FREQUENTLY ASKED.

A two-way radio is semi-duplex: one person holds the button and talks, and everyone else on that channel waits their turn. Full-duplex intercom works like a phone call — everyone on the channel can talk and listen at the same time, with no button to press and no waiting for a clear channel. On a busy show that difference matters, because the moment someone needs to cut in on a cue, semi-duplex makes them queue for it. We work across both and often deploy them together: radios for security, stewarding and logistics, full-duplex intercom for production, lighting, cameras and audio.

It depends on the size of the system and how long you need it, so everything is quoted individually. We price on a daily rate with a standard three-day week, which means a hire of four to seven days costs the same as three days — a full week is no more expensive than a long weekend. A handful of beltpacks for a single day sits at one end of the range; a full Artist matrix with thirty-plus Bolero packs across an arena tour sits at the other. Send us the dates, the venue and roughly how many people need to talk, and you will get a written quote covering equipment, engineering time and delivery.

A complete, working system rather than a box of parts. That means the beltpacks, base station or matrix, antennas, headsets, cabling and power, all pre-built into flight-cased racks, configured for your channel plan and fully tested before it leaves the workshop. Firmware is up to date, every pack is labelled for its user, and the rack is designed to be wheeled in, connected and switched on. Where a job needs it we also include on-site engineering, and we will tell you up front if we think you need it.

Count the people who need to talk, not the departments. A small corporate show might need four or six — stage manager, lighting, audio, a floor runner. A mid-size festival stage is usually somewhere between eight and sixteen once you add cameras and security. Large arena productions regularly run thirty or more across production, lighting, cameras, audio, security and talent liaison. If you are not sure, tell us who is on the show and we will map it out with you, including which roles need to talk to each other and which only need to listen.

Both, depending on what the job needs. For straightforward systems where your crew are comfortable with the kit, dry hire is often the sensible option — everything arrives pre-configured and tested, so it is a case of connecting it and switching on. For larger or more complex deployments, or anything involving integration with existing systems, we would normally recommend an engineer on site for load-in and through the show. We will be honest with you about which one your production actually needs.

The earlier the better, particularly for summer festival season and the busier touring months, when equipment gets committed well ahead. That said, we hold our own stock and a lot of live production is last-minute by nature, so it is always worth asking even at short notice. If we cannot cover it ourselves we will usually say so straight away rather than leave you waiting.

We are based in Kent and London, and we work worldwide. The UK is our home patch — arenas, stadiums, festival sites, theatres, broadcast compounds and conference centres the length and breadth of the country — but touring productions take us wherever the show goes, and we are set up to travel with one for a full run rather than a single date. If your event is overseas, ask: kit travels, and so do we.

Usually, yes — it is a large part of what we do. Riedel Artist matrices will tie wireless beltpacks, wired keypanels, two-way radios and telephone or IP circuits into a single network, so departments running different equipment can still talk to each other. We regularly bridge our systems into a venue or broadcaster house comms rather than replacing it. Tell us what you already have and we will work out how it connects.

Yes. We supply and manage Motorola two-way radio fleets alongside our intercom systems, and handle the programming, channel planning and distribution so your team can pick up a radio and it simply works. Radios are the right tool for security, stewarding, parking, catering and general site coordination, where the message is short and the user base is large. Where it helps, we integrate the radio fleet into the wider intercom network so the two are not separate islands.

For the wireless intercom, no — Riedel Bolero runs in the 1.9GHz DECT band, which is licence-exempt in the UK, so there is nothing to apply for. Two-way radios depend on the frequencies: licence-free PMR446 needs no paperwork but is limited in range and prone to interference on a busy site, while licensed business radio frequencies need an Ofcom licence and give you much cleaner, more reliable coverage. For most professional events we would recommend the licensed route, and we will advise on what your event needs as part of the planning.

We plan for it rather than hope. Systems are designed with redundancy where it matters, every rack is fully tested before it leaves the workshop, and we send spares as standard — beltpacks, headsets, cables and power — so a failure is a swap rather than an incident. Where we are on site, a fault gets dealt with quietly while the show carries on. Live production does not stop for equipment, so neither do we.

Yes. Linking geographically separated locations over IP is one of our core services — broadcast compounds, stadiums, training grounds and remote sites brought into one intercom network so everyone hears the same conversation regardless of where they are standing. For touring, we build systems that deploy identically in every venue, so the crew walk into any arena and the comms work exactly as they did the night before.