The following a summary of the replies I got concerning my request for
advice on headset mics for contesting. Briefly, I'm looking to get something
for the University of Texas club station and was hoping to find something
less expensive than the Heil Prosets that would do an adequate job (and be
less painful to replace should they "walk away" or whatnot...) Unfortunately,
none of the comments received so far have pushed me in the direction of
reaching a decision yet.
My comments (if any) are indented.
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Check out an old issue of QST ... January 1993. You can build your own
headset mike for about $5, and clip it onto an existing pair of phones.
Use it myself, and works great! Be a good "club project"!!
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I'll admit I haven't looked at this yet.
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Kenneth, you might give some thought to one of my tricks...I got the
best of both worlds, so to speak. I bought a Heil mic (the HC-4 element
on a thin, tubular boom) -- it comes complete with the mounting bracket
for not a lot of money ($40?). I epoxied a 1/4" machine screw to the
best pair of stereo phones I could find (Sony, in this case). When the
epoxy dried, I hung the Heil boom mic on it, securing the plastic
mounting clip with a big wing nut. My custom headset works like a
champ! More aesthetically pleasing arrangements could be made for the
mount -- I wasn't particularly worried about how it looks...only how it
works!
I also own a Heil Proset -- I like my homemade version better...and my
Yaesu 1000MP likes the Sony 'phones a LOT better. One of the 'phone
elements in the Proset measures 35 ohms, the other, 17.5 ohms :-[
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This was also suggested to me by a friend. The boom and element
costs $40 or so, and a good pair of headphones might cost about
the same, leaving maybe $20 savings over the basuc Proset. This
is still about $20 or $30 more expensive than what I was hoping to
find. The club doesn't necessarily need the world's greatest
equipment - unless the gap between the very top and the next to
top makes the extra investment really worth it. I'm getting the
impression that either that is what most people here think, or
they are wealthy enough not to be concerned by such questions.
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Saw your message.
The very best is Beyerdynamics and they have two models.
They are for broadcast work. They both are between $700 to
$800 each.
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Save up the extra money and get the Heil. There only about $150 list price
with the adapter for the rig. I bought mine new for $120 at a hamfest from
a dealer having a "sale". Shop around and see what you can come up with.
Anything else is cutting corners and is a waste of money.
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One of our members at the U of Wis here in Milwaukee swears by
Radio Shack's microphone <I don't know what to call it> "cell".
Just the bare element. Says to mount that on a cheap boom
headset and they sound great. Haven't tried it yet ourselves but
may be a cheap alternative!
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Get the heil. I bought the radio shack, then another one, bought the wrong
heil for me. Thought I would like the smaller earpieces so I could hear what
was going on in a multi multi enviroment. Mistake. i could hear way too
much of what was going on in a multi environment. Bottome line. I spent
way more than I would if I had just bought good quality right away instead of
trying to save money.
Hey, Christmas and Hannakauh are coming up. Maybe you can get them then.
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I doubt Santa Claus will be visiting N5XU. The club station doesn't
even have a chimney! :-) And besides, it would take us a year to get
the gift approved and routed through the accounting administration...
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Ken - Don't give up on the Heil headsets and boom mics. I have bought two
used pairs of the model BM-10's in the past three years; both for less than
$40 each and in excellent overall condition. Keep your eyes open at
hamfests and on the net.
You may have to rewire the mic/PPT cable for your own rig, but that's not a
big problem. Also, you can buy replacement ear pads from AES or directly
from Heil. They appear to be the only part that wear out...
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I've been to a fair number of hamfests - I've never seen used Heil
headphones for sale. I've always thought they were like TNCs - things
people buy and never sell off.
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Ken, save your $ and get the Heil, or watch for a used one at the 'fests.
Take a look at the cover of CQ mag the past 2 years, most every cover
station has one, or more on the desk. That kinda speaks for itself!
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This was an interesting comment. Most every station on the cover of
CQ also has an FT1000MP, TS870S, IC756, or similar high-end HF radio
as well. The UT club is still using a TS-830S and Heathkit SB-220
for contesting. We don't have the kind of money to take the next
step forward in HF radios yet; is the difference in performance between
a Heil headset and the $45 special advertised in the back of QST
a similar situation, maybe?
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About a year ago I replaced my Heil foam pad jobs with a new set of
what I believe might be the best phones I have ever used.
I took my boom mic off of the Heil set and affixed it to my new set
with a hot glue gun. I am very happy with what I wound up with. I liked
them so much, I bought a second set for standby service.
The headphones are Radio Shack model 33-1120TQ.
I broadcast this info becuse I just received a Rad Shack Christmas
flyer advertising these phones for sale at the price of $12.49 (half off)
These really are fine phones for extended ham radio operating and at
this nice price they might very well be a swell deal for anyone
interested.
Buy a pair. Try them. If they work for you, I'm glad to have put you on
to them.
If you don't like them, I am sure you could return them without question.
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I've actually tried these on. Can anyone else who owns these provide
any further feedback about their use in a real contest?
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I'm using a computer multimedia headset. (Labtec C-315,though if I were to
do it again I'd get a stereo one -- this one has only one earpiece) Cheap,
easy to buy (and replace if necessary -- I usually run over the cord with
the chair wheels!), and I get excellent reports.
The Labtecs (and I would assume others) use condenser mike elements; this
means you have to provide DC bias to get them to work. I put a 10K resistor
on the mike connector between a source of 8V DC (presumably for a DTMF
microphone -- on a TS-940?!) and the center conductor of the cable from the
headset; then, a 1uF 15V tantalum cap (+ side to the headset) from this same
point to the microphone audio pin on the mike connector. Of course, the
shield of the cable goes to ground. (and you plug the headphone side into
the jack with a regular 1/8=>1/4" adaptor) If you use small components, you
can fit the parts in the mike plug and run a short cable to a 1/8" inline
jack; this lets you avoid modifying the headset.
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Kenneth E. Harker "Vox Clamantis in Deserto" kharker@cs.utexas.edu
University of Texas at Austin Amateur Radio Callsign: KM5FA
Department of the Computer Sciences President, UT Amateur Radio Club
Taylor Hall TAY 2.124 Maintainer of the Linux Laptop Home Page
Austin, TX 78712-1188 USA http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/
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