Ukswrath hearing assist-how are others installing it?

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Looks good! Your mic panel looks a lot cleaner than mine; I had problems getting the ANOVOS-cut ears to sit flush with the inner panels inside; they way too thin. So I just cut and trimmed the panels until they fit... Still not flush so I got some new trooper bay ones, cut and painted, just waiting for my paint jobs to dry, then drill the mic holes and remount.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

6 minutes ago, fishgoh0nk said:

Looks good! Your mic panel looks a lot cleaner than mine; I had problems getting the ANOVOS-cut ears to sit flush with the inner panels inside; they way too thin. So I just cut and trimmed the panels until they fit... Still not flush so I got some new trooper bay ones, cut and painted, just waiting for my paint jobs to dry, then drill the mic holes and remount.

 

Having a step trimmed out helps ears to sit flusher

 

 

Great tutorial here

 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

12 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Having a step trimmed out helps ears to sit flusher

 

 

Great tutorial here

 

 

Ahead of 'ya! I couldn't do that to the ANOVOS bucket ones, they were already too thin, any thinner and I can't fit the hearing assist mics into the ears.

 

But for the new trooper bay ones, I took that into account

 

[CallMeMrTibbles[501st]]

Looks good! Your mic panel looks a lot cleaner than mine

Thanks! Your design was the inspiration for mine, so thank YOU for starting me on the path

Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

[ukswrath[Staff]]

16 minutes ago, CallMeMrTibbles said:

 

 

Thanks! Your design was the inspiration for mine, so thank YOU for starting me on the path

Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk
 

 

 

Glad to hear it was an inspiration, keep up the great work 

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

On 6/23/2021 at 11:15 PM, CallMeMrTibbles said:

Hi again Tony,
Have you ever tried mounting the mics inside your hovi tips? Could your hovi tip speakers work in reverse as poor man's mics?
Thanks,
Rich

Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk
 

 

 

Somehow I missed this. Simply put no, though about it many times. You want to experiment  ?

[CallMeMrTibbles[501st]]

Might have a go on the next helmet

[ukswrath[Staff]]

9 hours ago, CallMeMrTibbles said:

Might have a go on the next helmet

[CallMeMrTibbles[501st]]

Bluetooth transmitter turned up today.
Works perfectly. Far better than having wires to deal with when putting my helmet on.
Here's the link to the transmitter and receiver cable for my in ears monitors.

 

KZ APTX HD Lossless Transmission CSR8675 Bluetooth Module 5.0 Wireless Upgrade Cable Detachable Cord (B PIN) https://www.amazon.<abbr title="Commanding Officer">co</abbr>.uk/dp/B07RP8PM8P/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_5FAHG5EZMADBEXQKYDED

 

TROND Bluetooth V5.0 Transmitter Receiver, 2-in-1 Wireless 3.5mm Audio Adapter, AptX Low Latency, Smart Codec Indicator, 2 Devices Simultaneously, for TV, Home Sound System https://www.amazon.<abbr title="Commanding Officer">co</abbr>.uk/dp/B01K8ANDCI/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_5S1Q87KFJE79YT1MBX70?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing

[CallMeMrTibbles[501st]]

Opinions after using my Bluetooth setup for a while around the house...

No pairing or connection issues.

Microphones (ive positioned behind the ears) pick up the signal from the Bluetooth transmitter if its too close; to a lesser extent so do the mic wires. You hear this as a kind of data interference. Making sure the Bluetooth transmitter is away from the mics and cables removes all but the occasional barely audible burst. In a quiet house you can hear the burst, but on a troop I don't think you'd hear it. For me putting the Bluetooth transmitter between the hovi tips works best, but depending on your setup and wiring you'd have to experiment. Once I moved the Bluetooth transmitter the audio is clear.

I'm also running a fan system (Troopacoola with remote control) from a separate Anker USB powerbank, and have no noticeable interference or problems with that.

[Hesikaya[TK]]

On 7/22/2021 at 10:07 AM, CallMeMrTibbles said:

Bluetooth transmitter turned up today.
Works perfectly. Far better than having wires to deal with when putting my helmet on.
Here's the link to the transmitter and receiver cable for my in ears monitors.

 

KZ APTX HD Lossless Transmission CSR8675 Bluetooth Module 5.0 Wireless Upgrade Cable Detachable Cord (B PIN) https://www.amazon.<abbr title="Commanding Officer">co</abbr>.uk/dp/B07RP8PM8P/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_5FAHG5EZMADBEXQKYDED

 

TROND Bluetooth V5.0 Transmitter Receiver, 2-in-1 Wireless 3.5mm Audio Adapter, AptX Low Latency, Smart Codec Indicator, 2 Devices Simultaneously, for TV, Home Sound System https://www.amazon.<abbr title="Commanding Officer">co</abbr>.uk/dp/B01K8ANDCI/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_5S1Q87KFJE79YT1MBX70?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

How is the delay using this Bluetooth transmitter and your earbuds?  I tried a similar setup and there was a very noticeable one.

[CallMeMrTibbles[501st]]

Now I've used it on a couple of troops there is a delay, but it's only noticeable on my own voice; when others are talking I didn't even realise. You notice it for a few minutes, but then I just kinda forgot about it. Its a small thing to me for the convenience of going wireless.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

On 8/6/2021 at 12:08 AM, CallMeMrTibbles said:

Now I've used it on a couple of troops there is a delay, but it's only noticeable on my own voice; when others are talking I didn't even realise. You notice it for a few minutes, but then I just kinda forgot about it. Its a small thing to me for the convenience of going wireless.

 

I had the same issue a few years ago. I think I demoed 1/2 a dozen bluetooth devices, all had the same result. Like you said it's not a huge deal once you get used to it. 

[revlimiter[Staff]]

This thread was a huge help to me while installing my SHA, so I thought I'd share my own mounting solution.

 

I started out trying to fit a set of cheap Sony headphones in my bucket. They're model MDR-ZX110 if anyone is interested and about $20 from amazon. They mount on the ear instead of over the ear. I snipped off the over-head part and stuck on some velcro to hold them in place.

 

The sony units did indeed fit, but I had to remove one (or BOTH! ugh) to put on or remove the helmet. Not too hard to do honestly. Just slide them up and then the velcro holds them in place. But this was unfortunately impossible to do while wearing armor. I just don't have that much arm articulation or finger dexterity with the plastic in the way. But omg, the sound from these things! Gloriously loud and very clear.

 

So I sliced open some of my tactical armor pads. Each consists of three pieces - a fluffy open cell foam, a closed cell pad, and a sheet of vinyl.

 

I hollowed out the closed cell pad for a headphone. PLEASEIGNORE THE ABOVE HEADPHONE. This was a cheap pillow speaker that didn't work nearly as nice as the ZX110. But it was a good proof of concept.

 

 

Then I figured out that the Sony headphones could be unscrewed and disassembled. Each driver had two screws holding it in place. Removing it made these just slightly thicker than the pillow headphones.

 

The padding got sliced up a bit more and the Sony drivers mounted inside. I put a healthy amount of gaffer tape over the back of each headphone to protect the delicate wires and everything else. I left the padded ear cups in place.

 

This is my final helmet configuration. The ICOMM and amp live at the very top and are covered in fuzzy velcro. These act as pads at the top edge of my head and are actually comfortable.   The SHA lives in the very back and gets covered by a neutered helmet pad. The headphones live inside those ear pads and fit perfectly. I can take the helmet on and off. It's a tight fit, but not a bad one.  Fans and fan battery are mounted at the front. The battery lives inside the vocoder recess.

 

Sound is amazing. With the SHA turned all the way up, I have much more acute hearing than without the bucket on. It's painful if there's a lot of noise nearby and I have to turn it down.  With a bit of careful tuning, I was able to get the SHA to output basically normal hearing levels. Nothing's muffled or overly boosted. It's like not having my bucket on.

 

Note: I was not able to achieve adequate volume with the pillow speakers. I needed these "big" Sony ones. But they kick out the volume. Well worth the effort to fit them.

 

Posting the headphones first may be a bit backwards, but it was actually much more work for me to get the headphones working. Next up, the mics.

 

Enormous thanks to @fishgoh0nk for all the info on mounting those mics, otherwise the headphones would not have been the hard part.

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Turned out great! It looks super clean and comfy! 

[revlimiter[Staff]]

This was my original mic mounting plan. This thread convinced me to not do this. But I had the hole pre-drilled and wanted to show how nice the mics fit in there. They also fit THROUGH a hole that size very nicely.  A quick test with the mics taped into place here and the fans turned on discouraged me from doing anything with this mounting solution.

 

 

I made some pencil marks at my approximate ear hole locations and test fitted the ears back on to see how much room there was for the SHA mics. And there was room! Plenty in fact.  And the wires allow this sort of mounting. They bend nicely and there's space behind the ears in my AP bucket for this kind of mounting.

 

This is a small rectangle of closed cell foam. It's high-impact seat foam I used to use in a racing bucket for Autocross. You do not need to use something this exotic. It was simply what I had laying around. A few layers of EVA foam would likely work, or even some open cell couch foam. Just something to isolate the mics from the helmet and confine them to inside the ears.

 

My rectangles are about 32mm by 16mm. Full height of the material at about 25mm. They wedge into the ears quite nicely.

 

I then hollowed out a recess for each mic. The foam is just there to isolate the mics, not to rigidly mount them.

 

This type of cushion/foam has a canvas backing. I left that in place to hold the mics in as securely as possible.

 

The mic and foam is gaffer taped in place. This seemed like a ghetto solution at the time, but it has the benefit of being accessible for service if needed.  The mics are held in place securely, and it has performed very well for the past several weeks. I think the gaffer tape is a good mounting solution for this.

 

The blue foam helped with mic alignment. If I saw blue foam while shoving the mic around, that meant it wasn't aligned right with the holes. Black = good alignment.

 

I finished off the ear packet with some open cell packing foam that was laying around the garage. It's rather thick, but it compressed nicely. It further isolates the mics from inner bucket sounds.

 

After being installed a few days I opened things back up to check on them. The packing foam compressed beautifully and there's not much stress on anything.

 

Everything fits extremely well and there's no gap that wasn't there before.

 

Fan noise with the helmet on and SHA running is precisely as loud as it is inside the helmet without the SHA running.  So, while I can still hear the fans, the mics aren't picking them up at all. It's just what I hear inside the helmet anyway.

 

I don't have words for how much I love the SHA and my hacked up headphones. Best bucket upgrade ever. Thanks again to @ukswrath, @fishgoh0nk and everyone else who has contributed to this thread.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Fantastic job with the install Adam, clean! 

 

Thanks for sharing 

[MintImperial[TK]]

Because I have fans in my helmet, and this system is so amazingly sensitive, I put the mics as far away from the fans as I could get them.

 

Not permanently mounted yet, but I’ve road-tested them here behind my chest plate and they work like a charm.

 

I run corded headphones up under my neck seal so none of the system is mounted in the helmet, making it easy to remove.

 

It also gives me easy access to the gain dial.

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by MintImperial

[Brevon Solla[TK]]

@CallMeMrTibbles Good info here.  I just picked up the hearing assist and am planning out my install.  I picked up the bluetooth transmitter and was going to get some bluetooth earbuds.  How do the earbuds pair with the transmitter?  I figured you need a phone or computer to connect?

 

Update- it was way easier than I expected. Picked up some Bluetooth earbuds and they just connected. Wicked cool hack!

Edited April 16, 2022 by Rogue Kenobi
Update

[Kam_den_Vox[TK]]

On 12/16/2021 at 1:30 PM, MintImperial said:

Because I have fans in my helmet, and this system is so amazingly sensitive, I put the mics as far away from the fans as I could get them.

 

Not permanently mounted yet, but I’ve road-tested them here behind my chest plate and they work like a charm.

 

I run corded headphones up under my neck seal so none of the system is mounted in the helmet, making it easy to remove.

 

It also gives me easy access to the gain dial.

 

Do you have an iComm set up at all? And if you do, where do you have that mounted? If it’s in the abdomen like mine, does this set up pick up your voice?

[Kam_den_Vox[TK]]

Not to hijack this thread, but this morning I took some time to test spots on the armor to place the mics. I initially put them up in the chest plate, but they picked up waaaay too much of my vocal speaker. So I moved them down near my waist, and it seems to work great. I played some music from my phone to see how much I could turn up the volume and still hear my surroundings on top of my mic. I have a troop this weekend that I can really test it out on, but I think it will work great. Here's what I did. Obviously I'm going to need to clean up the cables and get the mics permanently installed with some sort of hooks or Velcro. I'm using a Bluetooth transmitter to earbuds that I'll wear under my balaclava. There is a slight delay, but I don't think it'll bother me. Worst case, if it does, I'll run some wired earbuds.

 

 

Edited May 31, 2022 by Kam_den_Vox
imbed image

[ukswrath[Staff]]

22 hours ago, Kam_den_Vox said:

Not to hijack this thread, but this morning I took some time to test spots on the armor to place the mics. I initially put them up in the chest plate, but they picked up waaaay too much of my vocal speaker. So I moved them down near my waist, and it seems to work great. I played some music from my phone to see how much I could turn up the volume and still hear my surroundings on top of my mic. I have a troop this weekend that I can really test it out on, but I think it will work great. Here's what I did. Obviously I'm going to need to clean up the cables and get the mics permanently installed with some sort of hooks or Velcro. I'm using a Bluetooth transmitter to earbuds that I'll wear under my balaclava. There is a slight delay, but I don't think it'll bother me. Worst case, if it does, I'll run some wired earbuds.

 

 

Looking forward to how your set up works, and as always thanks for the support.

[Kam_den_Vox[TK]]

Had my event last night. I'm definitely going to have to go with wired ear buds. The delay on my voice while trying to talk to the people around me was extremely annoying. It even made me second guess what I was saying. lol

 

And I may eventually want to move the mics to my helmet. I could hear every movement and squeak of my armor. I have another troop next week, but a break after that. So I'll work on moving those after that event.

[Brevon Solla[TK]]

Same for me.  I've had 3 troops with the wireless earbuds and the delay really throws me off.  I have the mic's under the ear in my helmet so I'm good there.  Just need to find a wired headset that will work with limited space.