Mic/headset combo

[jazzboypro]

Hello all,

For those of you who are remotely controlling your radio from a laptop, what type of mic/headset are you using ? I'm playing with a software right now on my laptop and i'm using the built-in mic and speakers on the laptop, it's ok for testing but i'll need something better. Any suggestion on what to use on a laptop ?

Thanks
73
VA2FCS

 

[popnokick]

I went cheap and both Tx and Rx audio seems fine. Logitech H111 Stereo Headset / Boom Mic.... about $17. May be a newer model available. And someone is going to write in here with "$17!!! That's way too much. You can get it for less". And someone else will write in saying you need a Heil PROSet for $280 (or more)... and advise that you shouldn't use anything less. So you decide ... somewhere between $17 and $280+

 

[jazzboypro]

I went cheap and both Tx and Rx audio seems fine. Logitech H111 Stereo Headset / Boom Mic.... about $17. May be a newer model available. And someone is going to write in here with "$17!!! That's way too much. You can get it for less". And someone else will write in saying you need a Heil PROSet for $280 (or more)... and advise that you shouldn't use anything less. So you decide ... somewhere between $17 and $280+

The H111 still exists, I went on Logitech website to see their offering. They seem to have only on-ear type of headphones, I personally prefer over-ear type headphones. Just for fun, I checked Heil's offering, none of their models seems to be made to be hooked up to a computer (at least not without an adapter of some sort)

That makes me wandering, in the case where I control the rig thru my LAN, does the audio hardware in the laptop do any audio processing or is the processsed audio from the rig is simply ouput on the laptop speakers ? Is the audio hardware in the laptop good enough to warrant an high end headset ?

 

[popnokick]

I think the "is it good enough" answer depends on the remote software you are using for audio. I use Win4Icom Suite by VA2FSQ. I also had ICOM's RS-BA1 Remote software but found Win4Icom far simpler to set up and keep running. I'm satisfied with "communications quality" audio. But if you are an AM audio fanatic or fancy yourself an FM broadcaster and need to tweak every last bit of fidelity into your transmitted audio, you're going to say neither of those software / mic combos is good enough to meet your demands. If you really want to know the digital fidelity / audio bitrate of various remote control software solutions you'll need to look at the programmer's info. In the case of Win4Icom, VA2FSQ maintains a site on groups.io and you could post the question there (although it might be in his docs already). Regarding RS-BA1, Icom would be the source. I also use Ham Radio Deluxe, but it doesn't support audio on the ICOM 7100 (my rig).

 

[K4EET]

Hello @jazzboypro, I am going to suggest a Heil headset but not the ProSet model mentioned above.

For my PC Headset, I use the Heil Pro Set Media Pro headset. This headset has a MSRP of $119 USD. I caught it on sale and paid $95 USD for this headset. The headset was originally designed for the U.S. Navy who wanted a PC headset that could withstand the harsh environment onboard navy vessels. I am very pleased with this headset. I used to buy the Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 Headset for about $25 USD but the ear pads would start breaking down and leave black spots all around the earlobes. The Heil Pro Set Media Pro has a washable cover on the earpieces and eliminates the problem that I had with the LifeChat LX-3000.

The Heil Pro Set Media Pro plugs directly into the soundcard jacks for microphone and earphone connections. If you want to plug this headset into a USB connector, you need a USB External Stereo Sound Adapter such as this one that retails for about $8 USD. That is how I have my headset configured and it works great!

Let me know if you have any questions.

73, Dave K4EET

 

[jazzboypro]

I think the "is it good enough" answer depends on the remote software you are using for audio. I use Win4Icom Suite by VA2FSQ. I also had ICOM's RS-BA1 Remote software but found Win4Icom far simpler to set up and keep running. I'm satisfied with "communications quality" audio. But if you are an AM audio fanatic or fancy yourself an FM broadcaster and need to tweak every last bit of fidelity into your transmitted audio, you're going to say neither of those software / mic combos is good enough to meet your demands. If you really want to know the digital fidelity / audio bitrate of various remote control software solutions you'll need to look at the programmer's info. In the case of Win4Icom, VA2FSQ maintains a site on groups.io and you could post the question there (although it might be in his docs already). Regarding RS-BA1, Icom would be the source. I also use Ham Radio Deluxe, but it doesn't support audio on the ICOM 7100 (my rig).

I am experimenting with wfview (There is a thread about it in the Icom receiver forum) If i remember correctly, the Win4Icom suite does not allow to control te radio thru a LAN unless you also have RS-B1A. I honestly don't understand why Win4Icom does not have LAN functionality. It is the reason why i don't buy it. My computer and radios are side by side in my shack so I have no need to control my radio from my computer when i'm in the shack. I really want LAN functionality.

I am not an AM fanatic/FM broadcaster so no i don't need to tweak every bit of fidelity in my transmit audio. I think my question boils down to is it worth it to buy very high end headset to plug it into a laptop.

 

[jazzboypro]

Hello @jazzboypro, I am going to suggest a Heil headset but not the ProSet model mentioned above.

For my PC Headset, I use the Heil Pro Set Media Pro headset. This headset has a MSRP of $119 USD. I caught it on sale and paid $95 USD for this headset. The headset was originally designed for the U.S. Navy who wanted a PC headset that could withstand the harsh environment onboard navy vessels. I am very pleased with this headset. I used to buy the Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 Headset for about $25 USD but the ear pads would start breaking down and leave black spots all around the earlobes. The Heil Pro Set Media Pro has a washable cover on the earpieces and eliminates the problem that I had with the LifeChat LX-3000.

The Heil Pro Set Media Pro plugs directly into the soundcard jacks for microphone and earphone connections. If you want to plug this headset into a USB connector, you need a USB External Stereo Sound Adapter such as this one that retails for about $8 USD. That is how I have my headset configured and it works great!

Let me know if you have any questions.

73, Dave K4EET

Maybe something i could use with the computer and also plug directly in the radio would be nice.

 

[popnokick]

I think some clarification is needed here regarding the Win4Icom Suite and using it on a LAN. All of this will depend on which ICOM radio you have. If your ICOM radio has a built-in sound card modem (e.g. IC-7100, IC-7300, others) and a USB interface you can control the radio via a LAN (local area network) or WiFi using Win4Icom Suite. No RS-BA1 software is necessary. You just plug a USB cable from the radio into a computer that is on the LAN or WiFi and install the Win4Icom software. HOWEVER, some ICOM radios have built-in Ethernet jacks or WiFi adapters that directly use the ICOM protocols that are part of the RS-BA1 software (e.g. ICOM 7610, 7851, others). For that type of connection (radio directly to LAN with no "host" computer) you WILL need the RS-BA1 software.

 

[AB4BF]

Hello all,

For those of you who are remotely controlling your radio from a laptop, what type of mic/headset are you using ? I'm playing with a software right now on my laptop and i'm using the built-in mic and speakers on the laptop, it's ok for testing but i'll need something better. Any suggestion on what to use on a laptop ?

Thanks
73
VA2FCS

On a whim, I tried one of these.

Stereo Gaming Headsets Headphones for Ps4 Xbox One PC Laptop With Microphone for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Stereo Gaming Headsets Headphones for Ps4 Xbox One PC Laptop With Microphone at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Got it for $19.98 and free shipping. (you know its included in the price, lol)
So far, the headset works great, I use it for echo link. No one has complained about the mic sound and the headphones sound great. I was surprised. All the accessories work, the splitter cable, volume control and the pressure on my ears for long periods is good. No complaints. Plus, other sales spots on eBay offer different colors. I'm just a camo sort of operator...
Oh, forgot to add, The headset works great with my Yaesu FT-991A. Haven't tried my handy-talkies yet because I need an adapter for the mic plug, its 3.5 mm also.

 

[tweiss3]

I use a cheap Rumnus gaming headset from Amazon (was $25) with the radio and the Heil AD-1-iC adapter, a foot switch. I think I had to add a mono adapter to the microphone line, which I had laying around. This headset can and has been used on the computer, but I mostly use an Ewin E7 bluetooth set for the desktop. Any reasonable headset will work, though I have used the stock microphone/speaker set on both my phone and Surface 4 to remote control my radio with success.

 

[jazzboypro]

I think some clarification is needed here regarding the Win4Icom Suite and using it on a LAN. All of this will depend on which ICOM radio you have. If your ICOM radio has a built-in sound card modem (e.g. IC-7100, IC-7300, others) and a USB interface you can control the radio via a LAN (local area network) or WiFi using Win4Icom Suite. No RS-BA1 software is necessary. You just plug a USB cable from the radio into a computer that is on the LAN or WiFi and install the Win4Icom software. HOWEVER, some ICOM radios have built-in Ethernet jacks or WiFi adapters that directly use the ICOM protocols that are part of the RS-BA1 software (e.g. ICOM 7610, 7851, others). For that type of connection (radio directly to LAN with no "host" computer) you WILL need the RS-BA1 software.

That is what i meant. I have a R8600, 7610 and 9700. All of them have a ethernet connectors. I use all three successfully with wfview on my LAN WITHOUT RS-B1A. IT'S just that wfview is currently in development and there are a lot of functionality missing. I really don't like the idea of having to buy Win4Icom+RS-B1A to get it working. The reviews I've seen about RS-B1A are not stellar to say the least.

 

[jazzboypro]

Hello @jazzboypro, I am going to suggest a Heil headset but not the ProSet model mentioned above.

For my PC Headset, I use the Heil Pro Set Media Pro headset. This headset has a MSRP of $119 USD. I caught it on sale and paid $95 USD for this headset. The headset was originally designed for the U.S. Navy who wanted a PC headset that could withstand the harsh environment onboard navy vessels. I am very pleased with this headset. I used to buy the Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 Headset for about $25 USD but the ear pads would start breaking down and leave black spots all around the earlobes. The Heil Pro Set Media Pro has a washable cover on the earpieces and eliminates the problem that I had with the LifeChat LX-3000.

The Heil Pro Set Media Pro plugs directly into the soundcard jacks for microphone and earphone connections. If you want to plug this headset into a USB connector, you need a USB External Stereo Sound Adapter such as this one that retails for about $8 USD. That is how I have my headset configured and it works great!

Let me know if you have any questions.

73, Dave K4EET

I went and looked at media proset. I noticed that the set is terminated by 2 male plugs (mic and speakers) the thing is that on my laptop I have a single audio jack that doubles as the mic/speaker connection. Is there some kind of adapter a could use to combine the 2 plugs of the set into a single plug that would connect to the audio jack of the laptop ?

 

[K4EET]

I went and looked at media proset. I noticed that the set is terminated by 2 male plugs (mic and speakers) the thing is that on my laptop I have a single audio jack that doubles as the mic/speaker connection. Is there some kind of adapter a could use to combine the 2 plugs of the set into a single plug that would connect to the audio jack of the laptop ?

Do you have any information on exactly how the single jack is wired for mic/speaker?

 

[k6cpo]

The H111 still exists, I went on Logitech website to see their offering. They seem to have only on-ear type of headphones, I personally prefer over-ear type headphones. Just for fun, I checked Heil's offering, none of their models seems to be made to be hooked up to a computer (at least not without an adapter of some sort)

That makes me wandering, in the case where I control the rig thru my LAN, does the audio hardware in the laptop do any audio processing or is the processsed audio from the rig is simply ouput on the laptop speakers ? Is the audio hardware in the laptop good enough to warrant an high end headset ?

I can plug either of my two Heil ProMicro headsets into my computer and they work fine, but the audio seems a bit muffled. I get better audio out of the computer with a cheap $15 Logitech headset.

 

[jazzboypro]

Do you have any information on exactly how the single jack is wired for mic/speaker?

It's a high end Dell laptop that i bought new about 2 months ago. i called Dell support yesterday and they told me that the audio jack can be used for mic and/or speaker. When i plug something into it there should be a pop up windows asking me if it's a mic, headphone, both or external speaker.

 

[tweiss3]

You are looking for something like this: Amazon.com: Headphone Splitter, Headset Splitter 3.5mm Headset Adapter (MIC(CTIA) + Audio) TRRS Male to Dual 3.5mm TRS Female Stereo Jack Combo Audio Cable: Electronics

 

[jazzboypro]

You are looking for something like this: Amazon.com: Headphone Splitter, Headset Splitter 3.5mm Headset Adapter (MIC(CTIA) + Audio) TRRS Male to Dual 3.5mm TRS Female Stereo Jack Combo Audio Cable: Electronics

Thanks, i will try it

 

[jazzboypro]

Finally got my headset Heil Pro Set Media Pro yesterday along with the adapter suggested by tweiss3. I'm happy so far !!