Sorry if the thread title reads like a new magazine launch.
Anyway. Just curious what headphones or earphones folk may be using while on a SOTA/POTA/Misc 'OTA? Particularly for CW.
Are you a ‘whatever I find laying about that is in a tangled mess and I’ve owned since around 1992’ person? Or a ‘I need beryllium coated ceramic drivers with xenon filled sub-diffusers caressed in a light coating of fingerite and housed in a custom fitting shell made from materials mined from a galaxy as yet undiscovered by the human race, hand assembled and individually signed and numbered by the production line worker’ audiophile grade cans/iem’s that cost more than the GDP of China?
I can’t see what good an expensive set would do for SSB but maybe might be some good for weaker CW signals? A pair of IEM’s with decent frequency range anyway.
What do you use? Anything decent in the dying embers of Black Friday you would recommend - EU/IOSS-Friendly or Amazon UK only.
You don’t need hifi. In fact I would have thought hifi was a bad idea as it will just enhance any high frequency noise. So choose whatever you find comfortable. I ended up with earbuds that clip over the ears as I found plain ones kept falling out. I have these from Amazon although they appear to be unavailable now:
I use the cheap earbuds thar airlines give out for watching the inflight entertainment. They are barely adequate for use on the airplane but are just fine for use with my cw-only Elecraft KX-1. I carry an extra set in case of failure, but mine have proven to be surprisingly durable.
I’ve always used Sony MDR-V150 on ear headphones which are not expensive. I think I’m on my third set in over 700 activations (SOTA/HEMA/WWFF) plus multiple contests.I personally cannot stand in-ear buds… most annoying!
I’ve use headphones on activations but found two problems. One is that they are bulky and yet another thing to carry. The other is they don’t work very well with my fleece hat.
I always found the cheapest Sony headphones excellent for voice and CW: they’re the Mdr-Zx110 model. They fold neatly and the wire is just the right length, not too short and not too long.
This! I’ve had mine for years, probably bought online and not expensive. The over-ear clips are quite soft. IIRC, they were advertised for use in active sports eg running…
I’ve got two sets of IEMs (in-ear monitors) for professional use. For many years I was using Shure SE-215 IEMs which were (at the time) the cheapest you could get away with using in the music industry at around £90 (ie that could cope with the signals and environments). More recently, I was pointed in the direction of multi-driver IEMs available on AliExpress. At 2/3 the price of the Shure IEMs, they are way better in terms of sound quality.
Of course, these are way more expensive than what might be desired for portable operating, but the sound quality, comfort and blocking of exterior noise is desirable! I’ve got a cheap nasty and uncomfortable pair of earbuds in my rucksack but it is tempting to put my now spare Shure SE-215s in instead!
Previously, I used the sort of budget hi-fi headphones (Sony IIRC) you can get from Argos or Currys. These were comfortable, but prone to breaking in the rucksack!
This all said, I usually operate using just the speaker on my FT-817. Being aware of other walkers, dogs, livestock, weather etc is useful and you do rather start to cocoon yourself away with earbuds (etc) in.
I have a pair of e4c and e3c IEM’s doing nothing. Though I like the triple flange tips best, I think it would be overkill for this sort of stuff. Cable mnemonics are annoying on them too.
I’ve never had any issues with my hat when using on-ear headphones. They certainly help in windy conditions.
I do tend to agree with Tom in that you can cocoon yourself away on summits when people are around, but I’ve never found it a problem. However, as a member of the general public, hearing morse coming across the summit while sat in the wilderness enjoying your lunch can be annoying when you’re not used to it. I prefer to keep the noise down as much as I can.
Like Richard and Adrian, I think clip-over-the-ears type are best. You would be surprised how often the normal push in ear ones come out as you turn this way and that during an activation. They fit snugly under my winter hat and take up little space in my KX2 rig go-bag.
I use these ones …
I also echo the two problems that Richard mentioned with taking & using full-size headphones. I tried using my noise-cancelling Bose headphones (e,g, when the tarp / tent is making a racket in high wind) but found - in NC mode - they are less sensitive.
Just did a little test there using Kiwi SDR and tuning to some CW activity. Used my old Shure e3c and e4c IEM’s.
Both work great. Problem now is I’ve rediscovered them, remembered why they are so good and don’t fancy taking them out in the muck, wind, rain and cowpats!
I think a pair of those 7p Sony’s will do the job so. Ordered them so and will report back on how amazing and life-changing they are, bellowing majestic sonnets about their sonic purity, wide soundstages and relaxed, yet toe-tappingly enthusiastic timbre.
one is the normal speaker-hand-mic with or without in-ear earplugs
the second is a homemade cheap foldable headset with separate ptt button.
I cannot decide which one is better. Eventually I could operate hands free with the headset system and the vox function of the radio, this would be an advantage of the headset.
Partly it depends on the shape of your ears. I like the type of ear buds that rest in the slot at the bottom of your ear, rather than sticking into your ear canal. But they don’t work as well for those who don’t have a narrow notch. The absolute cheapest types often are not very sensitive. And I often prefer those with somewhat longer cords. I have a large collection of unknown types collected over the years, and always carry one or two spares. They fit easily under a knit hat or touque.
For ruggedness, others have recommended ear phones sold for skateboarding.
For Amateur Radio Direction-Finding competitions (running through the forest looking for transmitters) I got some ~2cm speakers and sewed them into a sweatband that I wear over my ears. That has worked well - pulling on the cord doesn’t jerk them out of my ears.
I also found a pair of ear warmers (like traditional ear muffs) that go around the back of my neck rather than over the top of my head, that have pockets for inserting speakers. I have no idea of the brand, however.
I thought I’d seen it all on summits in the UK, until Saturday !!!