Seventeen (17) meters (50 feet) is the recommended maximum cable length between the operator headset and RIU. These cables are carrying un- amplified analog voltages, and are very sensitive to interference, induced pickup, and crosstalk. The cable quality required for such long runs should be highest possible - saving a few bucks on cables will not be a smart move when the whole system is plagued by noise and interference!

If local pre-amplification is provided, then much longer distances are possible. We can provide bi-directional pre-amplification, but it is expensive ($500 to $1000 per operator), and we try to avoid it. There are better approaches, particularly moving the RIU to be closer to the operator.

Optimally the shorter the cable, the better, and in practice an RIU to headset cable of 15-25 feet is typical and provides generally good performance.