A close miss. Good features and sound, wire's too short, cheesy clips.
The design of these headsets intends for the user to place the mic/ push-to-talk button down a sleeve and attach the clip for the acoustic earpiece directly behind the neck in order to conceal the hollow coil from front and side view as much as possible.
In order to accomplish this, the wire from the acoustic earpiece has to be long enough to reach from center-neck to about four inches beyond the wrist. In this way, the user activates the PTT button using thumb and forefinger and speaks into the cupped palm.
Here is the near miss aspect of these units: The length of the wire from the earpiece to the PTT switch/mic is 24 inches. Twenty-four inches is almost laughably short for those who have arms longer than twenty inches. I don't know anyone, outside of children, who might have arms that short.
After plugging these in and running the wires, it immediately became a matter of finding some appropriate microphone wire to use to splice in a 15" section of wire to make these actually function as intended.
Once that was done, the units were ready for use. Well, almost. The next thing that had to be done was to replace the little slippery plastic clothing clips with steel security-badge clips so the pieces would stay in place during actual use.
Now we were ready. We found that the earpieces actually sounded better than the radio's speakers and the push-to-talk buttons were crisp and positive. The mic's have no wind shielding so users need to be advised that they need to speak across the mic instead of directly into them, and keep them a couple inches away from their mouths. Operated that way we obtained very good results.
Too bad, for the want of a couple of dollars' worth of more wire and pro clips, these would be outstanding accessories. As they are now, they are somewhat of a starter kit waiting for final assembly.
2009-11-17
These things are cool!
Bought these for two purposes...communication while off-roading in the desert, and for 'covert' communication in quiet situations like weddings and events. The headsets work perfectly for both, with no discomfort in either situation. Sound quality is perfect, even with loud engine noises in the background. Earpiece fits snugly without issue, and microphone can be located comfortably anywhere in the chest-area.
One TINY thing...It'd be cool if the mic cord was a little longer so you would run it down your sleeve and have it sitting on your wrist (like the secret service does).
Highly recommend these things...takes a quality product and makes it even more convenient.
2009-10-26
Alright for the price
These headsets are alright for the price. I am sure the Secret Service or FBI won't be buying one anytime soon though. The earpiece has a hard time staying in certain people's ears. The mic is on a bit of a short cord, making it hard to find a good location. The clip on the mic feels cheap and could break any moment.
Bottom Line: if your budget minded these headset will work fine.
2009-06-28
