Ever used throat mics during skydiving?

[MWGemini 0]

I was bored and browsing e-bay, and found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5720600386. Similar in concept to the ones I've used in the military, but nowhere near as high quality. Read a few reviews (yes, I really am THAT bored) and they seem to be good quality.

My question is this: has anyone ever used these (or something similar) to communicate during skydiving? I'm very skeptical that they would work during freefall, even though they don't pick up ambient noise, but work off vibrations, but perhaps while under canopy? I may get a set just to play with, as I know one of my instructors always hated having to store his radio inside his jumpsuit and then remove it once he landed to coach the student down. Thought this might make his job easier, and if it works during freefall as well, could make for some interesting dives.

Comments? suggestions?

Thanks,

Mike


Edit: link didn't work

[flyangel2 2]

Perris Valley has some radios in helmets. I was on some big ways last weekend, and two of the LOs were using them. Said they worked pretty well.

Contact Square One at the Perris Valley DZ and see what they are using.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[MWGemini 0]

Yeah, my home DZ has radios in the student helmets too, but they are receive only, and the instructor has to be physically holding the transmitter (which is a bit big and bulky) to be able to talk to the student. In other words, no freefall communication, no canopy communication until the instructor lands. This could potentially make that easier, but then has the drawback of making the student reliant on it and less reliant on hand signals.

Still looking for info as to whether these have been used successfully during freefall or under canopy.

Thanks,

Mike

[LouDiamond 1]

I have my doubts about it working in freefall but more importantly I don't think it would stay on your neck. I find most throat mikes to be a pain in the ass with bone mikes a close second. If your only looking to use them undercanopy I think the ear bud and PTT that comes with most of the Motorolas would suffice and be less of a hassle not to mention cheaper and more durable.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[flyangel2 2]

I guess I didn't explain myself very well.

The LOs were talking back and forth in freefall and under canopy with radios that were built into the helmet. There was some kind of radio on the outside of the helmet, a Factory Diver, not very big. They also wore little ear plug things to hear each other.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[MWGemini 0]

Ok, that makes more sense now. I'll be e-mailing them tomorrow.

LouDiamond- I had the same thought, the throat mic setup looks a bit weak. I've been looking for the military grade setups I'm used to using with the elastic band, but those are MUCH more expensive. $30 is almost worth it just to play around with, and I could probably rig it up to be VOX if the radio is capable of doing that.

For some reason I'm really interested in seeing is this thing works in freefall. I'll probably end up buying one just to play with, and if it works, I'll post here. Could start a new trend even ;P I'll also contact Square One tomorrow. For now, sleep.

Thanks,

Mike

[diablopilot 2]

I'll be happy to give you what information I have about them.... jp@square1.com

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[kallend 2,151]

Quote

This could potentially make that easier, but then has the drawback of making the student reliant on it and less reliant on hand signals.

Why is that a drawback?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[MWGemini 0]

As we all know- gear can fail. What happens when the student becomes reliant on the radio and then the batteries die, or the signal gets jammed or something?

Mike

[LouDiamond 1]

Funny that you asked about this. I was in the PX today and saw the exact same mike unit, with the fox mascot and everything for like $28 or something. The actual throat portion is pretty small(about kids neck circumfrence) so I am assuming it expands or flexes to fit different size necks. The white portion has to be positioned next to the throat which to me means placement is critical for it to work correctly. The wires connecting everything look pretty thin and not very durable,especialy for student use. Think walkman wire but thinner. The ear bud is just that, a typical cheap cell phone bud that never stays put in your ear(at least not mine). The whole system is set up like the Motorola transducer systems used on the Brick radios where you have to run the PTT down your sleeve and mount it on the finger. If you and your buddy plan on using it just for shits and gigles it might work but for student use it's a no go due to durability IMO.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[bch7773 0]

I think a normal ear bud and mouthpeice radio would work pretty well under a close-fitting fullface helmet, like a Z1. that would be interesting to try... hmmm might have to do some experiments on my DZ

MB 3528, RB 1182