wireless headsets

[Captain Harris]

I need a recomendation for a two way communication wireless headset. These wireless headsets would be ideal for anchoring and docking. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Transients next to us last evening had these. Seemed to be experiencing interference upon leaving. 42' boat and they were yelling. His Admiral had some very interesting hand gestures. I suppose she was telling him where to go...er...I mean the way out of the harbor...
Marriage Saver Headsets | Product Categories | Cruising Solutions

 

[Moonstruck]

Have you tried a hailer/listener?

 

[N4712]

We have these, working out fine so far.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/563169-REG/Eartec_SLT24G2CYB_2_Simultalk_24G_Beltpacks.html

 

[Giggitoni]

We use Eartec units when we remember that we have them! Of course, they probably aren't charged when we think of using them. Eartec work great; clear duplex communication.

 

[Victor_Chat]

We use Motorola two way radios. A bit older school, but they work. I clip mine on my collar to make it easy to listen and talk back.

 

[drb1025]

We use the Eartec units as well, and are happy with them. But you do have to remember to charge them, or in my case, also remember to turn them off when finished.

 

[Bluevee]

My wife and I ride motorcycles together and use bluetooth headsets that are 100% reliable (up to a KM away) they have a microphone boom and speakers that are stuck inside the helmets (Im not suggesting using motorcyle helmets to dock your boat) but mount to a head set and away you go. They bluetooth to an Iphone as well very reliably - play music, receive calls etc. They are made by a company called sena (in the USA I believe) there are other cheap knock offs but not sure of their reliability

 

[Bay Pelican]

Cruising solutions sells a set which use two frequencies so they do not require pushing a transmit button. Very popular among cruisers. Price is $79. Have used these for 5 years without trouble.

Mariner 500 Head Sets | Cruising Solutions

No connection other than as a customer.

 

[ranger58sb]

All the reviews I've read say the Eartec sets are the bee's knees. Clarity and duplex are often called out as the best features. Several units can be active on the same channel, so it could connect multiple crew members. No first-hand experience, but a friend has used them extensively and recommended them to me.

We've used Motorola family radios with VOX headsets. These work OK, but they're simplex... and the VOX feature takes a syllable or three to activate the mics. So we start each sentence with "1,2,3, set the springline...." (etc.) Ditto multiple crew members.

We've also used Bluetooth headsets with our cell phones. In general, assuming the cell towers cooperate and so forth, that works OK, but of course eats minutes. In our case, we've got about 9 million rollover minutes, so no big deal. Might get a little techy, for conference calls with more than one crew member at different parts of the boat...

For casual use, much more often in our case, we use the hailer/listerner... The hailer has the advantage of being audible for the dock crew, too. The listener part doesn't always pick up dock crew, and in fact it faces forward so it's really only effective for crew on the bow.

-Chris

 

[bayview]

Cant remember the brand we have but they are specifically not VOX. We had a pair of voice activated and found wind noise took over.
Head sets are a great asset.

 

[twistedtree]

We have tried three different gadgets, all unsuccessfully so far.

The first were the Eartech devices. We appear to be the only people who have had trouble with them, but we used them a couple of times then sent them back. The reception was good with little to no interference. That's the good part. The problem is there is a sequence of button pushes that you have to go through to activate them, and you need to be together in the same place to coordinate the sequence. First the Master activates, then the Slave. Seems simple, except once you are apart in different parts of the boat, if either of you bumps the button, it deactivates and god help you getting them back on again short of reuniting somewhere on the boat where you can coordinate the button sequence. The problem is that which ever of you figurds out that you have lost communications can't just press their button to get it going again. We would find ourselves out of communications and pressing buttons to try to get it back on, and just going in circles because we had no way of knowing what state the other set was in.

Next we tried the inexpensive Cruising Solutions headsets, despite their bulky stature. They picked up lots of interference from other radios etc. and were not usable. I still have them if anyone wants them. The good thing is that they were an inexpensive experiment.

Cruising Solutions recently started selling a version of the Sena bluetooth headsets used by motorcyclists. I signed up for their early evaluator program and bought 2 headsets. At first they seemed to work OK, but when we actually went to use them while operating the boat we again got very bad interference making them unusable. To Cruising Solutions credit, they got back to me right away after I reported this adn I have agreed to walk through a complete reset to see if I can get them to work better. Time will tell, but in general I have had poor experience with bluetooth for anything over about 5'. I gather there are different power levels for different devices, and that the headsets run at a much higher power level than a mouse or keyboard.

Unless magic occurs and the Sena devices start working without interference, we are still searching for a good solution. The next thing I'm going to try is just using the phones on the boat. Typically you only have a phone system on a much larger boat, but I put one in just for this reason. It's an inexpensive Panasonic mini PBX and the phones are just regular cordless phones. We will try using headsets on the cordless phone and just call between two phone extensions.

 

[Giggitoni]

We have had moderate success with our cell phones. Use an earbud with mic attachment. However, you'll discover that we talk through cell phones with an included delay. There are a couple of areas around where we boat that has weak cell coverage. In those areas you're S out of luck.

 

[FlyWright]

I recently ordered and received these bluetooth cellphone headsets for $16 each to use on the boat. The Admiral quickly snagged them as a November birthday gift, so I'll have to report back on how well they work.

 

[High Wire]

Question on the Bluetooth headsets. Can you just use 2 headsets with one cellphone or does each headset need to be paired to a phone and therefore need to have cell tower signal to work?

 

[Delia Rosa]

We've used Eartec for the last 6 years with no problems.

 

[FlyWright]

Question on the Bluetooth headsets. Can you just use 2 headsets with one cellphone or does each headset need to be paired to a phone and therefore need to have cell tower signal to work?

These headsets are for cellphone use, so one headset to each cellphone and cell service required for the call to speak hands-free. We'd just leave the phones in the safety of the salon while docking.

 

[Pau Hana]

Another vote for Eartecs- they work perfectly for us.

 

[Bluevee]

The sena ones I have require no mobile phone ( cell tower) to operate, they are completely hands free once the intercom is activated- which at the moment they can intercom with up to four sets ( 1 speaks 234 hears, 2 speaks 134 hears etc) they upgrade the software occasionally via usb. I ride to work everyday -40 min per day listen to the radio through the iPhone ,recieve calls and get about two weeks out of the battery

 

[Spottsville]

We really like our Eartec Simultalk 24G Multi-Station Wireless System. Under $300 for a master and a remote and is expandable and reliable (remember to charge them before you need them).


Norm Miller
Quiet Company
Great Harbour GH47

Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum

 

[Jeffrey S]

We helped introduce the Eartec's to the cruising community a few years ago. Because of that, we're offered evaluation units of almost every device out there.

We still use the Eartec's for real use. We've been giving them some suggestions for a next generation unit because there are some things that would make it even better.

If you're using a cell phone/Bluetooth solution, you have to have cellular connectivity for it to work - that's definitely not a given in many of the areas we all cruise.

 

[r-rossow]

I am on the verge of getting a set of Eartec COMSTAR units.
Are you saying there will be new model(s) coming out?

 

[sunchaser]

The problem is there is a sequence of button pushes that you have to go through to activate them, and you need to be together in the same place to coordinate the sequence.
.

We use Eartechs successfully ( for 8 years), but they do require a degree of patience that when it is dark and stormy can be a bit trying. But a lot easier to master than a so called smart phone. I view them as a safety device when getting ready for docking or leaving the dock so that the person securing the lines and fenders can be heard.

Ahh the beauty of solo cruising where no communications are necessary.

 

[Jeffrey S]

I am on the verge of getting a set of Eartec COMSTAR units.
Are you saying there will be new model(s) coming out?

Oh gosh, no. We're suggesting some options to them. They really need a great solution for women to secure them - some type of lanyard that actually works. I'd also like to see some replaceable battery options.

Even if they loved the ideas, it would take a couple of years for them to come out.

Get the Eartec's - they meet the need exceptionally well.