Anything better than Chatterbox?
05-25-2012, 09:56 AM
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Anything better than Chatterbox?
Any recommendations for instructor/student communicator better than the chatterbox? In a very noisy car, the chatterbox is barely audible.
Rick
Rick
05-25-2012, 10:16 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Its not the chatterbox.. Its the earphones and mics.. I use my racing headset, molded earbuds and an adapter to the chatterbox. My students have no trouble hearing me, I can hear them perfectly and my ears don't get hammered. If their car is noisy I have a spare pair of ear buds and adapter that I can give them.
The molded ear buds work so well for noise control that I use them as ear plugs even when driving alone. If you want to go upscale. You can get the Peltor FMT100. Stable Energies has it.
The molded ear buds work so well for noise control that I use them as ear plugs even when driving alone. If you want to go upscale. You can get the Peltor FMT100. Stable Energies has it.
05-25-2012, 03:42 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
Rick -
You REALLY have custom molded earplugs? and not the "semi-custom"?? There is a big difference. When really custom, the ear molds will also work better than regular ear plugs just for noise attenuation I can't hear anything except through the ear bud speakers unless you shout next to my head.. My audio out is to the student is better (I have noticeably better mic) and I can hear my student better with the ear plugs. I have the semi-custom ones, but for only emergencies. They don't fit or attenuate as well. I pull the wind sock off the end of the student headset and tell them to bend it as close to their mouth as possible (unless they have an open face, then the windsock is needed).
Oh yeah - for them to work, you must wet the molded earplugs (which ever kind) with you mouth - get them nasty wet. That will give a much better seal. No wet and they won't fit and attenuate properly and you won't hear as well. (forever)
I took a ride with an instructor two weeks ago whose car was louder than mine - and I have open pipes. I gave him my student headset and we heard each-other fine. Regardless, when someone is in my own loud as hell car , I have no problem hearing them with my well sealed custom molds. I make them wear ear plugs too.
I bought loaner ear buds IMSI mic and the adapter to chatterbox. The plan was to give them people when riding in my car. But I have actually never used them. I just give ear plugs and a student headset. I can hear them just fine.
I do have one trick though. I have a $9 volume control from cord radio shack - just 5 inches. (I put it on my end) That lets me turn the volume up higher for my student but lets me attenuate my own earphone volume. I have it, but the only time I really used it was with a student who was actually very hard of hearing and needed the volume cranked up as high as possible on his end to hear me. I just used the cheap RS volume control to turn it down on my end. If your own ears are really shot and its not a matter of using well sealed ear plugs, you can use this trick (and hack the chatterbox wiring)
I guess if you have a student with a really loud car, you can do do the ear bud route. But this is only so they can hear you. Doesn't make any difference on your end. And its still easier to use the $9 radio shack volume control so you can crank things up so they can hear you through their ear plugs with the student headset.
The Peltor is a better device. Expensive. Made for racing headsets. Actually for Peltor headsets (but Bob at Stable has sorted this out). Peltor also has some noise canceling electronics in it. But I don't think will solve your problem. The chatterbox headsets need power for the mic - not standard, so it won't work out of the box with something like the Peltor. A lot of fancy wiring to power the chatterbox mic. It can be done. I think Bob at Stable did it for someone, but its a monumental hassle.
So I wind up using the chatterbox.. its easier for me to give people the cheaper chatterbox headsets. Works fine for them too. Its not like the chatterbox student mic is really that bad.
In the end, no matter which device you use, it will be a matter of earphones and mics. The better your earphone.. The better you will hear.
If I ride with someone who is already wired for a racing headset, we just use the adapters and the chatterbox. Its crap electronics, but it still works and thats not your issue.
As I write this, my ears still ring a tiny bit from when someone passed me three years ago with open pipes. I had on regular ear plugs on and one plug had come loose. It messed me up that bad. Thats why I use the custom ear plugs even when alone.
Its not like I am a kid and my ears are 100% either. Add on rock concerts, Woodstock, a few raves, a couple of years before I started wearing ear plugs in my car and my ears have taken years of abuse.
You REALLY have custom molded earplugs? and not the "semi-custom"?? There is a big difference. When really custom, the ear molds will also work better than regular ear plugs just for noise attenuation I can't hear anything except through the ear bud speakers unless you shout next to my head.. My audio out is to the student is better (I have noticeably better mic) and I can hear my student better with the ear plugs. I have the semi-custom ones, but for only emergencies. They don't fit or attenuate as well. I pull the wind sock off the end of the student headset and tell them to bend it as close to their mouth as possible (unless they have an open face, then the windsock is needed).
Oh yeah - for them to work, you must wet the molded earplugs (which ever kind) with you mouth - get them nasty wet. That will give a much better seal. No wet and they won't fit and attenuate properly and you won't hear as well. (forever)
I took a ride with an instructor two weeks ago whose car was louder than mine - and I have open pipes. I gave him my student headset and we heard each-other fine. Regardless, when someone is in my own loud as hell car , I have no problem hearing them with my well sealed custom molds. I make them wear ear plugs too.
I bought loaner ear buds IMSI mic and the adapter to chatterbox. The plan was to give them people when riding in my car. But I have actually never used them. I just give ear plugs and a student headset. I can hear them just fine.
I do have one trick though. I have a $9 volume control from cord radio shack - just 5 inches. (I put it on my end) That lets me turn the volume up higher for my student but lets me attenuate my own earphone volume. I have it, but the only time I really used it was with a student who was actually very hard of hearing and needed the volume cranked up as high as possible on his end to hear me. I just used the cheap RS volume control to turn it down on my end. If your own ears are really shot and its not a matter of using well sealed ear plugs, you can use this trick (and hack the chatterbox wiring)
I guess if you have a student with a really loud car, you can do do the ear bud route. But this is only so they can hear you. Doesn't make any difference on your end. And its still easier to use the $9 radio shack volume control so you can crank things up so they can hear you through their ear plugs with the student headset.
The Peltor is a better device. Expensive. Made for racing headsets. Actually for Peltor headsets (but Bob at Stable has sorted this out). Peltor also has some noise canceling electronics in it. But I don't think will solve your problem. The chatterbox headsets need power for the mic - not standard, so it won't work out of the box with something like the Peltor. A lot of fancy wiring to power the chatterbox mic. It can be done. I think Bob at Stable did it for someone, but its a monumental hassle.
So I wind up using the chatterbox.. its easier for me to give people the cheaper chatterbox headsets. Works fine for them too. Its not like the chatterbox student mic is really that bad.
In the end, no matter which device you use, it will be a matter of earphones and mics. The better your earphone.. The better you will hear.
If I ride with someone who is already wired for a racing headset, we just use the adapters and the chatterbox. Its crap electronics, but it still works and thats not your issue.
As I write this, my ears still ring a tiny bit from when someone passed me three years ago with open pipes. I had on regular ear plugs on and one plug had come loose. It messed me up that bad. Thats why I use the custom ear plugs even when alone.
Its not like I am a kid and my ears are 100% either. Add on rock concerts, Woodstock, a few raves, a couple of years before I started wearing ear plugs in my car and my ears have taken years of abuse.
05-26-2012, 09:40 AM
#6
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Dan...where did you get the custom ear buds? I see Sampson Racing Communications has them.
Thanks to all
Thanks to all
Last edited by Qwickrick; 05-27-2012 at 08:46 AM.
05-26-2012, 10:55 AM
#7
None of us really "make" the molded ear pieces, we all use http://www.precisionweb.com/. You can have your ear molds done locally and just send them to these nice folks and in a few short weeks you will have the pieces back and ready to roll.
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05-26-2012, 10:56 AM
#8
Rennlist Member
05-26-2012, 03:18 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
The custom molded ear buds have to be made. You can't buy them off the shelf.. They not only conform to your ear, they go very deep into the canal to make the maximum fit.
The process is to make a mold of your ear and send it into a lab where the use the mold to make the final bud - embedding the speaker from a normal round ear bud. Its important that the mold be done by someone who knows what they are doing.. Many audiologists can do this.. I had mine made by Bob at Stable Energies. He has done hundreds of them.
There are a couple of companies that send you a kit so you can take your own mold and send it back to them.. But like I said, knowing how to make the mold is really important.
Here are some mail in sources:
http://www.precisionweb.com/
http://earfuze.com/store.html
http://www.sportphonics.com/category_s/29.htm
Precision is well regarded. I think thats where Bob sent my mold. Comes in a case with your name. They keep the mold and if I lose or break my set I can just order another one from that mold.
But the cast for the mold has to be well made. It needs to conform to your ear of course, but also go very deeply into the ear canal. Have someone who does it regularly do it for you.. Thats why I had Bob at Stable make mine. Your audiologist can either do it or know a specialist who knows how to do this as well (and the audiologist will sure know how to do this)
The process is to make a mold of your ear and send it into a lab where the use the mold to make the final bud - embedding the speaker from a normal round ear bud. Its important that the mold be done by someone who knows what they are doing.. Many audiologists can do this.. I had mine made by Bob at Stable Energies. He has done hundreds of them.
There are a couple of companies that send you a kit so you can take your own mold and send it back to them.. But like I said, knowing how to make the mold is really important.
Here are some mail in sources:
http://www.precisionweb.com/
http://earfuze.com/store.html
http://www.sportphonics.com/category_s/29.htm
Precision is well regarded. I think thats where Bob sent my mold. Comes in a case with your name. They keep the mold and if I lose or break my set I can just order another one from that mold.
But the cast for the mold has to be well made. It needs to conform to your ear of course, but also go very deeply into the ear canal. Have someone who does it regularly do it for you.. Thats why I had Bob at Stable make mine. Your audiologist can either do it or know a specialist who knows how to do this as well (and the audiologist will sure know how to do this)
05-26-2012, 07:43 PM
#11
Rennlist Member
I personally think it is the chatterbox.
lets get together and design an alternative.
1. have a small LED so we know its charging and maybe it goes off when charged
2. secure jack connection form cable to communicator (serial connections are 10 years behind at least)
3. hi strength velcro connection for car or helmet
just to name a few.
until this happens they will (imo) continue to sell, last 1 season and sell another replacement again.
and no, its not just the battery. I have done the battery replacement too.
sorry to be so negative, but this has been my experience for 7 years and 5 communicators........
PS: i always drive with my sun visor down.........
lets get together and design an alternative.
1. have a small LED so we know its charging and maybe it goes off when charged
2. secure jack connection form cable to communicator (serial connections are 10 years behind at least)
3. hi strength velcro connection for car or helmet
just to name a few.
until this happens they will (imo) continue to sell, last 1 season and sell another replacement again.
and no, its not just the battery. I have done the battery replacement too.
sorry to be so negative, but this has been my experience for 7 years and 5 communicators........
PS: i always drive with my sun visor down.........
05-27-2012, 08:54 AM
#13
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
My point before was that Sampson Racing does have a DIY kit for making the mold for the custom ear buds, then you send it in to them, and they make the ear buds.
I already use and always recommend the Sync Speed adapter so you can use ear buds and helmet mic with your chatterbox.
http://www.syncspeedinc.com
I already use and always recommend the Sync Speed adapter so you can use ear buds and helmet mic with your chatterbox.
http://www.syncspeedinc.com
05-27-2012, 07:25 PM
#15
Rennlist Member
For those wanting custom ear pieces but on a budget, check out the Radians setup. Link
. For $12 you create custom inserts that you mold around existing earphones. A bunch of use run these in NASA racing. Works well enough for me. And we also got Chatterbox adapter cables to use our racing helmet mic/earpieces with chatterbox sets.
To the OP: the only time I've ever seen Chatterboxes getting too much noise was with open faced helmets or if you lose the mic windscreen or if the mic slips down outside the helmet. Otherwise I've only had "barely audible" situations when the earphone literally smashes the ear canal shut in a tight helmet.
To the OP: the only time I've ever seen Chatterboxes getting too much noise was with open faced helmets or if you lose the mic windscreen or if the mic slips down outside the helmet. Otherwise I've only had "barely audible" situations when the earphone literally smashes the ear canal shut in a tight helmet.