XPR-3500 Remote Speaker Mics

[Maxx102]

First - let me apologize if this is the wrong forum to ask but I wasn't sure where else to ask this question.

Our department recently switched from Push-To-Talk phones to Mototrbo XPR-3500's (hence the reason why I posted here) and now we are looking at Remote Speaker Mics and I was wondering if anyone had any experience and can give some information.

Now I know that we could go with one of the Motorola microphones but I have seen others from the following companies.

Pryme (Synergy - looks like a Motorola clone)
Impact Communications (several models, seems customized depending on the radio the microphone will be connected to)

Anyone have any experience with these brands?

Just looking for information before deciding.

Thanks

 

[JRayfield]

The Motorola speaker/microphones that offer IMPRES technology will probably work the best for you. And just because a unit 'looks' like it's a clone of a Motorola unit, it won't be a 'clone' of an IMPRES unit. The IMPRES technology is proprietary to Motorola. And it's not 'marketing hype', either. The IMPRES speaker/microphones will work MUCH better in high-background-noise environments, as compared to 'off-brand' units.

One VERY large and famous college in the N.E. U.S. purchased 'off-brand' speaker/microphones for their police department's XPR radios. They ended up changing them all out to Motorola IMPRES speaker/microphones (about 100 units).

John Rayfield, Jr.

First - let me apologize if this is the wrong forum to ask but I wasn't sure where else to ask this question.

Our department recently switched from Push-To-Talk phones to Mototrbo XPR-3500's (hence the reason why I posted here) and now we are looking at Remote Speaker Mics and I was wondering if anyone had any experience and can give some information.

Now I know that we could go with one of the Motorola microphones but I have seen others from the following companies.

Pryme (Synergy - looks like a Motorola clone)
Impact Communications (several models, seems customized depending on the radio the microphone will be connected to)

Anyone have any experience with these brands?

Just looking for information before deciding.

Thanks

 

[Maxx102]

Follow up & Review.

So I decided to go with one of the non-motorola brands of remote speaker microphones that I mentioned and I thought I would follow up with a review.


The make and model of speaker microphone I purchased is a Impact Communications HD2 model RSM (specific part number is PRSM-HD2-NC - with a Motorola XPR3300/3500 connector).

Usage: I have used various RSM's in my career in law enforcement and security. Some were very good, others very bad to the point of being useless.

My work environment is a combination of quiet office floors, noisy mechanical rooms, parking lots with exposure to various weather conditions, and a multi-level parking ramp.

I would rate this RSM as very good. The strain relief on both ends of the connector are very tough and provide good support, which is what they supposed to. The PTT button is big and easy to use with or without gloves on. The volume is loud, to the point that I only need to have the radio volume up 1/4 of the dial, sometimes less.

The microphone is bulky, but it's a non-issue for a person who has large bear paws like me. It isn't lightweight either, it's has some heft to it.

Attachment to the radio is quick, easy, and I have yet to have an issue with disconnecting from the radio or other issues.

Would l purchase it again, yes, without hesitation. Overall - decent product.

 

[JRayfield]

When you're in one of the noisy mechanical rooms, do those who are hearing your transmissions hear any background noise?

John Rayfield, Jr.

Follow up & Review.

So I decided to go with one of the non-motorola brands of remote speaker microphones that I mentioned and I thought I would follow up with a review.


The make and model of speaker microphone I purchased is a Impact Communications HD2 model RSM (specific part number is PRSM-HD2-NC - with a Motorola XPR3300/3500 connector).

Usage: I have used various RSM's in my career in law enforcement and security. Some were very good, others very bad to the point of being useless.

My work environment is a combination of quiet office floors, noisy mechanical rooms, parking lots with exposure to various weather conditions, and a multi-level parking ramp.

I would rate this RSM as very good. The strain relief on both ends of the connector are very tough and provide good support, which is what they supposed to. The PTT button is big and easy to use with or without gloves on. The volume is loud, to the point that I only need to have the radio volume up 1/4 of the dial, sometimes less.

The microphone is bulky, but it's a non-issue for a person who has large bear paws like me. It isn't lightweight either, it's has some heft to it.

Attachment to the radio is quick, easy, and I have yet to have an issue with disconnecting from the radio or other issues.

Would l purchase it again, yes, without hesitation. Overall - decent product.

 

[cmdrwill]

Yes Impact speaker mics are a good product.

 

[Maxx102]

When you're in one of the noisy mechanical rooms, do those who are hearing your transmissions hear any background noise?

John Rayfield, Jr.

Good question. They do hear some background noise from the machinery, but not enough background noise to where they couldn't understand me. Granted I normally wouldn't transmit from that room to begin with because it is loud in there. We are supposed to use hearing protection, which is why our department (security) rarely goes in there.

 

[JRayfield]

That's one of the biggest differences that we've seen between non-IMPRES microphones and IMPRES microphones on MOTOTRBO radios. With IMPRES microphones, background noise has to be extremely high (even to the point of 'dangerous' levels of noise) before it has much of any effect on transmitted audio.

John Rayfield, Jr.

Good question. They do hear some background noise from the machinery, but not enough background noise to where they couldn't understand me. Granted I normally wouldn't transmit from that room to begin with because it is loud in there. We are supposed to use hearing protection, which is why our department (security) rarely goes in there.

 

[FastusBirdus]

Here's another perspective on Impres speaker mics, FWIW.

We struggle with high background noise on our Mototrbos XPR6350 (and V-S VXDs). I've sampled Impres, Impres INC, Impact, and V-S noise cancelling and V-S public safety mics.

We've got 100 dB plus in some areas. Impres seem to work the best. Impres INCs $uck. as did the V-S noise cancelling.

Recently updated most of the units with the latest firmware (r01.12.13) in hopes that v-coding would work better. Haven't noticed much difference.

Biggest struggle is getting the guys to speak directly into the mics. And when they do, they yell, as is common nature in a high noise environment. Then the mics clip out.

We've got a few XPR3550s. Those don't see much use in the high noise areas. Not sure which speaker mics we've got on them, but I haven't been real impressed with their volume output. The 6350s seem louder even though they are rated the same in audio output.

 

[JRayfield]

Good feedback. Which model (model number?) are the IMPRES INC's?

John Rayfield, Jr.

 

[wdz]

I've had mixed results with both Motorola Impress and Impact mic's holding up over the long haul. The Motorola ones we had would stop being recognized by the radios as an impress accessory after about six months of use. We switched to Impact and have had better results as far as durability. The one problem we've run into is the back plates crack around the bolt holes and fall off. It's not been a terribly common problem in our fleet but it is something I've seen a handful of times.

 

[JRayfield]

We haven't seen that kind of problem with the Motorola IMPRES units and we've got quite a few out in day-to-day use by a sheriff's office. They've all been extremely reliable.

I wonder if there was a 'bad batch' and yours came out of that batch (and possibly even some replacements). That happens in manufacturing, sometimes, where the manufacturer receives a large shipment of 'faulty' parts from their supplier and they end up shipping hundreds or even thousands of 'faulty products'. That happened years ago to us with some Kenwood 800 mhz portables, where one specific transistor would fail in almost every unit that we sold. We replaced the transistors and they also failed. The third time around, they never failed again. Kenwood denied that they had any problem, but it was obvious that they'd received a large 'batch' of bad transistors from their vendor for that part. The same thing happened to EF Johnson, years earlier, where they had a bad 'batch' of transistors that came from Motorola (back when Motorola manufactured semiconductors).

John Rayfield, Jr.

I've had mixed results with both Motorola Impress and Impact mic's holding up over the long haul. The Motorola ones we had would stop being recognized by the radios as an impress accessory after about six months of use. We switched to Impact and have had better results as far as durability. The one problem we've run into is the back plates crack around the bolt holes and fall off. It's not been a terribly common problem in our fleet but it is something I've seen a handful of times.

 

[FastusBirdus]

Good feedback. Which model (model number?) are the IMPRES INC's?

John Rayfield, Jr.

Impres INCs were the NNTN8382. I was really disappointed in the performance, especially given the hype and huge price premium over the other speaker mics. We had one of the two I purchased for trial fail very early too. If memory serves, I had to get it replaced twice under warranty.

We generally use the PMMN4025 or PMMN4050 on the XPR6350s (as well as the 7350s as we start to phase them in). They've proven to be generally reliable. Occasionally someone will bash the heck out of one. They have held up far better than the V-S Public Safety mics we use on the VXDs.