HME DX200

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HME DX200
Wireless Intercom System
by Holland Davis
I
f you’re the typical worship
leader like myself... that
means you are not only
in charge of the music, but
you’re also in charge of the
sound system, video projection,
lighting, the choir and setting up
the chairs! What does that mean?
It means that time is a precious
commodity that we have little of.
That’s why it’s great to see a product come out that not only
provides a great solution, but
is also simple to set up and
easy to use. This is how I feel
about the DX200 Wireless
Intercom System from HM
Electronics, Inc.
From an installation standpoint,
it only took minutes to set up. All
of the belt packs were already
registered to the base unit when we
received them, but the registration
or matching process to match the
belt packs to the base unit is very
easy and well documented in the
manual. We installed the base unit
at the sound desk in the middle of
the sanctuary with remotes being
used in all directions including three
cameras that were in the same room,
one remote unit that was 120 feet
away and behind two walls and two
directors located in our media room
upstairs through one wall. The units
communicated flawlessly with very
clear audio... even at the furthest
distances.
Up to fifteen remote units can be
assigned to each base station, four
of which can be used in hands-free
mode. In our case this is more
than enough for us, but for larger
applications the expandability
makes this unit highly favored.
For the person who is using the
equipment throughout an hour and
a half worship service, comfort is
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number two just behind functionality. The belt pack that houses the
controls for the headset is also very
light and not too terribly bulky as
compared to other units we’ve used.
Another key feature for us had to
do with the battery life of the units.
The BAT41 rechargeable batteries lasted all morning without any
problems. According to HME, the
batteries can last up to 18-20 hours
on a single charge. The easily
removable batteries are located in
each belt pack and are very small
for how long they last and the
headsets they are powering. Having a removable battery instead of
a built in rechargeable battery allows the units to stay in production
while additional batteries are being
charged. The battery charger itself
allows one to charge up to four
batteries at a time with a charge
time of three hours. This is ideal
for events that last over the period
of several days such as training
events or conferences. With the
HME DX200 we can eliminate the
purchase of hundreds of 9 volt
batteries and put the funds to better
use for the glory of God.
I want to mention the BP 200
Belt Pack and the WS 200 Remote
Speaker Station. The belt packs
are engineered in such a way that
you can program the unit to make
it hands free (latching) and push to
talk or push to talk only you can
set up the unit to be . This level
of flexibility is extremely useful
depending on the role you have
on the media team in the case of
camera operator or video director.
I also need to mention that different types of headsets are available - everything from HS14 single
and HS14D dual earmuffs to the
HS4-3 in-ear systems with lapel
mic, depending on the type of
function you need. We tested the
HS12 Headset that was extremely
lightweight and comfortable. If the
belt pack is too bulky, HME does
provide the WH200 ComLink, an
all-in-one headset with the controls
discretely built into the earmuff.
Although we didn’t test this particular headset with our media team,
I have to confess that I want one
because it really looks cool.
The WS 200 Remote Speaker
Station works identically as the
belt pack but also has an external
speaker and is outfitted to use a
October 2008
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headset. Why a remote base unit?
In our case, we have a separate
music room where musicians,
drama team members, pastors, etc.
wait to enter the platform based
on their part in the program. The
Remote Speaker Station allows us
to stay in sync with the rest of the
production crew. Again, we were
impressed at how clear the sound
was based on the fact that the unit
was through two walls and over
100 feet away from the Speaker
Station. This kind of performance
was only previously guaranteed
by wired units. And did I forget
to mention portability? You can
literally set up the Remote Speaker
Station wherever there is an electrical plug... and if there is no plug
available, no problem because it
also operates on batteries!
No review would be complete if
we didn’t have a little bit of a wish
list for this particular model. For
a television production or video
production environment, we would
love to see a footswitch for the director. We would also love to see a
directors unit that allows the director to communicate to two channels
at the same time. I’m sure this is
probably something that can be
programmed into future belt pack
units as an option. Why two channels at once? In our application
we have one channel dedicated to
camera operators and one channel
dedicated to video projection and
sound in order to coordinate the
playing of video clips or displaying
lyrics for songs. We often find it
necessary for the director to coordinate between both groups simultaneously, but we do not want the
groups to hear each other as they
talk within their channel. However,
after reviewing HME’s catalog, they
really do address many of these
issues with other models and even
add some additional features that
make this one of the most well
thought out product lines I’ve seen.
One feature that was unique to the
HME Wireless system was a private
channel where you could quickly
and easily slip into private mode,
have a chat and then come back. I
found this extremely useful during
a live Sunday morning production.
Another feature that was unique to
this system was the on and off voice
that would let you know that your
unit was on or your unit was turning
off. Sometimes I simply get confused
and don’t remember if I’ve turned
off the unit. This feature removes all
doubt. Plus it just sounds cool.
What would you expect to pay
for a basic HME DX200 Wireless Intercom System? Quite honestly, after
doing a little bit of price research I
found this system to be comparable
to other systems we were looking to
purchase on the market today. However because of the ease of use, the
functionality and the portability of
the product, I would highly favor this
system above all others I’ve seen. u
Holland Davis is an award winning
and Platinum selling songwriter and
worship leader.
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October 2008