All the sums added up for Maths in The City

They say everything is governed by formula and complex equations.
Every graph has results outside the mean deviation and on this occasion all the numbers added for our "Factory" VIP Tour Guide System as a  successful candidate for Oxford University, Department of Continuing Education, on their Maths in the City Tours.

The Walking Tours developed by Marcus Du Sautoy uncover hidden examples of Maths in our cities of London and Oxford.   I have included a link above to their website if you are interested to discover more.
I don't believe there is any homework involved!

Building Bridges

Sales techniques keep reminding me to Build Bridges with our Customers.
After many months I have literally got the message, this week has been all about Bridges!

Bill Boley moves bridges, in Chislehurst!
Bill Boley is one of our earliest wired and wireless communications customers from outside the Broadcast Industry.  Bill uses a Tecpro wired Beltpack system to communicate clearly with his team of skilled operators as they use hydraulics to lift large objects!  Bill's team is in nearby Chislehurst and today I dropped in to deliver an 8 way Intercom system they will be using whilst they install a safety skirt under the current bridge. The old bridge has been weak for some time and is to be replaced by the Fourth Bridge between the Petts Wood and Chislehurst sides of the railway line.  Bill Boley's Website.


Staying with Bridges Connect Plus Services have placed an order for Peter Jones High Visibility Klickfast Cases for the Dartford River Crossing.

The cases and accompanying belt docks will  prevent damage from drops to their Tetra Sepura STP8000 radios.  The Klickfast Docking system can only be removed from it's holding Dock in one position at 180 degree making it quickly accessible when needed and otherwise safe & secure when not! 
The Dartford River Crossing Crossing is another local famous bridge and we are pleased to be able to include another Area of Highways operations in England and Wales to our list of customers.

First Impression of Constant Carrier Digital Radio Talkback

The Barbican Centre have been investigating different solutions to replace their BTR wireless Beltpack system in the main hall.  Today we tested a Kenwoood Nexedge Digital Base station with some dual mode Digital/Analogue capable radios.  The base had the required Tx enable button and audio in and audio out on a trial version interface panel.    The radio system was interfaced to the backstage RTS 2 wire intercom using an RTS 2 wire to 4 wire interface.

The Nexedge radio system was operating in 6.25khz bandwidth offering a possible saving in licence cost as opposed to the normal 12.5kHz OFCOM/JFMG licence.  There was some work to do on the interface to improve the audio levels and litlle of noise however overall it was better than Bruce expected and it was nice to not have that background noise present on Production Radio Talkback. There is a delay, albeit very small, and the infinite echo of an open radio through an open mic in production sounded like a not longer clean feed coming back to some poor presenter's IFB earpiece from a remote studio, studio, studio ,studio, studio (I guess you get the drift)!

This was the first Digital radio talkback system Showcomms and Bruce had tested as runner for a possible replacement to the present analogue UHF base stations.  The clear improvement in range running 5W through some little mag mounts was the biggest surprise. Certainly the in-house production team were impressed by the lack of black spots. If you have been to the Barbican you will know it is a concrete steel jungle and good rf coverage from backstage to FOH foyet and upper levels can be a struggle.

In short the Benefits appear to be:

• reduced bandwidth and possibly therefore lower licence fees. I need to ask JFMG in this respect to booking a licence.
• increased range especially in 6.25kHz
• Private audio, the audio cant be scanned by other users     
• Base station and handset transceivers can be used in Analogue or Digital mode

A little work is required on our interface box  to the Kenwood Nexedge 810 and certainly it wont be long before Bruce can bring anyone who wishes a demo unit to try out!

Come and meet us in London Brussels and the Hague

I have been busy organising some new exhibition dates including one in London and one in both Brussels and The Hague.

London 29th September 2011 - ADS 3rd PSE one day event.
Invitations to attend as a visitor are extended only to officers of the police service, Home Office, HM Revenue and Customs, UK Border Agency, SOCA and the prison services, as well as other relevant government departments.
We would like to meet as many of our customers as possible. To attend  as a visitor please follow the below link and complete a registration form.

 
Brussels  23rd November 2011 - UKTI Benelux Security and Defence Roadshow
Brussels at the conference facilities of Autoworld for a one-day tabletop exhibition

The Hague  24th November  - UKTI Benelux Security and Defence Roadshow
Location The British Ambassador’s Residence. This is our first visit to The Netherlands and I promise to bring as many new products as possible with me!


Both of these events are by invitation only. Please contact me if you would like to receive an invitation for either of the European events.
bruce@showcomms.co.uk

SEPURA TETRA RADIO ACCESSORIES SUPPLIED TO NWTRA

(NWTRA) The North Wales Trunk Road Agency manage and maintain
the trunk road network in North Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government
In June 2011 we supplied a range of products including Peter Jones Klickfast accessories, Lowe Headsets and Sepura branded Chargers to be used as part of the communications solution for the Welsh Government’s Traffic Officer service on the A55

BG-THR Headsets for Zuiderkempen Police

At the end of May (2011) we made our second visit to the Infopol exhibition.

Westerlo, a Province of Antwerp and Lokale Police Zuiderkempen was the first Force to place it's order for Nokia THR 880i headsets following the show.

A new Nokia covert headset based on the popular TC4 headset has been designed based on the  suggestions of a team from the VSSE who visited us at the exhibition. The new headset has minimal cable with a BG style PTT mic and a short lead to a 3.5mm jack socket allowing quick change of leads from Covert Wireless to Acoustic Tube Earpiece. 

Kent County Council Emergency Planning Headsets

Showcomms owner Bruce Cocks, who was born in Tonbridge, Kent and lived most of his life in the county, was very pleased to recently receive an order for 19 BG-F headsets for Motorola MTH800 Tetra radios from Kent County for their Emergency Planning Unit.

The Rampant White Horse of Kent

"Our headsets are worn all over Europe and further afield. Our headsets have been purchased by several International bodies including part of the UN.
"I travel a lot in Belgium and every town is always proudly flying their local and; regional flags so there is always something special in receiving an order from your own local region."

Amey - Area 9 Highways Agency

180 Headsets for use with the Sepura STP8000 radio

Amey Area 9 Highways Agency

We have provided 180 headsets with earpiece and PTT microphone to Amey the Oxford based support services company.

Amey  maintains more than 650 miles of road in area 9; 

including one of the busiest stretches of motorway in the UK – the M6 through Birmingham.

It is one area achieved, 13 more areas to go!

Planes Trains and Buses

April 2011 has seen a succession of Transport Industry related orders

Our new Sales Adminstrator,  Amanda Yangin, has been busy sending orders all over the UK and Europe

 

DHK Air Leipzig

London Transport Buses

BTP London Underground

DSB Danish State Railway

Popular Items have Peter Jones Klickfast Accessories and BG Earpiece headsets for different models of digital radios both Tetra and Motorola Trbo Models.

 Showcomms will be in Europe on 23rd, 24th and 25th May at Infopol Belgium

BG-Tracker-Thr Proprietary headsets for MiddelKerke Police

Middelkerke Police Department first contacted Showcomms with a requirement for 75 proprietary earpieces at a trade fair being attended by Showcomms in Belgium  with the assistance of  UKTI.

Earlier this month,  March  2011,  Showcomms supplied the acoustic tube earpieces for connection to Middelkerke's THR880i radios. The new earpieces complete with comfortable ear inserts will  be used by Middelkerke Police during the region's busy summer season. Middelkerke is a seaside resort and  the holiday season attracts a large influx of tourists to the area popular for it's long sandy beaches.  

Showcomms will be exhibiting at Infopol in Belgium in May 2011.

It is along stay at the Savoy Hotel London for our Vocera concierge headsets

London's celebrated Savoy Hotel recently placed an order for our new headsets to use with their Star Trek name badge wireless communication system made by Vocera.

Concierge for Vocevera

The Vocera wireless communication system allows mobile workers to stay instantly contact each other using simple spoken commands. 

  If a concierge wants to get in touch with a colleague somewhere in the Savoy Hotel they simply say the name of their colleague into their lapel microphone and a specially-developed voice recognition system immediately connects them to their colleague.

John Bishop Sunshine

Sunshine again and everyone is beaming.
John Bishop has started the 2nd leg of his Stand Up tour Sunshine Tour around the UK. Showcomms are providing backstage radio comms following a successful hire last year

12 New Motorola CP040 radios and a Kenwood Base Station with constant carrier will provide 4 simplex and 1 duplex feed.  The licences were booked via JFMG's online system and we were able to co-ordinate the same frequencies at all the venues for continuity of use.

Cancer Research UK - Recent events break records

It’s been a full on very busy couple of months for Showcomms, Drive Productions and their client Cancer Research UK. Showcomms provided wired and wireless comms for their 3 events at Battersea Park. Rachel King and Jim Hudson, Producers at Drive Productions contacted us early in the year to see if we could provide a wired and wireless solution.
Showcomms provided a standalone comms system comprising of an Altair Wireless Intercom System with 4 wireless belt packs. The Altair base also directly provided power to 10 wired Tecpro BP111 and BP511 belt packs
.
.
Rachel wrote to us following the final event:

"Having you on board has really helped us deliver the events successfully and as a result we have happy CRUK clients who have broken previous fundraising levels at each of their events".

Trying to keep business going

Yesterday we got 3 days post to the sorting office when Bruce was given a lift in the nieghbours Range Rover, though we are not sure it went any further!
Today, Darren our trusty Interlink collection driver came early and cleared the backlog.
We fight on! Here is a picture out of our gate today.

Phones lines restored - now the snow!

Phonelines in our area have been restored by BT, well done and thank you to the BT engineers who worked in sub zero temperatures at night and today in the snow. Thank you from Showcomms.
Showcomms are now snowed in and orders may be delayed slightly as couriers and Royal Mail can't get to us.

Contact information

Due to the theft of the main telephone cable in Chelsfield Village on Saturday there is no phone service. We do have internet access using our contingent 3G mobile connection and internet sales are being processed normally.The best method of contacting us presently is by email to bruce@showcomms.co.uk

Strictly Showcomms

The millions glued to Strictly Come Dancing may have noticed the great shots from camera crane operator Kevin French.
BBC Studios are hiring one of our hire Jelibox crane intercom talkback and tally systems so that Kevin can communicate with his grips and the gallery.
So next time you see a high sweeping shot as Ann Widdecombe descends to the ground, think of Kevin.

Busy in the Park

This time last year we said:

Showcomms are providing backstage show and lighting communications equipment and crew to SIS LIVE for this weekend's Proms in the Park... This is the 5th year running that Showcomms have provided backstage comms for Proms in the Park (previously to BBC OBs before they were bought by SIS). As they say, happy customers come back!

Well, this year, we returned to Hyde Park for the 6th year of Proms in the Park, plus Elvis Forever and this weekend's Papal Vigil.

As before, we supplied the backstage and lighting comms. Bruce took this picture of the heart of the comms system.

Tattoo again

Viewers now on BBC1 watching the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo are again enjoying it after we have again supplied Otto ear defender headsets for the BBC coverage.

GP300s for Kent Wildlife Trust

Showcomms staff are quite big on our green credentials and Bruce has over the years been active with Kent Wildlife Trust, though a busy office means he can't do as much as he used to.
This year, as in previous years, we have provided the Trust with Walkie Talkie Radios for their Festival of Wildlife in Sevenoaks.
We are in the proccess updating our hire stock from GP300s to newer CP040 radios and this year after the the event Bruce presented Amanda Hamley, the Trust's Community Fundraising & Events Manager with 4 GP300 radios, spare batteries and a charger for them to use at future Trust events.
Amanda wrote

"Thank you once again for the donation of the 4 radio’s.  It will enable us to have far better communication on many of our events".

Chelsfield Team Three Peaks Challenge radios for Help for Heroes

We are pleased to say that the Chelsfield Team successfully completed the Three Peaks Challenge.
The Three Peaks Challenge involves climbing the three highest peaks, respectively, in England, Wales and Scotland, within 24 hours.
Showcomms  loaned the Chelsfied Village team some of our hire Motorola Walkie Talkies and a mobile Alan Transceiver for the crew transport and support vehicle.  The team told us that they managed to hold a conversation between the support car in the car park at the bottom of Ben Nevis, and the peak of the mountain!

Demonstration STP8000 heavy duty throat mic with massive PTT!

Occasionally our factory supply us with demonstration items to try out on customers.
Recently we have taken delivery of two throat mic kits for the Sepura STP8000.

They consist of a "Whisper-ER" throat mic with curly tube earpiece which plugs using a Nexus style plug into a massive 2.5" (63.5 mm) rubberised orange PTT suitable for use in demanding environments.
As these are specially made demonstration models we can say how much production models would cost (they are likely to be custom made to order). But if you are a serious user of STP8000 radios in demanding situations and wish to arrange a loan, drop Bruce an email SP3 Whisper HM

Jon Gwillym of Peter Jones demonstrates how Klickfast works

Jon will be starring in the next 007 movie (or so he tells us)

We sell a wide range of genuine Peter Jones Klickfast products for Tetra radios, PMR and PBR radios, and Blackberry and Iphone cases. If we don't list what you want, ask us!

Marco Soares, a marshall at this weekend's IRC Azores Rally gives the "thumbs up".
Marco recently purchased a new Peltor mic element from the Peltor Racing and Rally spares section on our website.
Thanks to Marco for the pictures below.

On Site give new Peltors a Try

Somewhere at the top of this 60 metre crane lurks some brave camera operator covering the Springboks v All Blacks Test match last weekend for OnSite Broadcasting OBs New Zealand at Eden Park Stadium, Auckland.
You can't see it at this distance but they are wearing one of two pairs of Peltor MT7 low profile earshell camera headsets from Showcomms provided last week.

On Site will be providing coverage of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand next year, and are using the headsets in the Tri Nations in their build up for their RWC 2011 coverage. Duncan at Showcomms is a big Rugby Union fan and watched the match while eating his breakfast, and was very impressed by the quality coverage.

As well as selling these Peltors we recently hired comms to Omni OBs (NEP Cymru) for the England Rugby Tour of Australia and New Zealand.

More pictures below of the Eden Park match courtesy of Nick at On Site, thanks Nick.

Well done Hannah!

All of us at Showcomms would like to wish Hannah Chambers, our former student engineer, congratulations on getting a First Class Honours in Broadcast Technology from Ravensbourne College, and we all wish her every success in her new job at QVC as a Broadcast Engineer.

Dartford Community Safety Team choose Showcomms

Last week we supplied a range of accessories for Dartford Borough Council Community Safety Team's Motorola DP3600 and DP3400 Trbo radios, consisting of Messenger G earpieces, Peter Jones Klickfast cases and Peter Jones Klickfast beltloops.
Colin Newmarch from Dartford's Community Safety Unit says:

"Dartford Borough Council's Community Safety Unit  has invested heavily in a new digital radio system for its staff, but what it lacked was quality accessories like, headsets and pouches, which were supplied very quickly by Bruce and his team, who managed to source exactly what we wanted in no time at all, thanks Bruce"

And thank you Colin for picking Showcomms!

Centurion SP3 for STP8000

We promise this is the last "new product" plug for a while. Back to where in the world our Broadcast and Events kit is shortly...

The rugged new Sepura STP8000 Tetra radio is proving popular with Police, Fire, Ambulance and Emergency services. The Centurion headset is an ideal combination with the radio, due to the Kevlar cable, large PTT designed for high noise environments and  strong strain relief. So we have recently launched the Centurion SP3 for the Sepura  STP8000 series.



Our Centurion 2 wire covert headset is made with Kevlar reinforced cable and will withstand a breaking force of up to 20kg at the connector strain relief.

LARGE FRONT FACING PTT
The shape of the PTT has been developed in response to the request for a larger, front facing PTT.   This gives it 2 distinct advantages

1. It is easier to locate with gloves on
2. It can't  be accidently operated by body armour or kit knocking against it. 

The switch is tested to 2 million presses.

HIGH NOISE MICROPHONE
The Microphone is suitable for High noise environments and is worn a hand's distance from the mouth on the chest. The cable is made with Kevlar reinforcement.
Fitted with secured plug for the side connector on the Sepura STP8000 and STP8100 radiosThe Centurion headset was previously only available in the USA for the law enforcement.
A coiled section of cable just after the radio connector acts as a damper should your radio fall or be accidentally dropped and allows unbroken radio contact in the rest room without the need to remove tucked and loomed cabes or the radio!

FEATURES:

• Flat larger front facing PTT with built in microphone.
• Postive feel PTT when pressed
• High noise microphone.
• Sprung Microphone clip for lapel or covert, inside a shirt / jacket sleeve
• Acoustic tube curly earpiece with clip.
• The earpiece attaches to a collar and is worn in the ear in the same way by TV presenters and Security services operatives.
  
  1 year NO QUIBBLE  warranty
  If your Centurion headset should get broken and you return it to us within 1 year of purchase we will replace it with a new headset.
  

NEW Sentinel headset for Kenwood multipin radios

We have recently introduced our Sentinel-K2 earpiece headset for Kenwood Multipin radios.
It has a large PTT with microphone for high noise environments, the same as on our Centurion 2 wire models. But in other aspects is the same as our BG range, which have sold over 3000 models to British and European Police forces, fire services, ambulance services, councils and security personnel.
It has Kevlar cables, and has a one year no quibble warranty. Here is the full specification:


Fits all Kenwood multipin radios (see list below). As used by prison service, doormen etc
Kevlar Cable
Bigger front facing PTT microphone
Reduced cabling
Acoustic tube earpiece
 1 YEAR no quibble warranty.
A coiled wire leaves the radio and goes to a large, water-resistant, push to talk and microphone which is designed to perform well in the loudest atmospheres. The second wire goes from the mic/PTT unit to a discreet clear coiled tube earpiece. With this earpiece you can talk into your radio at a conversational tone and have crystal clear communication even if you can't hear yourself talk!

This unit uses Kevlar reinforced wiring and top quality strain reliefs which withstand a breaking force of up to 20kg, so it will survive in even the roughest work environment.

WARRANTY
If you break this headset, including damage caused during work, within 1 year and return to to us we will replace it.


Kenwood multipin plug: TK190, TK2140, TK280, TK290, TK3140, TK3160, TK3170, TK3180, TK380, TK390, TK480, TK481, NX200, NX300, TK2180

Please call us on +44 (0) 1689 876620 or email bruce@showcomms.co.uk for more details

Reverb 2010

Every year Stratford upon Avon College HND Media students put on a massive one hour music show. Being held at Stratford Civic Hall, this year promises to be bigger and better than ever before.
Showcomms have donated radio comms with Otto eardefenders for Reverb 2010, which takes place next Wednesday, 26 May.
This year brings a whole new edge to the show as for the first time it'll be streamed LIVE, including here on the Showcomms blog.