Germany-based wireless cameras and comms specialist HDwireless chose a range of Clear-Com digital wireless systems supplied by Audio-Technica to power the comms during a submarine expedition to the bottom of the deepest lake in Austria, part of a research project (“Tiefenrausch”) meant to discover the “sound of the earth.”
The expedition spanned five 12-hour days, and reliable communication technology was essential, in part because the crew had to obtain approval from the Austrian military to sail out to the dive site each day. Ultimately, HDwireless decided to use Clear-Com’s FreeSpeak Edge wireless system due to the wide range of possible applications and its audio quality, according to Patrick Nußbaum, managing director at HDwireless, who adds, “We were not only responsible for the communication within the submarine and to the crew ashore, but we also used the FreeSpeak Edge system for the entire broadcast sound of the television transmission.”
Once at the dive site, “at a depth of nearly 200 meters, you have to be really safe,” Nußbaum continues. “If you’re out there and have no way to communicate with the submarine, the OB van or the crew on land, you have a real problem. It’s a big security factor.”
The submarine was manned by four people: a pilot, a co-pilot, a presenter for the TV show, and a guest, all of whom were equipped with FreeSpeak Edge beltpacks. The intent of the submarine’s voyage was to retrieve a hydrophone previously sunk to the bottom of the lake, which, along with other recording devices, captured the sounds made by the Earth.
All crew members on the submarine could communicate with each other and send their feeds to the TV production’s OB van on land, which was equipped with an Eclipse HX digital matrix system and V-Series Iris keypanels. The crew on the land and pontoon boat were also able to communicate via the Agent-IC mobile app.
The crew didn’t use any additional audio equipment; the production relied the Clear-Com technology. “That was one big reason we chose Clear-Com,” Nußbaum concludes. “The products simply work. And we would do this all again using that equipment.”
