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Best Telephone For Datacenters?
An anonymous reader writes "I've been struggling to find an effective wireless/cordless phone headset for use in high noise environments, such as a datacenter. I'd love to have something like the helicopter pilots or aircraft carrier deckmen wear, but that can hook up to a pots line (or Bluetooth to a workstation with Skype). Has anybody found a solution they like for datacenter applications?"
I bought the Jawbone Prime for my Droid and its been fabulous.
Supposedly it was desighned for Helicopter and tank crews, there is a sensor on the earpiece that sits on your cheek, it it can't match a noise from the microphone with a vibration from your mouth, it filters it out. If your jaw loses contact with the sensor it uses normal noise cancelling tech.
I ask everyone I talk to on it how it sounds and they say that I come through clearly.
Pilot's just use aircraft headsets with a plug that can plug into a cell phone.
There's no magic too it, they're just big foamy headphones with a microphone and cost way too much.
I'll Find You Peer, If It's The Last Thing I Do!!!!
http://www.jawbone.com/ it uses the vibrations in your skull from speaking to do noise cancellation.
There are a lot of noise cancelling headset options:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=noise+cancelling+headset+for+phones
Pick the one that fits your phone/price/ergonomic requirements.
Yes, you could mod an aviation headset to do the same thing, however they are significantly weighty compared to most headsets (I know this because I have tried this, a guy I know built his own out of surplus aviation headset for LAN gaming). If you want to contact him about it his nick is "Cova" and he can be found on the http://www.fragapalooza.com/ forums.
crazy dynamite monkey
Cone of Silence"
Actually, David Clarks might be a good solution. They use a pretty standard set of plugs that look "somewhat" similar to what a lot of commercial call center phones use.
But a lot of call center headsets are already similar in noise reduction capabilities, and already built specifically to interface with call center gear, and are probably a little cheaper than a good David Clark headset.
Note to self - see if I can get my DC rigged in to my office phone. Coolest, headset, ever. :)
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
The Stenomask!! The picture needs no description. http://www.scscr.org/mediac/400_0/media/Misc$20110.jpg
Kriston
I haven't actually tried it, but I have used other Etymotic products, and they generally work very well. Here's the page.
I'm particularly fond of their hf2 stereo headset -- they sound great!
Your god may be dead, but mine aren't!
Get a throat microphone and a secret-service type earpiece. Wires from those are very standard mono jacks and if you can't find the parts to convert them into the right plug at Radioshack, you can certainly buy the bare plug ends and solder up a harness in 15 minutes.
SIG: HUP
I've heard good things about UmeVoice - http://www.theboom.com/v/products/index.html
We're talking out in the field today. Hi, what's your name?
"My name's Bob Fliber!"
Bob, what do you do?
"I'm in the artillery!"
Thank you, Bob. Listen, can we play anything for you?
"Anything! Just play it loud! Okay?"
they have those nerdy-ass throat mics. Pretend you're Spec Ops in the datacenter. Because you are so cool.
BlueParrot has decent noise-cancelling BlueTooth headsets. Originally designed for truckers. Mine is great, everyone I talk to says I sound like I'm a foot away, and battery life is good. My GFs headset - a newer version, B250 I think - works well, but battery life is a problem. Not sure why. IMO expensive but worth it.
I've used this in my data center, sitting in the hot row on a conference call, and no one complained about the noise & could hear me fine. I've used it paired to my Crackberry as well as my Macbook Pro. Probably the best bluetooth device I've used.
You can find adapters for aircraft headsets that will let you use bluetooth, etc. These will work in -seriously- noisy environments, may be overkill. for example: http://www.marvgolden.com/headsets/adapters.htm
(Celui que tient la peur de devinir nuage)
You know you're not supposed to be surfing, what is that? Slashdot? What the hell is Slashdot? It's not Discover Card applications, I know that for damn sure. If you want to keep working here, get the fuck back to work. And quit bitching about the headset. You see anybody else complaining?
I use Bose QC2's in the DC for long stays, they have a phone connection kit, the mic seems to be very able to keep things quiet on both ends, they keep your ears warm and while not serving as a phoneset they can be used to listen to tunes, I do not recommend these headsets lightly or for anyone not in a NOISY environment, they add noise to the sound in quiet environments.
Unix, an obscure operating system developed by bored researchers in an attempt to get a better game playing experience.
People hear me fine on my Jawbone. I've opened the window while driving and talked in a DC with no problems on their end. Clear as day.
My issue is even at Max volume _I_ still can't hear what people are saying. I've got good hearing, but at best I'm straining to hear a whisper amongst the roar of my jet-engine-powered Dells.
Is there a super volume button I'm missing or something I can do on my iPhone/Blackberry? I've got the unit set to max volume as far as I can tell.
-Matt
--- Need web hosting?
Ah, but what if you're the guy who's installing a rack full of new gear? Or perhaps doing other hardware-related work in the datacenter and you need to call Joe, the sysadmin in charge of system xyz to ask him about the instructions he scribbled on a napkin which you can at best interpret as "wen /talling sstem make siiie cd320-co.jkei.djk ls conn drec tsm23_33uid.erjk.djk"?
Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
Apparently you've never worked as one of the "hard hat" crowd.
We spend hours at a time in these rooms installing, testing, or repairing equipment. Most of which needs to be done concurrently with phone calls to someone sitting at a desk in a quiet area somewhere. This is done to test individual cards, circuits, etc (which as you just pointed out, often can't be done by the person in the machine room) It is simply not practical to run back and forth to a control room for each adjustment, we need to work on equipment while talking with someone who is making the changes live. Running back and forth would increase the time requirements (and the outage lengths) by a very large factor.
The machine room is a constant test of how loud my headset can go, along with a hefty dose of "say again please?"
How serious about this are you? My jawbone headset works pretty well in noisy environments on one ear but you just can't beat an aviation bluetooth headset for active noise cancellation and two ear sound. See the ones from Lightspeed. I have not tried them but have used other ANR aviation headsets in small airplanes which are so noisy you can't hear yourself shout and they are amazing. I looked around at their website and the Zulu seems to be the bomb for the low low low price of $850. See it at http://www.lightspeedaviation.com/content.cfm/Products/Zulu They have others. Who knows the others might be cheaper. There are also other brands of aviation ANR headsets which support bluetooth. It seems the latest generation of bluetooth chips are quite a bit better for this kind of thing than even a year or so ago. I ride a motorcycle and just tried the Sena SMH10 which integrates into a helmet and it's also impressive how clear and noise free it is + the interface design is very natural and the controls just work.
While huge corporations definitely exist, you might consider that there are also small and medium sized datacenters, which also produce a crap-ton of noise. There are something close to 800 fans in my datacenter, for example, and the only 'control room' I have access to is my cubicle.
We've got two datacenters and I've spent ... well, way too much time in both of them. At some point, our network team discovered the Peltor bluetooth headsets -- see http://www.peltor.com/peltor.com/comm_detail.cfm?prod_family=BlueTooth%20Headsets&ind_prod_num=MT53H7AWS2001 -- and stocked up on about 3-4 headsets per datacenter.
These things work beautifully. They're comfortable for wear (I typically put one on even if I'm not going to make a phone call), pair nicely with both the wired telephone and my iPhone, have great sound quality while talking to tech support, etc. Can't recommend enough.
Your question contains your answer.
Those headphone and microphone combinations you mention in your question are all available with 3.5" and 2.5" (etc.) standard connectors. If that's the kind of thing you want to use, go get one and use it. There are also several that use USB and in-device coding/decoding so if your Skype requirements involve a laptop of stationary computer, those work as well.
There are lots of full ear-cup and direct boom microphone headsets, and fully half can be used with phones, and probably a third of them are available with amplifiers in them so as not to suck the life out of a cell phone etc.
They are all just really pricey.
On my current DoD project we have tried several brands so far.
Go to a pilot supply store and try a few.
Expect to spend $150 USD or more.
Share and enjoy. 8-)
Innocent people shouldn't be forced to pay for inferior software development.
--"Code Complete" Microsoft Press
If it has aviation-style plugs you probably can, but it's fairly expensive. Aviation headsets use high-impedance condenser mics that require a power source, so the adapters are not quite as trivial as one might hope.
Random and weird software I've written.
The Lightspeed is designed to cut low frequency noise. Are there any noise-reduction headsets designed to cut out the frequency range of human voices?
I asked a couple of manufacturers at the AOPA convention a few years ago, and at that time there were none. But there might be now, and not every manufacturer was at the convention.
A review of the Bose Quiet Comfort 15 and the Heil Quiet Phone Pro in the May 2010 QST said that those headsets are also designed to cut out low frequencies, and not the entire sound spectrum.
We don't work there you insensitive...
I know I probably lose geek points, but after fighting with interference on wireless phones (2.4 and 5 ghz) or headsets that don't go loud enough, I went out to Walmart, bought the cheapest POTS phone I could find that didn't have an answering machine in it. Then I bought a 50-foot handset cord, and tie-wrapped it to the side of my network rack. Yeah, I can't make it to rack # 15, but for casual "read me the diag lights" calls to vendors, works pretty good.
The mentioned phone is a DECT unit. Very reliable at DC distances, sound is clear. It can talk to Bluetooth or 2.5 mm jack headsets. Whichever is used works fine as long as it is of good quality, which implies a good deal of background noise rejection among other things.
That provides you not only with a reasonable quality of speech in both directions, but also, just as important, with two free hands AND freedom to move around.
Talking from experience on a well-known (and as noisy as any) DC.
on my blackberry if i plug in a set of stereo headphones, the phones mic stays active but the sound out goes to the headphones.
i have a friend who hooks his up to his car stereo as a music player (through an AUX 1/8" stereo input) while going down the road and when he uses it as a phone, the car stereo transmits the received call while he still speaks into the phone mic on speakerphone. the other thing with this is it mutes the music when you answer a call iirc.
Where I work we sell super amplified phones for people hard of hearing. I sell a lot of them for people in factories or other loud environments. They are very loud and even have a boost function.
http://shop.clarityproducts.com/products/categories/category333.asp
I'm sure other similar brands exist but this is the only one I have hands on experience with.
Yeah, that would be pretty slick, and DC was the first thing I thought of. The DC aviation headset I have has two plugs - one for the headphone (1/4" stereo) and one smaller for the mic - they can't be mixed up. You can certainly find or fashion a connector to merge these two functions into one 1/8" plug, for say an iPhone.
The biggest problem I can foresee is power. If you're using some type of wireless, it will take a bit of juice to drive a headset of this size. I can see it wearing out something like an iPhone pretty quickly. If you want to hardline it, I don't see why you couldn't disassemble a POTS handset and wire in a female receptacle for something like the DC headset plugs. I would talk to someone smarter than me about basic electrical circuits to see how you could wire up a volume/gain control to the handset, even though the headset itself has independent volume controls.
http://www.davidclark.com/
There is very little future in being right when your boss is wrong.
The Sennheiser PC450 blocks out human voices pretty well until you hit the talk through button.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Yeah, that's a helpful reply. Tell him everything his situation isn't. Maybe if he prints out your comment and takes it to his boss, his company will hire the magic data center faeries, who will poof a soundproof office in to existence just for him.
I have several friends who work as system operators, and they work right there next to the computers; they have to load and unload printers, swap tapes, swap drive carts, and perform other tasks that require them to be in the same room as the systems.
It's good that you told us about your fantasy world, though. Just so you know, the guys with the white coats are just here to talk...
Cisco wireless ip phone + plantronics stereo headset with tube mic. Good wifi coverage in the datacenter saves you from AT&T dropped calls.
The answer you want is a Land Line coupled with Plantronics SHR2083-01 Industrial Noise Canceling Headsets. I've put these into the last 12 cage buildouts I've done. The mouth piece isn't great, but at least it's audible when you're standing right in-between two 20-ton CRAC units. Don't do a cell phone, life is too short. Avoid VOIP because you can't call up and talk to a vendor if your network is down.
I am a bit confused by the actual question itself as the poster doesn't define what type of telephone/s he wants to use the headset with. Does he want something that works with a mobile/pc/desk/cordless phone as there are different combinations for each setup. Me personally I use a Plantronics Voyagerpro (dual mic) with a USB dongle for my PC and my mobile. If I was looking at a PC/Desk phone rig I would go with a Plantronics Savi Office Pro WO300 or WO350.
http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/products/office/wireless-headsets/savi-office-wo300
The Nexus One is pretty great in data centers. It kills pretty much all of the background noise. The Motorolla S9-HD headset however, while fantastic for music, is pretty much worthless in the data center or if you have your windows down in the car.
The television will not be revolutionized.
that's the only bluetooth that I can actually hear my field techs over when they're sitting by the cabinet fans or blowin' in the wind.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Oh, you had to go and post the URL didn't you? Damn you! I bought a severely beat-up used set of 10-40's from another pilot many years ago, and they work great, but I keep lusting after a shiny new set.
Now you've made me drool all over myself again.
Daaaaaamn Yooouuu! :)
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
I would go with wifi headsest that can accept a plug in headphone jack and just get a custom cable to hook into pilot cans.
That way if you have wifi in the datacenter you're not hampered by signal issues. Other wireless solutions tied to your desk will not work with large datacenters I've seen them ineffective in ones of 6000sqft that are full of fun metal cabinets. Wifi though works great because you can deal with dead zones or align the antennas with the walkspaces.
anyone working in data center should use ptt throat mic. it's pain to keep remind yourself to press two buttons on your neck to talk but hell, i can hear dime drops on the other end of the line and you rarely hear person on the other end asking "What did you say? What.. What?"
"Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
I have a link sitting deep in my bookmarks for a consumer grade throat mic:
www.bluekangarootechnologies.com
I tried visiting the site just now and it's down but maybe just for maintenance. Google still knows about the site, so probably they're still alive..
With these three things plus some spare parts, plugs, a variety pack of resistors, transistors, and diodes, and you'll be on your way to owning these people who charge $60 for something that costs $2.50 in parts. Granted, I have all of this stuff for work, but it's a nice hobby to get into.
Sig: I stole this sig.
Look into the Type 230 "Confidencer" by Ronwell. These microphones replace the standard microphone that is found on your typical wall phone. They make models for both Avaya and Nortel analog wall phones. I can attest that this product works very well in exceptionally noisy environments. Good luck.
"Trusting every aspect of our lives to a giant computer was the smartest thing we ever did.." Homer Simpson
They have a USB version that would work with your computer.
Been using the GN Netcom headsets (both wired and wireless) in the workplace now for over 10 years. Great quality. Jabra recently bought them.
http://www.jabra.com/NA-US/headsetsolutions/Pages/JabraGN9100.aspx?tab=variants#UID=9
If you have money to absolutely blow, there are some Aviation headsets that have built in Bluetooth. The Lightspeed Zulu comes to mind.
But it's complete overkill for what you're attempting to accomplish. A dual-ear Jabra GN series would work fine in all but the most noisy environments.
+++OK ATH
The Lightspeed Zulu is a headset designed for airplane and helicopter pilots, but has a bluetooth interface. It has active noise cancellation that's much stronger than that of the Bose QC series, and it also has a music input if you want to pump in an iPod. I've used the Zulu's in a helicopter sitting on the edge with the door removed doing aerial photography, and when calling someone else they couldn't tell I wasn't sitting in a quiet office. Truly unbelievable. They're about $850 though.
Mike