Surveillance Earphones

[epbernstein]

Does anyone use a surveillance-type earphone with their Uniden scanner? I'd like to get one for my 396 and would welcome recommendations.

Thanks!

 

[yaesumofo]

I had mine made to work with the OTTO transducers by Wisconsin ear mould company. It is called an "ON Camera" you can wear there with little or no one noticing. plus it is made so you can still hear audio from the outside world.
Wisconsin Ear Mold Co.
1703 Pearl St.
Waukesha, WI 53186
Phone: 262-524-2424
Fax: 262-524-7898

This company has been making "on air" earpieces for years and can be counted on for high quality work. You have seen their work on many a network news cast.

The other half of this system is made by OTTO.
go to
http://www.ottoeng.com/comm/surveillance_earphonekit.html
The guys in Wisconsin make a ear piece that fits perfectly with the Otto part. This is the best solution I have come up with. Total price about 5 years ago was about $100.00 total with the custom part and the headphone (the Otto part is about $50.00).

Yaesumofo

 

[rhutch]

Pryme makes one that looks identical to the one in the link above and I paid $55 Cnd. for it ear piece and mic. And yes it works with the 396, you need to get the Yeasu model.

 

[RagnarD]

Hi There,

I bought a Shadow about a year ago and it works great. Audie is good to deal with.

http://www.planetheadset.com/listenonly.htm

Hope this helps
73
de
chris
kq4z

 

[allen5565]

You might also be interested in Tactical Command - http://www.tacticalcommand.com/ . I imagine they could easily accomodate your needs for a listen-only device. Check out the Soundwaves/FC R4 Ear-Coil. "You can order a complete earpiece kit, including a listen-only cable, with the Soundwaves/FC R4 using part #TLEK". There's also http://www.customearpieces.com , which seems to have a broad catalog of goodies.

 

[W4KRR]

Hi There,

I bought a Shadow about a year ago and it works great. Audie is good to deal with.

http://www.planetheadset.com/listenonly.htm

Hope this helps
73
de
chris
kq4z

Nice looking device. I was looking at the earpieces on that site, and I wondered how you tell if your ear is small, medium, or large?

 

[MacombMonitor]

Another souce is Public Safety Communications, LLC!


US Mail: P.O. Box 1312, Warren, Michigan 48090-1312

Phone: 1-888-PSC-0911

Email: sales@publicsafetycommunications.net
Fax: 877-616-9334

http://www.publicsafetycommunications.net/contactus.htm

 

[epbernstein]

Great, quick replies, everyone--thanks!

 

[epbernstein]

Thanks to all for the help. I ordered a "Scorpion" from Planet Headset, because I wear hearing aids and the earbud-type will work better than an in-ear solution. It looks like the best compromise.

 

[JackT]

Under "Surveillance Earphones", a post by "Yaesumoto", 09-09-2005, 09:22 AM. referred to an "on camera" ear mold mfgd. by Wisconsin Ear Mold Co. I have been to their website on several ocassions and was unable to discern which of their products that was referred too. It would be greatly appreciated if Yaesumoto could give some direction here to locate the specific ear mold, how it fits to the ear (inserted?. etc.) and the resluting experience with it and how, combined with the specific transducer from "OTTO", pleased you were with it. In your decision making, how did you opt. for the newer "coiled tube" design vs the traditional wired transducer. It appears to me that the clear, coiled tube is as much or more of an eye catcher than the wire previously utilized. Thanks for your reply. Jack

 

[hotdjdave]

I think the best surveillance headphones are the ones that don't look like "surveillance headphones."

To me, the best surveillance headphones would be a pair of white stereophonic headphones, like the ones you would be wearing if you were listening to an iPod. Sony, Bose, JVC, Shure, and Harmon Kardon make a few good pairs. What a better "cover" than to be just listening to an iPod, when you are actually listening to your scanner?

A pair of good, high quality, noise canceling headphones, like the ones below, can go anywhere from $29.99 to $499.99.

Here are a few to see:
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5093275?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5093315?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4596817?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4750669?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4822930?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4826610?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5164716?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...hones&lp=5&type=product&cp=1&id=1138085847774
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...ones&lp=21&type=product&cp=1&id=1155071450943
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...ones&lp=39&type=product&cp=1&id=1118839115744

and these whole lists of more:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...#4##28&list=y&usc=All+Categories&nrp=50&iht=n
http://shop4.outpost.com/search?sea...string=headphones&cat=0&submit.x=0&submit.y=0


Now if you were talking about an actual two-way radio, that would be a totally different story.

 

[Lodis]

I agree, I just use standard MP3 earphones. Especially being in the UK, if I was walking around with any sort of Earpiece it would just attract unwanted attention. The best way to hide is the ones that are in plane site.

 

[emt331000]

I think its a good idea to want to blend in with standard headphones. But you may want to rethink making it look like you have an iPod, because muggings are statistically higher on iPod carriers. Their white earphones stick out like a sore thumb! So, maybe black would be better than white. Attract less attention.

Just something to think about.

 

[BigJimbo]

Im with DJDave. If you are going to be in public, the regular headphones blend in perfectly. A surveillance rig in public will probably attract attention. NatCom Magazine had a good article about this subject a few months ago.

I was at the local mall doing my xmas shopping with the 396T under my jacket and a cheapo walkman headset and I never got a second look.

 

[Lodis]

I too would not advise wearing the white Ipod earphones, I didn't notice this in the post at first so glad others picked up on it. The ones I always use are standard cheap looking black earphones. One pair doesn't have a brand name on it and the other ones I use sometimes say ''Plantronics'' on the earphone.

I think the only reason to use the surveillance ear pieces is if you couldn't wear standard ear phones due to having a hearing aid or very big earings on your ears.

I am on my way out to with my Scout, my UBC3500 and BCD396T on Close Call auto store and my AR8200 with the earphones plugged in scanning, a surveillance ear piece is the last thing I need to attract any unwanted attention.

 

[emt331000]

The 396T owner's manual strongly cautions against the earbud type that hotdjdave has recommended:

Be sure to use only a monaural earphone with this scanner. You can also use an optional 32 ohm stereo headset

The manual repeatedly says 32 ohms. Yet none of the examples are 32 ohms. In fact, the affordable examples listed above are 16 ohm or less.

The manual warns against using a stereo headset with anything other than 32 ohms, or else you may experience "discomfort or hearing damage."

This might be particularly true of the type of earphone that is placed in the ear canal.

What are everyone's thoughts?

 

[hotdjdave]

The manual warns against using a stereo headset with anything other than 32 ohms, or else you may experience "discomfort or hearing damage."

What are everyone's thoughts?

Turn down the volume.

 

[Lodis]

The 396T owner's manual strongly cautions against the earbud type that hotdjdave has recommended:The manual repeatedly says 32 ohms. Yet none of the examples are 32 ohms. In fact, the affordable examples listed above are 16 ohm or less.

The manual warns against using a stereo headset with anything other than 32 ohms, or else you may experience "discomfort or hearing damage."
What are everyone's thoughts?

My thoughts on this are make sure you have the 396 on its lowest possible volume before you use it with the standard earphones. I set my volume to level 1 and find that level 1-2 is usually sufficient, especially when you have the AGC settings configured ''correctly'', i.e with enough RF GAIN and RANGE to actually make a difference.

If you use the standard earphones without first lowering the volume then it could definately damage your hearing, I am guessing you wouldn't have this problem with the recommended earphones of 32 ohms.

 

[hotdjdave]

I suppose long use, at higher volumes, of a speaker that is less than 32 ohms could be harmful to the audio amplifier in the 396.

 

[linuxwrangler]

I use a Listen Systems LA-161. A good-quality 32-ohm single earbud for only about $8. And unless someone looks closely, it looks like the cheapo hands-free thingies that come with most cell phones.