. This is a commitment based on the understanding that secure and clear audio communication capability is at the very heart of all mission critical industrial operations. Whether the scenario is all to do with accelerating productivity or ensuring a rapid response team is always alert and equipped for emergencies, Motorola has a fitting two way radio solution that is a custom fit for your operational enterprise and environment.

It is little wonder then that MOTORBO two way radios are so ubiquitous. You will find them in use by someone at the office desk, on the factory dock and even while on a leisurely walk around the campus. It is all about providing instantaneous, secure and dependable communication solutions. With information flow so instantaneous and feedback relevant to the real time situation, the decision making process in an organization becomes effective and reliable. As a direct consequence, productivity increases. Other benefits will be felt in terms of improved customer satisfaction and timely delivery of services.

Motorola's range of communication devices incorporate all manner of designs and technologies. You will find both ultra-thin and others with a more robust construction for use in the field. There are some with integrated Bluetooth connectivity as well as a whole range of top-of-the-line industry leading technologies. In short, there are Motorola two way radios that fit your communication needs today and with inherent adaptability to incorporate evolving performance features for the future.

With well over a million corporate bodies trusting their secure communication on the Motorola platform, there is no doubt that these radios have stood the test of time and the company's pedigree in the field is unmatched. The Motorola catalog includes dozens of devices, all with a robust mix of features for increasing the efficiency, dependability and productivity of your workforce.



Whether relaxing on the beach, monitoring security at a well attended outdoor event or just out and about for fun, Motorola's two way radios are just what you need to keep in touch. The devices have a working range of up to 10 kilometers from the receiver making them essential tools for anyone with a sense of adventure and need for a dependable communication channel. The high spec radios are designed for portability, easy to slip into your apparel or gear so that you have ready access to the ears of your team members, family or friends.

The convenience offered by Motorola two way radios mean you always have access to immediate, effective and completely secure communication avenue. They are also cost effective and adaptable to different business operational environments. Motorola's line of Unlicensed Business Radios in particular have a guaranteed range of 6.5 miles (10 kilometers) ensuring your team has ready access to secure communication which does not saddle you with call charges. It doesn't get more convenient than that.

New Smart Cast Mobile Phone Projects a virtual keyboard or display

Oh, now THIS is cool. A new phone unveiled by Chinese corporation Lenovo (makers of the Ideapad tablet, amongst others), will be able to project interactive objects, such as virtual keyboards or piano keys onto almost any flat surface.

The ‘Smart Cast’ phone (which could have been branded better, it has to be said) will also be able to project videos and photographic content onto walls, desks or any other flat surface, allowing the user to share videos (and even potentially screen movies) with multiple viewers.

The phone is able to project a fully functional replica of its own touch screen, or even a full-size computer keyboard if desired.

Despite being utterly tiny (34mm x 26mm x 5mm), the phone’s laser projector does not need focussing in order to project far larger images onto walls, desks, or anywhere else you might need to project an image (and for all you nerd lings aiming on creating a pocket Bat-Signal, forget it. I got there first!).

The projector itself can also be manually moved into at least one other position, which ensures that the projection quality should always be first rate.

...It even has a motorbike style kickstand to keep it upright when you’re using the virtual keyboard. How cool is that?

Justifiably proud of their new creation, Lenovo hired Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang to play the phone’s virtual piano as projected on the desk in front of him. I suppose they could afford to, as it was recently announced that their profits are up 20% from last year.

Of course, projector phones have been explored in the past, usually without success. The Samsung Galaxy Beam, released in 2012, was a failure of Star Trek: Into Darkness proportions (the joke being in the ‘beam me up’ area â€" in case you missed that) and the technology is notoriously hard to use. Still, perhaps this time somebody has finally gotten it right? Time will tell...

Sadly for us Brits, the Smart cast phone seems unlikely to be released here in the UK, so for us, it’s all a moot point in the end.

The Smart Cast phone was officially unveiled at Lenovo’s Tech World conference in Beijing, China, an event that also saw the debut of a new smartwatch, which has a ‘public’ and ‘private’ mode for some reason (all I can imagine it would be useful for is if somebody asked you the time whilst you were watching porn â€" at which point, keeping the screen on your wrist would defeat the object somewhat anyway).



It is open to interpretation as to whether or not the Smart Cast phone will be a stroke of consumer electronics genius or a costly failure, but for now, the early buzz certainly looks intriguing and you can pretty much guarantee that various engineering bigwigs employed by other developers will be following its progress with interest.

How Do I Choose a Good Two Way Radio?

Choosing a good two-way radio is relatively easy. In fact, the vast majority of radios are ‘good’ in the sense that they will do their specified job to a reasonable standard.

With the majority of two-ways, you don’t need to worry about operating systems (like you would with tablet PCs) or compatibility issues* (like you would with games consoles). All you really need to worry about, in fact, is what you want to use your radio for; this is by far the most important question you need to ask yourself if you’re ever buying a walkie-talkie or two-way radio.

If you’re just looking for a way to keep track of the kids on your next cruise, or you want something to add a bit of fun to your next outdoor excursion, then all you really need to do is find a trusted brand and buy a medium-priced model. It’s as simple as that. However, if you’re a businessperson and looking to buy a radio with a license, then you need to be a bit more careful. In that respect, you definitely want a trusted brand and you definitely want to consult a specialist before you invest in your equipment.

If you happen to fall somewhere in the cracks between these two examples, we’ve prepared a ‘fact sheet’ (of sorts) for you.

• There are Four Main Types of Two-Way Radio...

GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) â€" Is a higher-powered radio, popular for its reliability and versatility. GMRS is the most common choice among users.

FRS (Family Radio Service) â€" Is usually more of a basic model, lower powered, but generally cost-effective.

MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service) â€" Is an unlicensed radio that only has a limited capacity. MURS radios are not a particularly popular choice, although they do have their adherents.



And finally,

CB  (Citizen’s Band) - It is called different things in different countries, but CB is a personal service and is a popular choice, however it does require a long antenna. Good for drivers, though.

• Wattage is Important...

No, we’re not talking about that Italian-sounding hybrid of a bluebottle fly and Cyril Sneer from the ‘Star Wars’ prequels here; wattage is the measurement of watts, as in power output. Wattage is important in radios because it affects licensing. In the UK, for example, radios that have a power output greater than 0.5 watts require a license to use.

It is also important to note that any radio, no matter the power output, will automatically downgrade to a half watt when operating on FRS-specific channels.

• Keep Signal Coverage in Mind at all Times...

Two-way radio manufacturers do a lot of lying and exaggerating about the range of their products. Their claims almost never take into account the signal interference caused by objects in the way, natural obstacles, atmospheric conditions and a plethora of other variables.

On average, the actual signal coverage for any given radio is between one and two miles. CB radios can communicate over longer distances, but those extra long antennas can make them tough to carry around!

• Privacy Codes are Useful Things...

 If you’re using your radio in a busy area (i.e. where there are lots of other radio signals bouncing around), you will probably find that the available channels get used up pretty quickly. However, a radio that provides CTCSS will offer a ‘privacy code’ function that allows you to subdivide your channels by creating a combination of channel and code, this will allow you to better communicate with others, even if the available channels are full.

It should be noted, however, that this function does not make your conversation private; it just reduces the levels of other signals in the area that your device may be intercepting.

Much of the information listed here was sourced from 2 way radio online so look them up if you want to know more.

Smoke & Mirrors: A royal visit

This is an extract from How to be Normal: A Guide for the Perplexed by Guy Browning. The extract was found on this website and centres around the bodyguard of the princess and the earpiece they use to communicate with a significant character.

MONDAY

Marsha on reception is wearing a hat. That's unusual for three reasons. Firstly, she works indoors. Secondly, she normally takes very little interest in her appearance.

Thirdly, it looks like the kind of hat you'd wear to a wedding or possibly the races. When I asked her why she was dressed up, she said it was a secret. I said if she wanted to keep a secret, it's probably best not to look like Dame Edna. She clearly didn't know who Dame Edna was so I lost the battle hands down and left her on reception applying her lipstick. She must have developed a peri-menopausal crush on a courier with a millinery fetish.

TUESDAY

Something is definitely going on. David Eldridge, our operations director, normally wears a short-sleeved shirt with those weird buttoned sleeve turn-ups. I have no idea where you'd go to buy shirts like that unless there's some kind of Bureaucrat Surplus store somewhere. Today he's wearing exactly the same shirt obviously but with a bow tie. I managed to restrain my howls of laughter and asked him why he was looking so natty. He tapped his finger on his nose, which could have been an invitation to do a couple of lines of Charlie with him but probably meant that it was a secret. This was slightly galling as I am communications director of the company. We have several values around transparency and integrity, and I should know everything in the company down to a light cough in the mailroom.

WEDNESDAY

We have an extraordinary board meeting today. I got in late because I was still trying to find out what the big secret is. There was one empty seat next to some woman I didn't recognise. I was about to sit down when this woman waved me away as if I was some kind of IT spod come to fix the projector! Just as I was about to fill in a P45 for her (which I keep on my person for just such an occasion) another young lady strode into the room and sat down in my seat. Once I'd repositioned myself, I suddenly recognised a member of the royal family. Not a big A-lister but definitely royal. While we were all staring at her, the other woman, who had some kind of communication device in her ear, stared at us. Close protection, no doubt.

THURSDAY

The Princess is on work experience because the royal baby has shunted her off the civil list. I noticed when we were walking around that her bodyguard was receiving instructions through her earpiece, which she passed on to the Princess who then said something quite perceptive.

I suddenly had one of my brilliant ideas. I popped down to the IT guys and had a chat with one of them who is a bit of an electronics buff. I bribed him with some brightly coloured cable and he hacked into the bodyguard's earpiece. We listened in to the instructions being given and, I wouldn't like to swear to this, but I'm pretty sure it was Her Maj on the other end. When the Princess was touring the marketing department and hearing all about digital marketing, we heard some choice language, which you wouldn't normally expect from Prince Philip, let alone his missus.

FRIDAY

Today's board meeting started off with our bewigged CEO Lynton Spivey attempting to execute some kind of curtsey.

Even the Princess, who's probably seen a lot of those in her time, couldn't help giggling. I just sat back and waited politely. During the meeting, the Princess began to come out with all sorts of brilliant incisive ideas about increasing my budget for Corporate Comms and that some kind of large yacht would be a great idea for hospitality. Spivey was nodding and curtseying and I could feel my job getting infinitely more pleasant. Suddenly, the bodyguard took her earpiece out and for some reason looked straight at me. In the ensuing silence, the Princess made a few of her own suggestions, which were all embarrassing tumbleweed moments. Her bodyguard then hustled her out of the room. Bang goes my knighthood.

Clinton Portrait Shows Famous Liar

Presidential portrait artist Nelson Shanks has revealed that he incorporated a hidden message into his painting of former US President Bill Clinton.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, the artist told the world (well, Philadelphia) that a curiously long shadow, apparently cast by the plant next to the Prez, was, in fact, cast by a mannequin in a blue dress that he had in his studio at the time he painted the portrait.

According to Mr. Shanks, he did this as an allusion to Clinton’s famous affair with White House Intern Monica Lewinski, the woman who famously, um, relieved The President’s stress levels - before using her highly prized oral skills to catapult herself into a career in shit telly, low-level celebrity and (I kid you not) fashion design.

“Have the same handbag that I put down on the Oval Office couch in order to sexually service our nation’s president! Just $9.99” the ad copy (probably) says, as the glass ceiling lowers to the point that it actually constricts the breathing of female professionals the world over.

The worst of it was that, although I’ll grant you that Monika was better looking than Hillary, she was still a bit of a minger.

Aaaaaanyway, getting back to the point somewhat, the inclusion of the blue dress hints at the DNA evidence (and I flat-out am not saying what kind of ‘evidence’, but I’ll pretend it was ‘spit’. Hell, maybe it was!) that was famously left on Lewinski’s blue dress. Basically, Shanks was trying to make a point about “the shadow” that Clinton cast on the office of President. Or something.

Eventually, after famously denying that he had enjoyed “sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinski” (possibly as much ashamed of her slightly minging appearance as the fact that he’d lied to the Nation), Clinton was forced to fess up, and America’s right-wing press had a field day.

Therefore, according to Mr. Shanks, Bill Clinton is “probably the most famous liar of all time”.

Apparently, Mr. Shanks was knocked quite severely on the head and was completely unconscious for the 8 f*cking years that George W. Bush treated America (and the rest of the world) like his own personal nymphomaniac intern.

During the course of this era of idiocy, Bush openly lied about “securing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq” and then used said disinformation to lead an illegal invasion/occupation of another country.

Oh yeah, he also rigged an election, too (probably).

Now, perhaps I should cut Mr. Shanks some slack, I mean, after all, during Bush’s reign of terror, Dubya could have been shagging every White House intern in the damned building five times a night, but nobody could tell because he was there were too many bombs whizzing about in a war that cost TWO TRILLION DOLLARS and resulted in 174,000 dead Iraqis (with 123,000 of that number being innocent civilians whose only crime was that they lived in Iraq), just so he could earn a bit of extra bank for his dad’s golf buddies.

So yeah, nicely done.

Now, I’m not defending Clinton for scoring a BJ outside the confines of his marriage (however, if even half the stuff I’ve heard about marriage is true, then that’s the only place he was likely to find one!), I’m just saying that Clinton’s ‘dark shadow’ concerned an extra marital affair, the worst consequence of which was the rise of Monica Lewinski as a quasi-celebrity â€" his wife didn’t even chuck him over it. Whereas, if we’re playing the ‘blame game’ here, his successor’s portrait should feature him snorting cocaine off of a Guantanamo prisoner and wiping his arse with the US flag, whilst at the same time dancing naked atop an oil tower crudely fashioned from hundreds of dead Iraqi civilians. That’s all.