CB/HAM/Cell headset? (2 Viewers)

[woytovich]

PROBLEM:
Truck is noisy.
Multiple potential sources of electronic communication.
Multiple devices are hard to deal with (cell phone bluetooth headset, CB mic, HAM mic...)

SOLUTION:
I want to be able to use a wired headset with a mike on a boom near my mouth while in the truck. I want to be able to use this one headset for CB, HAM and Cell communications. I want to be able to choose the source (no auto switching) and I want to be able to monitor (hear) CB and HAM at the same time and then choose which to use for transmit. I presume a PTT (push to talk) button on the headset wire would be needed for CB and HAM. I would want cell conversations to not need PTT.

I have seen some similar products for the motorcycle world but not QUITE this.

Existing commercial product?
Custom wiring project?

Thoughts?

 

[1911]

Custom wiring project I'd bet, but shouldn't be that difficult. You'll have to be careful to balance the receiver volumes of all the devices.

 

[woytovich]

The CB/HAM switch should be easy... it is the addition of the cell that adds complexity I imagine.

 

[woytovich]

A starting point...

A Microphone Selector Switch

 

[rusty_tlc]

The solution is simple and easy, search on aviation head sets, it is not however inexpensive.
A20 Aviation Headset
You can also find an intercom unit that allows you to monitor your comm radio, stereo/cd, and pick up your cell phone, even talk with your passenger. These units are fairly inexpensive, the headphones are the killer.

Example of a typical aircraft intercom unit;
AVCOMM AC-2EX INTERCOM from Aircraft Spruce

 

[lovetoski]

My solution was to make my truck quieter. Replaced the door and window seals. Added noise abatement materials throughout all doors, floor, firewall. Now is much more comfortable on long trips, easier to talk to passengers, and cell/radio conversations are way easier.

 

[woytovich]

Bringing this back from the dead... with a simplified requirement:

I want a headset (or just "remote" mic) for my Kenwood 2m mobile (RJ-45 mic plug FWIW). I want an easy PTT on the wire or, better yet, that I can mount within easy reach from the steering wheel. This is for my tow vehicle, not my wheeling 60. the speaker side can stay put.

I think something like this is the ticket. Add a PTT momentary switch and a cheap headset/mic?

Cable for Heil headsets 3.5mm jack to 8p8c modular RJ45 for Kenwood, AD-1-KM equivalent - TechnoFix UK

 

[woytovich]

Bumping this thread. Anyone have any ideas on good ham radio headsets. Need to plug in in place of the mic and external speaker I guess on my Kenwood 2 meter mobile.

 

[woytovich]

Maybe what I need is an adapter that plugs into the microphone socket on the front of the radio and the external speaker on the back and converts that to the two pin plugs that are common on PC headsets? Would need a headset with a push-to-talk option of some sort.

 

[woytovich]

Cable for PC headsets 3.5mm jack, 8p8c modular RJ45 for Kenwood TS-480 etc. - TechnoFix UK

shop.technofix.uk

 

[wapitimud]

you can't legally wear headphones while driving around here. The fix for installing a mobile radio in a tractor or dozer was an external speaker mounted above the seatbelt bolt on inside door pillar plastic near driver's head.

 

[kb4mdz]

2nding wapitimud; first get your speaker as close to your ears as possible.

Thanks to all for the other links!

 

[woytovich]

Would a headset over just one ear be breaking the law?

 

[mep1811]

This would solve the CB issue. Then use a Bluetooth phone headset in the other ear. Don't know about the ham radio

CB Radio Headset

Workman's Super Star headset plugs directly into your 4-pin CB for hands-free use! Fast Shipping, 120% Satisfaction Guarantee!

www.rightchannelradios.com

Amazon product ASIN B07HBTYBMB

 

[wapitimud]

Don't let my decades of radio install experience get in the way here guys.

The last time I bought a new little 4" rectangular mobile radio speaker at a surplus shop, it cost me $5 and had the correct plug on it for a cb. I think they might have them cheap at a spot like Harbor Freight.

It came with small bracket, which you could drill two small screws into your door pillar trim by driver's ear, or use quality Velcro behind the flat rear of that speaker if picky on holes in replaceable/fillable plastic trim. Audio cable would route just behind the rubber door seal, under dash, Tywrapped away from pedals, and to CB radio.

Headphone or half headphone makes little sense. Fancy european Bluetooth earpiece will be difficult to control PTT on transmit via VOX given the high ambient noise in cab.

Bluetooth headset with microphone has been used effectively by electric crews in the crane of their attached truck to use in-cab mobile radio from/to operator in boom of crane.

No requirement to control-use radio outside of driver's position here.

What works for motor-graders, dozers, scrap metal trucks, should work here as well. I expect your Toyota engine is likely quieter than their CAT or Detroit diesel.

My 2C.

 

[woytovich]

No one is disagreeing with you. My thought here is, at the least, to make it easier to carry on an ongoing conversation with another driver while on a long distance trip together.
It MIGHT be convenient to not have to pick up the mic (taking hands off the wheel) to talk. It MIGHT also be easier to hear when the other person talks with an earphone of some sort, especially if the music is on in the truck or the window is open.
Combining CB/HAM/cell into one functional unit is likely not economically practical and was the title of this thread because. why not shoot for the moon?

 

[John McVicker]

@woytovich this is really fairly simple. Don’t overthink this. If it works fine for dozers, which are louder than what we have, it will do the job for our vehicles.

It won’t cost much, and won’t be difficult to set up for a test...why not try @wapitimud s suggestion?

 

[wapitimud]

I think this one is relatively simple. My CB external speaker near driver makes sense. If you need better, louder audio from the Ham radio, a second small external speaker can be mounted for that as well. A good location for that second speaker can be at the passenger's feet, under dash, but directed at driver.

There are simple electronic ways to mix audio into a single external speaker from multiple radios, but I don't see the point here, and it would be harder to discern which radio a call came from.

Again, that whole scenario would be for loud heavy equipment install, an ambulance, or a fire truck. At this point, I would question either why your cab is so loud, (might there be a mechanical/exhaust issue?) and why is the audio from your mobile radios so poor to require all of this. I have seen very poor audio from economy/chinese mobiles, and on my purchasing, I prefer the better models of Uniden CB's, with Motorola, Vertex or Kenwood for two-way, and Kenwood or Yaesu for ham.

For a dispatch console, used in 911, a fire department, or an oil refinery, they will use an LCD screen allowing the dispatcher to access perhaps fifty radio channels on multiple radio systems. The dispatcher will have a one-ear headset with boom mike, a few desk microphones, phone set on desk, and two speakers mounted at the left and right of his big console desk.

Those two speakers are for "select", and "unselect" audio. With everything else going on around him, he can set the audio high on the one channel he's monitoring, while setting the mixed audio low on the 49 other channels he needs to hear for any emergencies greater than the one he's currently handling.

With his multiple computer screens, multiple phone calls, and other responsibilities, this is more multitasking than I am capable of, far more than I could handle while driving, even on private land.

For the end unit, fire truck, police car, ambulance, there usually isn't a plethora of radios in there, usually reduced to one or two, plus a handsfree cellphone, with mobile radio speakers installed as I've described.

Try to keep the install as simple as possible here.

 

[woytovich]

All.... as I said above... it is NOT the loudness of the ambient sound, I am PRIMARILY looking for a way to be able to carry on a conversation with one or more people while driving in a caravan (on the HAM) with as little manual interaction from me as possible. MAYBE that's VOX with a headset, MAYBE it is a convenient PTT button... Maybe a mic on a boom of some sort (so it is close to my face) with the "convenient" PTT button. I am happy with the sound from my Kenwood TM-281 HAM radio's front facing speaker so i can leave that alone if that becomes a PITA.
I find it annoying after a bunch of hours on the road to have to grab the mic 10,000 times. Lazy of me? MAYBE that too....

 

[woytovich]

And I agree: simple. That's why I wanted to talk it out with those that might have ideas....