Unconventional Question

[trippple8]

Hi everyone,

I have kind of a weird question to be posting on a recording forum, but I figure you guys might be able to help.

I help run a program where kids fly flight simulators while I sit in a control room and give them help through a microphone. I can talk to them digitally through a piece of software on the control room computer that links to their individual computers, and every kid has a headphone/mic setup. The problem is, the kids fly in pairs, but can't hear each other over their mics.

Their headphone/mic combos are run into their individual computers' 1/8th inch headphone and mic jacks. I'd like them to be able to hear their counterpart without latency, transmit audio to my, and receive audio from my computer simultaneously. Is there a way to do this that is relatively cheap (i.e. doesn't involve a full-blown mixer for each pair of kids)? I would be setting this up for 10 pairs of kids and my program has a limited budget. I'm thinking like a cheap combiner/pass-through/interface type thing. What should I look for?

Any advice would be helpful,

Grant

PS: If there is a better forum or sub-forum to post this on, please let me know.

 

[DM60]

Since this is ran on computers, wouldn't some kind of group chat software be a better option? I would think you could create groups for "broadcast" and the software would also allow for pair talking. Since you are doing this all digitally, I would look on that side for a solution.

I didn't read it, but might lead you into a direction for the solution: Group chat showdown: Which instant messaging service is best for your business? | PCWorld

 

[DaleVO]

Grant,
A few years back, I was a SysOp for a massive multiplayer online flight simulation game. We used TeamSpeak for comms. You can set up separate channels for the players to connect, while the Admin can hop between channels. It requires setting up the software on a server that allow the clients to join.
Others are Ventrilo or RogerWilco. I'll bet your kiddos know about these, if they are online gamers.
Dale