Comm Devices

I'm trying to find a good, but not overly expensive, communications headset and radio. What do you recommend?

Any Motorola radios. They're great! Especially the "talkabout" ones. *sarcasm*

Make sure you get the 1-pin versions so you can use tactical headsets and throat mics!

Motorola PR950DX
Price: $40

Medium Duty VOX Throat Vibration Mic
Price: ~$30

Full review with pics

Quote :

Gadget Infinity’s Medium Duty VOX Throat Vibration Mic (XL Size)
Cost: $30 + S&H
Author: Ryan Kemper (www.theairsoftsniper.com)
Written: December 26, 2007



Like most electronics, ever since throat mics have become popular among law enforcement agencies, military personnel, airsofters/paintballers, motorcyclists, etc., companies have been coming out with cheaper, mass produced versions that cost just a fraction of what the original, high-end throat mics cost. My fear in purchasing one has always been that I’ll find them to be a disappointment as many “knock-offs” are, and I’ll end up buying a high-end one in the end anyway. Not until I found this throat mic on gadgetinfinity.com did I once again have hope in these less expensive models.

To start off this review, I, and everyone at theairsoftsniper.com, would like to thank the people at Gadget Infinity (www.gadgetinfinity.com) for their awesome customer service and support through the making of this review. We really were impressed by their continued help, great product and surprisingly fast shipping!




On to the review….

Summary:
Benefits of a throat mic
First Impressions
Features/Specs/Quality
Put to action/Effectiveness
Pros/Cons
Conclusion

What are the benefits of a throat mic?
Most of you probably already know the benefits to using a throat mic as opposed to only using a 2-way radio or a standard ear-piece/microphone setup, so I’ll keep this short. As the name gives away, a throat mic reacts solely with the speaker’s vibrations of the throat as he or she speaks. In other words, when the person wearing the mic says a word, or even whispers a word, a vibration moves throughout the speaker’s neck, and the mic’s vibration sensors pick up these vibrations and turns this into a clear, crisp sound, even when the speaker is quiet, their mouth is far from the mic, or in loud environments! The throat mic vastly improved the effectiveness of the 2-way in that it no longer was based on sound alone (there can be so many sounds where the mic is in use it can be distracting to the listener on the other end). So to put it simply, the throat mic allows the user to make clearer, crisper communications, allows him or her to remain quiet while in use, and, allows the user to keep their hands free for other uses.


First Impressions:
I ordered my throat mic with much anticipation, and was very happy to receive it within only 1.5 weeks with the cheapest shipping Gadget Infinity offered! Very cool. The mic came in a bubble wrapped manila envelope which was plenty of protection from the rigors of the shipping process, and I’m sure contributed to the speedy shipping! I pulled the mic out of the plastic bag it was sealed in, and found it to be, despite its light weight, very sturdy as I twisted and pulled on the many parts/wires. This initial testing may seem a little different, but I figured if it can’t withstand that, it’s not worth even reviewing. I was happy to see the mic had all the needed parts, as well as an extra ear piece, an appearance of having a sturdy build, and had an attractive look to it. I wasn’t sure if I’d like the exposed wires at the rear of the mic neckband, but it has quickly grown on me and I’ve found it hasn’t affected performance/comfort at all during even the heaviest of use.




Features/Specs/Quality
(Brief summary of specs, as copied from Gadget Infinity’s website)
o VOX/PTT Throat-Vibration Speaker/Microphone in connection to an acoustic tube headset and a PTT button / VOX switch
o VOX/PTT compatible: VOX mode only works with radios that come with built-in VOX capability
o Best fit neck size: 15" - 17" (still great with 12” – 17”)
o Length of wires: 60 cm / 2 ft from throat mic to PTT switch; 120 cm / 4 ft (fully extended) from PTT switch to plug
o transparent tube extendable to 30 cm / 1 ft from the throat mic
o Weight: 90 g

As I stated earlier, I initially tested the strength of the mic and its wiring by simply pulling at the wires and twisting the plastic parts. That proved successful. Nothing came loose and everything seemed to work fine.

I’d like to discuss the wiring. Between the heavy-gauge wiring that connected the PTT switch (used to send your voice out) to the neckband and the wires that stretched along the band itself, I was highly pleased to find them to be very thick and sturdy.




I was also to happy to find the earpiece tube to be made of quality, sturdy plastic that reminded me of all the movies I’ve seen involving the secret service with the ever-common transparent, acoustical tube coming from the neckband and wrapping around the ear right into the ear canal. I also would like to note that the earpiece fits very comfortably in the ear canal, and I’ve, to date, never had a problem with it falling out of my ear, even when crawling through brush. I had to get used to the drowning of outside noise the earpiece delivers, as it does drown out some of your surrounding’s noises, but I quickly got used to it.




You’ll also be pleased to hear that this particular throat mic comes complete with two microphones, each located on both the left AND right side to provide a clearer sound to your listeners. Many low-end throat mics only come standard with a single microphone.

The PTT switch, which is permanently connected to the actual neckband, is about 1.5” long, ¾” wide, and ½” thick. The button itself is rather large, which is has proven to be very convenient! Don’t be alarmed though, despite the size of the button, not once did I have trouble with it being pushed unless purposely done so by me. It requires a decent amount of pressure to transmit your voice to prevent unwanted communications.






Overall, I was more than happy with the construction of this Gadget Infinity throat mic. Although it doesn’t have a padded inner neckband for comfort (only noteworthy setback I found), it is still made of quality, sturdy plastics, has thick wiring, and it’s obvious to see that it was built to withstand some serious abuse. If you can get over the slight discomfort of the plastic against your neck (you can actually purchase padding to make wearing it a little more comfortable) then construction-wise, this throat mic is well worth the $30 you’ll spend on it!


(Quarter present to show size of throat mic)




Put to action/Effectiveness
This part was my biggest fear during the review process. Sure a product can look good and give the appearance of a quality item, but can it deliver the performance and quality it takes to be worth the investment of purchasing it? First of all, everything went smoothly during the setup of the mic. Gadget Infinity sent me the correct end-piece adapter for my Midland LXT276 2-way radio (Standard 2-pin), and the whole mic setup was compatible with my radio as well. In fact, when you visit their page with this product on it later, if you look towards the bottom of the page you’ll see they give you a neat list of many (100s) brands/models and which of their four adapter pieces you’ll need for it to be compatible with your personal radio – pretty cool!

My first test of the mic was done in a quiet room with me on my radio w/mic correctly fitted to me, and a friend at the other end of my house, about 100 feet away. All tests successful! I had zero problems with getting it to work correctly, and I instantly fell in love with the quality of the sound through the earpiece. My friend’s voice came through clear and crisp, as did mine to him. We had zero problems communicating. This, however, was a simple test to make sure there were no major defects with the throat mic.

My second test involved the comfort of the mic, as well as its ability to stay put on my neck while running. To do this I put on my BDUs, to replicate as closely as possible to real airsoft situations, and setup the mic around my neck, and the PTT switch clamped on to my front chest pocket. I say clamped because as shown in previous pictures, the PTT switch only came with a permanently attached clamp on the back, no Velcro as many other throat mics offer. I didn’t find this to be a problem, but some of you may have Velcro on your BDUs that you were planning to stick it to. In this case, you may want to either decide if clamping it on your pocket will be sufficient or it is also possible to simply rip off the clamp and purchase some Velcro tape to apply to the back and rig your own setup that suits your needs.





Moving right along, the test results were positive ones. I held nothing back when it came to this test. I sprinted, moved my head in every which way, and crawled through thick brush for no other purpose than trying to get this throat mic to fall off/move around annoyingly, and/or get caught on surrounding brush. I failed at doing so. I’m delighted to say the mic passed my second test as well.




My third and final test was performed at a Christmas party a friend of mine had, to test out the mic’s abilities in a loud setting. I had a friend wear the mic in a room filled with people talking and music playing, and I was about four rooms away with a regular two-way. Here’s where the beauty of owning a throat mic really starts to show. If my friend had been using a typical two-way I would have heard his voice along with all the background noise. This would have led to him being required to raise his own voice in order to drown out the noise of his surroundings. But in this case, as he spoke to me through the use of the throat mic, I heard his voice and very minimal background noise. I was, once again, pleased with the results.

Pros
Low Cost (only $30 at GadgetInfinity.com)
Quality plastic – built to withstand abuse
Quality wiring – made with thick, secure wires
Option on website to include needed end-piece for your particular two-way, at no extra cost!
Good quality of sound through earpiece
Adjustable neck band to custom fit to your neck
Included extra earpiece as a bonus
Looks good/works great

Cons
Exposed wiring around neckband (see pictures)
Built for midsized to larger necks only - 12”-17”
Inner part of neckband is plastic - could be more comfortable
PTT to neckband wiring is a little too long, as is the earpiece tube
PTT button requires a good deal of pressure to activate
Earpiece is designed to prevent outside sounds from entering ear – this is great because you can
understand radio transmissions better, but it also can drown out your teammates/enemies/etc.

Conclusion
When I first saw this throat mic, I assumed that I would need to eventually buy a nicer, high-end model because of the abuse I would give it, and the performance I would require. Then I received the mic. From my first test to my last it exceeded my expectations, especially for the $30 price tag! This mic did not have all the ‘bells and whistles’ as a high-end model (which could run you upwards of $150-$300+), but expect to receive one that will last you a long time, and still give you great results. This review appears to be an unbalanced one since most reviews usually have a fair amount of good and bad information to share; but, I was highly impressed by this throat mic and I now recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a mid-grade throat mic. If you’re wondering if a throat mic would work for you and would like to try one out, you don’t feel like spending a lot of money to get one, or you’re just in the market to pick up a quality throat mic, this one is perfect for you.

Again, I’d like to thank Gadget Infinity for their great cooperation and customer service through this review process and if you’re interested in buying this same throat mic for $30 + S&H for yourself (or your team), you can find it at their website here http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/product.php?productid=16453&cat=0&page=1

Thank you for taking the time to read this review!