ALS Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Compiled by Master Joel Messerer, OP, creator of the system

• How much does it cost?

  • The base system comes to about $2100 plus tax and shipping.  A battery pack to run it for 8 hours adds about $400.

• Does it work for outdoor sites?

  • Without the battery unit you will obviously require a supply of electricity, but otherwise the system is completely self-sufficient.  With the battery pack you can use this literally anywhere.

• How portable is it?

  • Very.  The base system fits in a small professional road case with a carrying strap.  The rest of the required parts fit in a messenger bag, and the optional battery pack has a handle built-in.  It’s awkward for one person to carry all three at once, but I’ve done it.

• How does it get the sound to me?

  • It streams the audio using the same technology as any streaming service on the Internet.

• Streaming like the Internet?  Can we watch Court from home?  What if I don’t want my image seen online?

  • It is using the same underlying technology, but this system is not designed to talk to the Internet at all.  There is no using this to stream court to the world, nor do you need to worry about any privacy concerns.  No one can get access to this stream without being at the event.

• Can I use it with my hearing aids?

  • Presuming you have modern hearing aids that use bluetooth to work with your smart phone, YES.

• Can people who are not hard of hearing use it?

  • Sure!  Bring your phone and your earbuds and now you can hear even in the very back of a large Court.

• Is there a way to do subtitles?

  • That’s a resounding maybe!  If you have an Android phone running Android 10 or higher, or an iPhone 11 or newer running iOS 16 or higher, you can turn on the auto-captioning option on your phone.  As a warning, though, the names of people and places in the SCA might come through with hilarious results.

• How many people can use it at once?

  • The streaming server at the heart of this system is rated by the manufacturer for 1000 simultaneous users.

• How far away from Court can I be?

  • The theoretical limit of wifi is 300 feet, and we've tried this in a field and gotten about that far.  Inside it really depends on what the building is made of: wood and sheetrock construction will reduce the distance a bit, concrete or brick will reduce the distance quite a bit, old victorian tin ceilings will stop it cold.

• Does this mean the Kitchen can listen to Court while they’re getting the feast ready?

  • Absolutely, presuming the signal can get there and you aren’t trying to go through a tin ceiling.  I’d recommend bringing a bluetooth speaker so you’re not trying to listen on earbuds in a working kitchen.  And the kitchen is likely where I’ll be listening from 🙂

• As the Court Herald, what do I need to do?

  • Absolutely nothing!  Don’t change your routine, don’t worry about being too loud or too quiet, just run your Court.  The microphone is placed to pick up the Royalty and the award recipient, which means it’s further away from you.  Further away means quieter, and that means you’re fine.

• As the Royalty, what do we need to do?

  • That depends.  The idea was that you wouldn’t need to worry about the ALS at all, and that can be true.  However, you will want to remember that anyone using the ALS will hear everything you say as though they were on the kneeler cushion in front of you.  If you need to make a comment to the Herald, be sure to get them to come in close and whisper.  If you need to have a private conversation, I’d recommend it be saved for later.

• As the Royalty we want to have a private conversation with the recipient here and now…

  • It is possible to add, for another $100 or so, a foot pedal that will let you mute the microphone.  Step on it, have your conversation, let it go when you’re done.

• What about speakers at an elevation ceremony?

  • This will work for them, within reason.  As a theatrical sound designer, I’ve been known to tell actors “if you give me nothing to work with, I have nothing to work with” and this is certainly true for the untrained public speakers we ask a lot of in elevations.  Your speakers do still need to be loud enough to be heard (or “project!” as would be said in a theater) and they need to be within 20 or so feet of the microphone.  But this has been done successfully both indoors and outdoors.