Head Set with Hearing Protection.

[Super1303]

I would like to start being on the wire when working and would like to make myself a personal head-set incorporated into the ear muffs, same ones I wear in the shop.
That would plug into the system you guys use at the hill. I can get the parts if you give me the part numbers and a schematic of the circuit that would be great.
It's complicated so I'll spare the details but it's all about keeping the tinnitus at bay.

Thanks, Evan

[walterclark]

Since I designed the system, I am probably best qualified to answer.

First a question. Is it your hope to plug your headset into one of our PTT boxes (the small black box the checkpoint worker holds in their hand and pushes a button on to talk) and be the comm person at a checkpoint?

If so that is extremely easy. In fact I now have 2 of the single ear headsets we use that have had the headbands broken. I have been holding one for spare parts but really dont see the need to keep 2, so I can get one of them to you and you could just incorporate the earpiece and mic in one of your protector earcups. It even has the required connector on it already. I did that some years ago with 2 pairs of Peltor ear protectors to make up comm headsets for my rally car.

If you are thinking of something else, please describe what you are thinking in a little more detail.

[Super1303]

Hi Walter,

Yes, to be able to plug into the PTT box would be great. I didn't look that close, is it just an 1/8" stereo jack?
So yea if you've got a set with a broken band that would be perfect. Should I PM you my address?

[KevinGale]

We do have headsets built from hearing protection muffs that we use at start and finish. Both of those places it is to allow the worker to better hear what is going up the wire when there are loud cars (or loud people at finish sometimes.) Everywhere else people seemed to like the light weight headsets. So it is interesting to get feedback for more hearing protection.

[walterclark]

Hi Walter,

Yes, to be able to plug into the PTT box would be great. I didn't look that close, is it just an 1/8" stereo jack?
So yea if you've got a set with a broken band that would be perfect. Should I PM you my address?

We used to use a phone jack but I switched over to mini XLR connectors because the phone jacks proved to be unreliable. I can mail you one of the ones that had a broken headband...it will be an earpiece with an attached swivel boom mic and cable. You should be able to come up with a way to fit it into a hearing protection set of muffs. Please do PM me your address.


Kevin - the issue in this case is kind of unique in that Evan has Tinnitus so he needs the external sound attenuation over both ears. That isnt the case with most people and the on-ear single earpiece is probably more comfortable for them.

[sdwarf36]

Although it is nice to be able to hear control, its also very importiant to hear whats happening with the cars on the hill. Things happen out of eyesight too. Ever hear or say "did you hear something?" over the course of the weekend?

[drummingpariah]

Although it is nice to be able to hear control, its also very importiant to hear whats happening with the cars on the hill. Things happen out of eyesight too. Ever hear or say "did you hear something?" over the course of the weekend?

We typically have at least two workers on each check though, correct? As long as the second worker (fire extinguisher and walkie) doesn't have the same sound isolation, wouldn't we always have one 'open-eared' person on each check? I've used 'filtered plugs' for competitive shooting for years, and they pretty effectively allow conversation while filtering out high-decibel sounds.

My $0.02
These are what we used when we wanted to be able to hear our spotters easily, or when we needed to communicate with whoever was pulling targets:
http://www.surefire.com/ep4-sonic-defenders-plus.html

They don't have any kind of mic, but are lightweight, good at filtering loud noises (such as, I don't know ... firearms or race cars), allow relatively normal talking (you need to speak up slightly), and aren't prohibitively expensive. They take some trial-and-error to get a good fit though, and it's not QUITE something you'd want to hand off as readily as a full headset.

Do the current headsets use a single 1/8" two-channel (mono+mic) or three-channel (stereo+mic) connector, or two separate 1/8" (input and output) jacks? I suppose we could modify any connectors, but if we currently use two separate jacks then anyone who's interested in hearing protection could bring their own set of these sound isolation earbuds. Maybe not an ideal solution, but options are always good!

[Super1303]

Although it is nice to be able to hear control, its also very importiant to hear whats happening with the cars on the hill. Things happen out of eyesight too. Ever hear or say "did you hear something?" over the course of the weekend?

I understand what you are saying and your correct and I take that into account. This also isn't about hearing control, I can hear control, or blocking out noise completely.
This is about the damn noise in my head and not making it any worse. Some cars ain't that bad and some are crazy loud and that's fine, I don't care.
I have a habit of lifting one muff off, just like every day in the shop, when the car is out of sight to listen and if I hear a car I know is loud I drop it before it passes.
This just a way to help me so I can help you by doing the job that is needed to be able to keep running the hills.