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Lapel Microphones, Or Not
This post comes on the heels of some discussion and training scenarios that we had at work. We have had the lapel microphones for our radios for a few years now, but it was a bit of a joke. Depending on who you relieved in the morning depended on whether the lapel mic was on that particular radio or not.
I had some Captains that hated them and would take them off as soon as they got on the truck and others did the exact opposite. Which, in turn happened with everyone else on the truck and we lost mics and so on an so on.
I personally like the lapel mics for the simple reason that you can get to it and get your “voice” closer to the mic when geared up and on air. Once you place your radio in a pocket and put your SCBA on, it can be almost impossible to get it out and talk on it.
Of course the argument from our dissenters is that the mic cord gets tangled up and it is a pain in the butt when you don’t need it. It is also difficult to re-clip the mic onto your coat or SCBA with gloves on.
I maintain that you have a better chance getting to the mic if you get into trouble as compared to the radio in a pocket.
What is the rest of the country and world doing?
Let us know your opinions and experiences.
Stay safe and thanks for reading.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jason Hoevelmann on
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Exactly what are GEAR KEEPERS for mics? Gotta picture?
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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on
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We use the throat mics too. You can talk in a normal calm voice and be clearly heard. That's the good thing.
The bad, in my opinion, is that the wires are messy to intertwine with your gear. Some still get excited and shout with it on making it impossible to understand them. Locating the activation button somewhere on/in your gear for easy access and so it doesn't fall off or get caught in something. You can forget about the finger activation button for obvious reasons.
We still have the hand held mics on our trucks and I will go for those. For me, it's easier and quicker. Only the officers are issues their own radios, which is a good thing....there's enough radio traffic as it is.
That's my point of view.
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Permalink Reply by Avery Dale on
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Gear keepers are good, I've used them. They come with a belt/lapel clip, a clasp or a pin for attaching your gear. Basically it's a retractable lanyard for a microphone, work great with flashlights too.
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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Disadvantage: Cord gets tangled, especially in the heat of the moment...or mic falls to ground.
Advantage: Like Jason says, convenience of getting closer without grabbing the entire radio.
I like an external mic. I greatly prefer it.
I use a GearKeeper with retractable lanyard to tame the mic. That's helped a lot with the entanglement issue.
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One of the best inventions for hanging gear on turnouts and uniforms! "Don't leave home without it." I love mine.
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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on
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Jason, we use the Mic's for the same reasons. However, it is cheaper to replace the speaker Mic's rather then the radio. By putting the radio inside your jacket it keeps it away from the heat and water. Yes your right. It isnt convenient to try and dig into the coat after you put your scba on. So with the Mic on you can still communicate. Mic's are cheep compared to ruining a radio.
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That's an excellent point. Something I hadn't really considered until you and another mentioned it here. Thanks for the input.
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Permalink Reply by Chief Dino on
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I use the gear keeper as well. It, along with the mic, stay pinned to my turnout coat. All I have to do is plug it in and go.
Shawn
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Permalink Reply by Eric Engelke on
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My department has gone to almost 100% of us have lapel mics, it comes down to personnel choice though. Me I use one and love it. I attach it to my belt in a leather holster then route it around the suspenders with the mike coming out my collar. I can say that for me this is the best setup I have found. I also use it on EMS calls. I have found in both situations it allows me to hear the traffic better with it being closer to my ear and allows me an easier ability to respond one handed without having to fumble to free the radio.
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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The picture above is yours truly (with model, Megan Gale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Gale ) taken at the 2008 Australian Forumla 1 Grand Prix.
I'm wearing one those skull headsets that sits in front of the ears, almost on the temple- the sound can be heard crystal clear, even when we were working in Pit Lane with the cars warming up and being tuned. This model also included the microphone which was great as well.
In previous events, we've just been given the microphones that Jason has in his original topic and they were absolute rubbish in such a high noise environment. You couldn't hear them, couldn't talk clearly enough, etc.
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Permalink Reply by Allen Ray Corey j.r. on
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I like the mike it's just easier to grab while wearing an SCBA as for wildland ops I prefer the headsets
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What lapel mic? Are you wearing one? I didn't notice.
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