Active Hearing Protection Compatible with Radio?

[Musica]

I got my Racals from JCI comms with a standard NATO plug so I could use a standard PTT 

JCI sell the racals as well as wiring them? I was thinking I would need to get them to wire me a PTT to accept the lemo connector in to the kenwood for the baofeng.  Might be worth me just getting all the kit of them minus the radio

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

JCI sell the racals as well as wiring them? I was thinking I would need to get them to wire me a PTT to accept the lemo connector in to the kenwood for the baofeng.  Might be worth me just getting all the kit of them minus the radio

Pm me and I will discuss with you, he is a mate.

 

[DopeYourScope]

JCI sell the racals as well as wiring them? I was thinking I would need to get them to wire me a PTT to accept the lemo connector in to the kenwood for the baofeng.  Might be worth me just getting all the kit of them minus the radio

I discussed it with Jon (JCI) and he advised that if I got him to rewire the headset I would be able to use other headsets with the same PTT whereas I would be limited if I kept them Lemo wired.

 

[Lasbrisas17]

Don't get ztactical, they are shit and I don't think they are the best for blocking out loud noises, earmors are also kinda bleh (not much better). I've heard the TMC RAC's are good but I got a real peltor XPI /w boom mic and its the most comfortable and has great sound reproduction/amplification. You can get a kenwood PTT to work on baofeng radios but also you can get PTTs for pretty much any radio. It's very expensive, if you buy new it probably all together will be around £500 but you get warranty, they will survive anything you throw at it in airsoft and they block out loud noises and reproduces sounds naturally unlike earmore and ztactical that have a really strange and unuseable sound reproduction, might as well play without them turned on. You can find used peltors for around £200 on facebook. Not to mention you can get gel cup upgrades to make the headset so comfortable that you forget your wearing them.

Honestly, don't waste money on ztactical or earmors, you'd wish you would have saved money and got something better. Besides, this is something you'll use probably everygame and hearing is very useful in airsoft lol.

View attachment 48407

 

[Lollingsgrad]

For those considering Racal Frontiers, I use mine with Surefire EP.4s they stick out from your ear slightly however when the noise cancelling kicks in you know you’re safe had mk5s go off at my feet whilst crouched with no issues. They comfortable enough to wear all day long but make sure you get the correct size buds. 

To answer the question yes they can be used with ‘normal’ ear phone tips however you will have less protection as they don’t fully “plug” your ear canal and they may not hold them self in correctly. 

I got my Racals from JCI comms with a standard NATO plug so I could use a standard PTT and I will be buying a set of comtacs for use with a helmet soon.

I'm actually looking for an in ear solution now; this looks good but I don't know if I can use them. Can they be plugged into Baofengs? Also I don't understand how you're wearing these and EP4s at the same time? 

 

[DopeYourScope]

I'm actually looking for an in ear solution now; this looks good but I don't know if I can use them. Can they be plugged into Baofengs? Also I don't understand how you're wearing these and EP4s at the same time? 

*excuse the state of my ear plugs*

The racal frontier goes into the back of the EP4 which makes it like a headphone ear tip.

The headset goes down to the amplifier box. From the amp would normally go to a PRR radio via a lemo connector however I’ve had mine wired to a standard NATO plug which I use with a Ztactical u94 PTT with a k1 connector for kenwood/baofengs (I use baofeng UV82).

View attachment 48410

 

[Musica]

*excuse the state of my ear plugs*

The racal frontier goes into the back of the EP4 which makes it like a headphone ear tip.

The headset goes down to the amplifier box. From the amp would normally go to a PRR radio via a lemo connector however I’ve had mine wired to a standard NATO plug which I use with a Ztactical u94 PTT with a k1 connector for kenwood/baofengs (I use baofeng UV82).

View attachment 48410

Thanks for the pic so do you use the mic in the racals then? 

 

[DopeYourScope]

Thanks for the pic so do you use the mic in the racals then? 

Yes, so the Racals don’t have a physical boom

or throat mic they use a microphone within each ear piece that picks up your voice really well even at a whisper as well as the background noise for amplification and hearing protection. 

They’re by far the cheapest real steel headset you can buy but that’s down to the connectivity issue regarding the fact no one currently sells a lemo PTT or a EZPRR rep with a lemo connector (someone is working on one not sure if it has a lemo connection). 

Only thing i find is sometimes when the wind catches the microphones just right it causes them to cut out as it deems it too loud however this is a rare occasion only on the windiest day’s.

 

[Lollingsgrad]

Looks like a really good solution; I might just try getting a lemo socket and modding a cheap Kenwood PTT. Do you happen to know how many pins the lemo is?

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Thanks for the pic so do you use the mic in the racals then? 

No the ear mic on the racals is a pain in the arse. Mine is diconnected and they use the ppt fist mic.

 

[DopeYourScope]

No the ear mic on the racals is a pain in the arse. Mine is diconnected and they use the ppt fist mic.

Really? What issues did you have? Mine have been used a lot and are absolutely fine no ones complained that they can’t hear what’s being said etc.

Looks like a really good solution; I might just try getting a lemo socket and modding a cheap Kenwood PTT. Do you happen to know how many pins the lemo is?

5 I believe. If I remember correct the lemo socket was quite expensive, if you already have a PTT for an over ear then you can get JCI to modify the Racals to use that PTT. 

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Really? What issues did you have? Mine have been used a lot and are absolutely fine no ones complained that they can’t hear what’s being said etc.

Used to get too much background noise pick up. Probably wouldn't be such a big issue outdoors but indoors it was a pain.

Had it all modified so radio transmission was all through the fist mic. Me and another marshal had it done along with dual channel coms through JC before he really put the business out.

 

[DopeYourScope]

Used to get too much background noise pick up. Probably wouldn't be such a big issue outdoors but indoors it was a pain.

Had it all modified so radio transmission was all through the fist mic. Me and another marshal had it done along with dual channel coms through JC before he really put the business out.

Oh I see, I’ll ask the lads if they’ve heard any through mine I can see their design would lead to that with a lot of back ground noise.

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Oh I see, I’ll ask the lads if they’ve heard any through mine I can see their design would lead to that with a lot of back ground noise.

For most people it probably isn't a big issue but when we are PMing our coms need to be perfect. My fist mic has lemo and 3.5 connections plus 2 transmit buttons and a mute so it is a busy little thing. 

 

[Musica]

I suspect inside my dye mask it would be worse as it has ear protectors sitting right on it.  

 

[Lollingsgrad]

The prices for these Racal Frontiers on eBay is insane, they're essentially active hearing protection right? The weird connector just makes it hard to hook up to a radio, ignoring that you can't get in ear active hearing protection for anywhere near £10. Is there something I'm missing here?

Also whilst I'm posting here, anyone know if those 5 pin lemo connectors are 1B? I guess that's a sizing code?

 

[DopeYourScope]

The prices for these Racal Frontiers on eBay is insane, they're essentially active hearing protection right? The weird connector just makes it hard to hook up to a radio, ignoring that you can't get in ear active hearing protection for anywhere near £10. Is there something I'm missing here?

Also whilst I'm posting here, anyone know if those 5 pin lemo connectors are 1B? I guess that's a sizing code?

Its amazing however be careful as apparently there are a few duds floating about the place. 

 

[Musica]

The prices for these Racal Frontiers on eBay is insane, they're essentially active hearing protection right? The weird connector just makes it hard to hook up to a radio, ignoring that you can't get in ear active hearing protection for anywhere near £10. Is there something I'm missing here?

Also whilst I'm posting here, anyone know if those 5 pin lemo connectors are 1B? I guess that's a sizing code?

So you need buds as well as the racals and the surefire ones run more expensive than the racals themselves (they also offer protection on their own so if you just wanted to play with protection the surefire on their own would work but no fancy electronics)  Now if you have buds and the racals and a AAA battery you already have the hearing protection and can just run that. After that you need to look at getting custom wiring for them or a PTT or both to get a radio hooked up. The cost starts mounting up. 

To be honest if I wasn't wearing a paintball mask I would just run a fist mic with a 3.5 output and run these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Honeywell-Howard-Leight-Foldable-Defender/dp/B001T7QJ9O/ref=sr_1_43?crid=35K1ZNXYEA1L9&keywords=ear+defenders&qid=1565349236&s=gateway&sprefix=ear+defen%2Caps%2C305&sr=8-43 they do the ambient enhancement the hearing protection for loud bangs and have a aux in you can feed a 3.5mm jack to. 

 

[Lollingsgrad]

So you need buds as well as the racals and the surefire ones run more expensive than the racals themselves (they also offer protection on their own so if you just wanted to play with protection the surefire on their own would work but no fancy electronics)  Now if you have buds and the racals and a AAA battery you already have the hearing protection and can just run that. After that you need to look at getting custom wiring for them or a PTT or both to get a radio hooked up. The cost starts mounting up. 

To be honest if I wasn't wearing a paintball mask I would just run a fist mic with a 3.5 output and run these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Honeywell-Howard-Leight-Foldable-Defender/dp/B001T7QJ9O/ref=sr_1_43?crid=35K1ZNXYEA1L9&keywords=ear+defenders&qid=1565349236&s=gateway&sprefix=ear+defen%2Caps%2C305&sr=8-43 they do the ambient enhancement the hearing protection for loud bangs and have a aux in you can feed a 3.5mm jack to. 

Funnily enough, that's exactly what I'm running. They don't play nice with Dye i4s though because they just slightly intersect with the edge of the mask which over the course of a day gives me headaches, causes the headset to move, displaces my mask, etc. I'm done with supra-aurals, going to see if in ear is less of a pain in the arse.

 

[DopeYourScope]

So you need buds as well as the racals and the surefire ones run more expensive than the racals themselves (they also offer protection on their own so if you just wanted to play with protection the surefire on their own would work but no fancy electronics)  Now if you have buds and the racals and a AAA battery you already have the hearing protection and can just run that. After that you need to look at getting custom wiring for them or a PTT or both to get a radio hooked up. The cost starts mounting up. 

To be honest if I wasn't wearing a paintball mask I would just run a fist mic with a 3.5 output and run these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Honeywell-Howard-Leight-Foldable-Defender/dp/B001T7QJ9O/ref=sr_1_43?crid=35K1ZNXYEA1L9&keywords=ear+defenders&qid=1565349236&s=gateway&sprefix=ear+defen%2Caps%2C305&sr=8-43 they do the ambient enhancement the hearing protection for loud bangs and have a aux in you can feed a 3.5mm jack to. 

In total I’ve spent under £60, that includes paying for JCI to modify my Racals so if you DIY’d it you’re looking a lot cheaper.