Headsets in Apparatus

[mikey]

Anyone out there who uses headsets in your trucks.....what brand do you use and how do you like them? We use SET COM's and most of our guys would just as soon throw them in the trash than use them. We are looking to get something better on our next rig. How about some tips......

[SBLG]

We have both david clark and sigtronics . Take or leave the sigtronics and love the david clark , retrofited in all apparatus.

[S. Cook]

In many cases, it is actually cheaper to get a handheld with a headset for each riding position than it is to put a DC or similar system in the rig. And I'm not talking about a Wal-Mart special walky talky, but a legit multi channel motorola or the like.

This setup will allow each responding firefighter in an apparatus to have their own radio. Just use a talk around channel while on the rig.

[STA2]

Mikey we use headsets in my volunteer dept. and really like them. We use David Clark and them only. We looked at others but the DC system is military spec and approved by the F.A.A. and that makes them as close to fireman proof as you can get. We have them on all four of our Engines and our Heavy Rescue. They really help with giving assignments and letting everyone hear size-ups and radio traffic. We have four station (sets) in the cab, one on the pump panel, and one at the rear for loading hose etc. Another neighboring dept. uses sigtronics and they don't care for them. I agree with Cook about everyone having a handheld for communications but the headsets allow an intercom system without having to use a radio channel. If you use a radio channel for actual inapparatus traffic you could miss orders from the scene or info. from dispatch. Plus you don't want all apparatus conversations put out on the radio. One thing to do is make sure you have atleast two (2) PTT (push To Talk) buttons in the front of the rig. This allows your chauffer to recieve info and acknowledge it if your officer is getting packed up. Good luck and be safe.

[nbfd131]

Currently, all of our drivers have David Clark headsets connected to HT1000 portable radios. Work great. Hoping to have all riding positions with intercoms by the end of next year. Our ladder trucks especially need them. A Q2b running full blare does wonders for hearing radioes much less anything else for 5 minutes after you've stopped.
Gregg

[Chief51]

We now have our first headset system which is FireCom. BIG, BIG MISTAKE. At the time we purchased ours, they did not use shielded cable. Well, this caused major interference between the FireCom system and the radio resulting in the inability to transmit with the radio. Ultimately they had to come back and shield all the wiring to make the system work. From what I've read here and what other departments in our area are using, our next system will be David Clark.

[mikey]

Thanks for your thoughts. I had heard good things about the David Clark headsets and wanted to see what else is out there being used. It sounds like the DC sets are the way to go, the cost is what has the admin hesitant. You get what you pay for though.

[resqcapt]

My career dist. uses the David Clark system in all our appaatus. My volunteer district uses the Firecom headsets. Without hesitation I would say the D/C system is by far the superior of the two. Communication between crewmembers is crystal clear with the Clark system. The Firecom system is voice activated with a sensitivity dial. It seems you can never get it set right and communicating between crew members becomes a problem. The David Clark mics are either on or off which provides better communication.

[Mec28]

Mikey, you may wish to look into Sigtronics headsets. Have used them in 6 rigs for three years with no complaints.Cost about $1,600.00 for three headsets, controller and interface for dual radio system per rig. $200.00 for installation.

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[FDshofr]

I currently work on an engine that was aquired when a local city department contracted with us for fire services. It came to us with the Sigtronics system already installed. At that time, none of our rigs had headsets and we had nothing to compare it to so we felt it was great. Since then, our communications sections has "spec'd out" and started installing "Set-Com" systems in all of our existing units and all new rigs are coming with them. We are glad that we have the 15 year old rig with the Sigtronics system. The headsets are much more comfortable (the Set-Com's make your head feel like it's in a vice and if you adjust it so it's not too tight, it lets in the siren, horn and road noise). Another problem that we are having is that the Set-Com system is picking up the sound of the exhaust (not engine/electrical interference) from the Captain and passenger side f/f positions and pumps it back thru the system. It sounds as though it sets up some type of a harmonic within the system. This is only happening on one type of apparatus in our fleet, but we have 17 of those engines so those guys really get to suffer.
Anyway, those are what we are dealing with on the Set-Coms. Most people that work on my rig (or the other two just like it) have made comment on how much better they like the Sigtronics. Good luck.

[BSnyd.]

David Clark all the way!

[LtKup4]

We use Clark system. Engineers have only right ear phone on and vents in left side to allow them to listen for outside sounds (other sirens, horns, etc). I do like the idea of 2 ptt sets (we don't have that) so that the engineer can answer the radio if necessary. We also have adaptors for our Motorola WT for the engineer to use on the fire ground. Command vehicles have same. Excellent system.

[TEKRSQ]

We also use David Clark. They're awesome. Our engineer & officer have PTT capabilities, and the engineer has an adapter on his portable so he can plug in the headset while standing at the pump panel. Makes life a lot easier when your in the building and need that extra pressure.

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IAFF 995
When it has to be done right,
CALL THE RESCUE CO.!!!!!

[DD]

David Clark = quality

[KNOBMAN]

I have only used the D/C system and they seem to work find. I do prefer the microphone over the one that you stap around you neck. OUT

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UNION AND PROUD OF IT!

[E7engineer]

We have Firecom and Setcom. Have driver and officer set for radio and intercom. Other positions are intercom only. Started using them on a 1979 ALF. Noise decibles were above Specs, set in NFPA 1500. Made a big difference as to conversations in the cab, with sirens going. We haven't had any problems with any of the sets being used. My rig is in the shop, and I miss the headsets.

[Firehose]

Thanks for the info...
Our department just tried David Clark headsets connected to a portable to try to correct extremely high noise in an American LaFrance pioneer with a Detroit engine and a Q2B mounted on the roof. Absolutely a fabulous set up!. Thanks for th info!
It really worked for us!
Good Luck

[Gychief]

My fire company has a David Clark headset system installed in our newest pumper. The headset system is well liked by all of our members. I would recommend David Clark highly. One other point to ponder. Contact your radio installer to see if they have a good knowledge of David Clark system installations. Our radio installer had some difficulty when initially installing the headset system & the complete installation
had to be postponed until a David Clark representative could meet the radio installer face to face with the truck.

[Romania]

We have both davis clark and firecom. Davis clarks work great, firecom's don't they are uncomfortable and don't work all the time.

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Alan Romania, CEP
romania@uswest.net
IAFF Local 3449

My Opinions do not reflect the opnions of the IAFF or Local 3449.

[Frank Allen]

David Clark is the only headset out there.

VOLUNTEER AND PROUD!!!!!!!!!!

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Frank R. Allen

[chazzo]

our dept currently uses firecom. they worked well for a while, but now they are stareing to fall apart. sometimes you can tansmit othertimes not. dont think we will be installing those anymore. although their price is right, you get what you pay for. after reading past statements, sounds like david/clark is the way to go.

[LT 1E4]

Our department started installing firecom's this past summer. Don't have any other brand or type to compare with but it sure is nice to be able to comunicate in the cab and to the back while on a run. So far there have been no problems except with the connector on the captains headset. It's chinsy in my oppinion but like I said, I don't have anything else to compare it with.
be safe.

[Dragonslayer_34]

My Dept uses D\C headsets at all posts. We are haveing our new aerial fitted for all 7 seats. The advantage with our Grumman is that it cuts the midship engine noise!! the officer and engineer sets are hands free voice controlledwhich in that case you can hear everything radio traffic to vehicle noise due to the fact that they are that sensitive. the jump seats are rt. ear button controlled. Our 2nd mainline is a 5 man freightliner interior open so we don't need sets, our 2500 gal. Grumman tanker is being fitted? but the 75' areial will have them !!

[tshayes]

I have never used the D/C headset before but the firecom I have used work great in what is probably the loudest ladder truck ever. All comunication simple. I dont like the way the headsets hang though. What makes the D/C better for those who have used both.

[District_821]

Originally posted by tshayes
What makes the D/C better for those who have used both.
The D/C units have much better connectors and cables on the interfaces plus the headsets are superior in a couple of ways. They are far more comfortable for if you have them on for more than 4 minutes and they block out more noise than Firecom and Sitcom units. D/C has been making headsets for the aviation industry for a few decades and they have put that knowledge to good use for those of us in the emergency services.

[colfireman]

We actually have a Pacific Avionics system with DC headsets. On the first due Engine we have one for the driver and one for the officer. Talking on the radio is by a PTT in both areas and then they can communicate hands free to each other. Due to cost we had to cut out the 4 positions in the rear. We also have a station and headset for the pump panel located at the rear of the truck.the pacific avionics is generally used in Aircraft in our area.

[Firebug030]

How about OTTO Engineering?
We have used David Clark and recently we evaluated equipment from OTTO Engineering, of Carpentersville, Illinois. OTTO has bent over backward to accomodate our needs. They have proved to be superior in headset design, comfort and durability. OTTO has been used for years in motorsport and the auto racing arena. Thus far we have found their equipment to be unsurpassed in reliability under extreme weather conditons. We have tested the OTTO equipment extensively on our watercraft application, where it is subjected to both fresh and salt water, without failure.
OTTO offers VOX, PTT and noise attenuating options, with both single and double earmuff designs and is compatable with virtually every major brand radio, both mobile and portable/handheld.
One of the features that lends to OTTO's improved performance is that they use non-oxidizing gold in their connectors. Also, beleive it or not, OTTO equipment is far less expensive than D/C.
Yup, everyone knows of David Clark, basically because they advertise the most, but I believe that there are better alternatives out there and OTTO Engineering is one of them.

[Jay911]

Currently the only headset positions are on our two pumpers. One is David Clark and one is Setcom. The Setcom unit we've had for about a zillion years and is a little kludgey, plugged into the accessory connector on the mobile (Maxtrac) radio, with a switch on the radio to determine whether to accept PTT input from the hand mike or the boom mike. I know that's surely not how things are done with the current models (or, probably, even with the models at the time we had ours installed), but that's what we've got.
The other truck has the David Clark headset, with a weatherproof plug-in right on the pump panel, and about 35 feet of coiled cord so that you can go all the way back to the Squrt panel on the tailboard if need be. I do prefer the DC much more than the Setcom, partly because it's set up much nicer and partly because it has one slotted dome so you can hear outside the rig. If it were me, though, both of them would be replaced with units that plug into portable radios - the current setups limit you to only whatever channel the mobile radio in the cab happens to be on.
Oh, we have one more that I almost forgot. We have one HT750 portable with a Peltor headset on it. I like this headset, except that it doesn't have a slotted dome - so you're deaf to pretty much everything except your radio. Unlike the other two which have belt-clip style PTT boxes, this one is designed more to be clipped to your suspenders or radio pocket, and has a large red PTT button that is pressed by squeezing the box against your body.
All three of the headsets are "behind the head" style, with a Velcro strap that rests on the top of your head and the wire frame just above the back of your neck.
Again, if it was my choice, we'd go with David Clark, and most of the headsets would be noise-canceling boom mikes with one slotted dome and one earpiece, in the behind the head style; and, as said before, on portable radios.

--j.

[lutan1]

We looked at headsets in our vehicles some time ago, but we opted against them as we were concerned at not being able to hear surrounding noises such as sirens of other responding agencies, etc.

Anyone had any problems whilst wearing them? Does everyone in the vehicle werar them or only certain operators?