Sports Technology: Communication is Everything

Are you coaching a little-league baseball team, and the batter, due to the 1000′s of fans roaring in the stands, can’t hear your instruction to “bunt” because your player is encased in protective head-gear?

We have just the technology for you (that is, if your team is well funded and can afford gear designed for, and sold to, NBA teams). They call it the QTR-1000 PlayerMic”, manufactured by Quantum5x Systems ( www.q5x.com ). It is also harolded as both the worlds tiniest transmitter, and simultaneously, the worlds “first and only rubber transmitter”. In case you’re wondering, the flexibility is there in order to absorb body-checks from 300 pound tackles (if used in football), or the impact of a hockey-puck traveling at 106 miles per hour (as clocked on December 3rd, 2006, at a Toronto MapleLeaf game). It is basically a very small wireless microphone bodypack (.35 inches thick, 1.4 inches wide, and 3.8 inches long, weighing only 1 ounce), waterproof (for sweat-resistance, and other unexpected activities). It’s Lithium batteries will last up to 12 hours, with a power output ranging from 50-250mW. The QTR-1000 has no external connectors!

The remote “programming” hand-held PDA is also pretty amazing. The device will scan an environment, and display “recommended” open frequencies to be used by your team. You can choose a frequency for each player. Not only that, but the “controller” can adjust volume, or reassign a frequency to the player’s device remotely, without touching the player’s device.

Now, when you, the coach, scream “bunt” into your transmitter, no excuses, the little sh-t better bunt!

They work with a custom Sennheiser receiver and a future model will work with existing Sennheiser receivers including the G2 Evolution kit.

The MSRP is around $1499 and is currently available.

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