What’s the best on-deck, hands-free headset rig?
OK, back to work! Today we need to help the captain of a smallish ferry find the right gear so he can talk to his two deck hands “easily, wireless, hands-free and with all 3 connected and able to communicate with each other for docking, emergencies etc.” despite the fact that they work in an environment which includes “crowded decks, loud background noise in terms of voices, engi
ne, wind etc.” Now, besides the popular Mariner 500 Headset above (too funky for commercial use methinks), I once tested a pair of these Eartec TD900s, which sound good, are full duplex and very easy to use. You can add a third set but then one becomes a sort of master, and besides they’re not waterproof and seem a dite expensive. So what other choices are out there? What do they use on megayachts? Do some VOX headsets (attached to VHF, UHF or FRS handheld radios) work well enough for a noisy boat?
I don’t know what’s best, but my experience with inexpensive VOX is that it doesn’t work. It’s worth noting that most professionals don’t use VOX, they use PTT.
Check out the Icom IC-m88 we use this on our yacht. It’s ptt, with more than two people that’s the way to go. Sound,volume and clarity are all great even with wind and background noise.
We purchased a different set of mikes through National marine supply in ft. Lauderdale they are smaller and clip to your shirt, there’s are also other options for mikes one that I haven’t tried but sounds interesting is a mike that goes around your neck a amplifies the vibrations.