Headset Communications
7 or 8 years ago I bought a set of Aviator 500's - the $20 toys - for
communication with my wife aboard our President 41 trawler. They worked
surprisingly well, but, unfortunately, the purchaser of that boat insisted
on including them in the transaction. I've looked hard but been been stymied
in my search for a pair of wireless headsets for the new boat. Some websites
seem to imply that Bluetooth headsets are available for similar purposes,
but it's never stated explicitly, and I don't understand the technology well
enough to know.
Can someone recommend a solution?
Cheers, Garrett
On Fri, 11 May 2007 22:34:25 -0700, Garrett Lambert wrote
7 or 8 years ago I bought a set of Aviator 500's - the $20 toys - for
communication with my wife aboard our President 41 trawler. They worked
surprisingly well, but, unfortunately, the purchaser of that boat insisted
on including them in the transaction.
A print ad in Latitudes & Attitudes for seafaring.com shows a set that look a
lot like the ones you had ( and I have). They are priced at $59.95 + s&h.
1-888-we-sail.
Ted G.
DeFever 44, Amici
Branford, CT
A print ad in Latitudes & Attitudes for seafaring.com shows a
set that look a
lot like the ones you had ( and I have). They are priced at
$59.95 + s&h.
1-888-we-sail.
We have come to rely on these headsets so much that we recently purchased a
second set. It's just a matter of time before one falls in the water or
stops working. They are supposed to work on different "channels" that you
cannot set. Either this is wrong or we're just lucky. The second set that
we got works fine with our existing headsets.
We were unable to find the "toy" versions of these headsets. They are no
longer available at the $19.95 price (for both!) that we originally paid.
We bought the original set from Washburns. Instead, they are now available
for $60 as Ted wrote above. We bought our second set from Washburns too.
They are the exact same units although they now come with a black zippered
case. Even at $60, I think they are an incredible bargain.
We use the headsets in every docking and undocking procedure (including
anchoring and mooring pickup and dropping). We also use them whenever we're
filling our fuel tanks allowing one person to watch the site glass as the
other is filling the tank. They allow my wife and I to talk calmly to each
other at all times during these complex events. In the past, outside noise
and distance would force us to raise our voices in order to hear each other.
Even though there wasn't any anger involved, the increased volume and force
required to communicate raised the entire stress level. Headsets remove
that completely. We now can clearly communicate without the need to raise
our voice, press any buttons, or be within close proximity.
There are minor problems that we've found with them - they can pick up noise
in very windy conditions. We've learned ways to cover the mic for those
rare times (25+ kts directly on the bow). There are also some times when a
local strong AM radio station can cause interference. Through the last 3
months of cruising, we had that happen once in Atlantic City, NJ. Even with
that you can still communicate but it is a little more distracting. They
each use one 9V battery. A single battery will last about 2 months of use
for us and we use them a lot - I'd estimate about one battery for 4+ hours
of actual use.
---=
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine
www.activecaptain.com
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