“We know that the 2.4 GHz operating spectrum of the Tempest2400 system along with its advanced RF technology is going to secure our communications now and for the foreseeable future, so it was worth the investment.”
FHSS, along with proprietary algorithms and timing synchronization mechanisms, allows the Tempest BaseStation to support more full-duplex BeltStations in a single RF space than other systems. As a result, the opera is able to have more full-duplex BeltStation users than previously possible.
Approximately 40 people at the San Diego Opera use the Tempest systems and the Clear-Com analog partyline that is integrated with the Tempest for a basic opera production.
Crew members handling set changes and other items on the stage utilize the Tempest system, along with personnel in the dressing room, the trap room and a rehearsal hall, which is separated by some distance from the stage area.
On the wired system is the center stage manager, along with those manning spotlights in the upper balcony and staff in the venue’s offices.
Having four-channels of communication on Tempest is another asset since this gives the staff the option of communicating within a single channel or talking/listening to more than one channel at a time.
Other advantages of the Tempest are that crew members can change the volume of each channel and their program feed from their BeltStation. The entire configuration of the Tempest system can easily be adjusted via the system’s associated T-Desk software to fit the opera’s varying productions.
“My goal with the new intercom system was to expand the loop of communication so that everyone who was critically attached to the production is connected,” says John David Peters, Production Carpenter and Technical Director for the San Diego Opera. “We are learning to take advantage of the multichannel capability of the Tempest system, which we are finding particularly useful when teching a show.
“In the past, we had one channel on our wireless system, with 19 or 20 people on that one channel, so there was a lot of cross talk. Being able to assign separate work groups to different channel has really streamlined communications.
“The other thing that I think is really remarkable about the system is how there is absolutely no noise.”