Re: 911:: 911-radio/telephone headset information

[Guest guest]

At 14:53 11/09/2001 -0800, the from Sheboygan PD wrote:

>Currently our department uses headsets for radio/telephone that go over the

>head with one ear being covered by the ear piece. The problem with the

>headset is they hummm to much so after every telephone call we basically

>turn down the volume and then turn it up when we answer the next phone call.

That sounds like an interface problem.

> We can use our headsets which are nice to keep our hands free if we don't

>hang ourselves in the attached cords. Or, we can use a regular telephone

>handset to answer our radio or phone. However, if we use the telephone

>handset and balance on top of our shoulder, we should end up with a headache

>from neck strain. We are researching if any other agency has had good luck

>with a particular style of headset. In the ear, wireless, one ear, two

>ears, etc.

<snip>

At my Comm Center, we primarily use Plantronics headsets. (We CAN use

Starkey EarBorne headsets, and tried those for a while; they're pretty

nifty. They use a molded ear-piece - individually molded to a dispatcher's

ear - and the headset is very light with the works attached to this molded

ear-piece. No headband, no thingie to balance on the outer ear, and the

sound quality is great. It does, however, require a different interface

system than that used by the Plantronics headsets.)

We use several styles of Plantronics headsets: headbands over the head to

hold a padded speaker placed directly over the ear canal, over the ear

styles with small speakers placed directly at the ear, over the ear

do-hickies with ear-pieces that slip into the ear canal. It's whatever

works best for the dispatcher; some folks don't like anything stuffed into

their ears and some have trouble developing the " callous " on their ear

cartilage that holds the " over the ear " style.

For years, we were unable to use the same headset for phone and radio at

the same time. We now have an interface box that allows this, but the

dispatchers don't like it. (At my Comm Center, anyway.) When using it,

the radio audio flips to an outside speaker when the phone is in use. We

have state of the art, touch-screen radio equipment but the interface is a

little funky and speaker placement is not well-suited to individual

dispatchers' needs. So most of my folks still use a separate handset for

the phone when they work a radio console. This is worrisome because

cradling a phone handset is not just " uncomfortable " but can definitely

lead to repetitive stress injuries.

One of our very tenured dispatchers has been off work on a work-related

injury since April due to long-term damage caused by " cradling " the phone

handset for close to 18 years (and for 16 of those years, wrote dispatch

cards, because we hadn't made the transition to CAD until 1998). Cradling

the phone, using the headset for the radio, holding dispatch cards in place

on the console surface and writing on them was just too much stress - it's

a very uncomfortable, twisted position! There are MANY dispatchers in my

(huge) department of 25 Comm Centers that have suffered from neck and

shoulder injuries due to this NON-ergonomic situation. This particular

dispatcher just had disk-fusion surgery to repair her neck damage and isn't

expected to be able to return to work until January, 2002. For about a

year before she was put off work for her injury, SHE used the radio/phone

interface and even chose to wear two headsets (one for phone and one for

radio) in an effort to reduce stress on her already-whacked-out neck and

shoulder. (She chose to wear two headsets to keep the radio audio from

blaring into our rather small Comm Center and annoying her co-workers at

other consoles.) Nobody else likes to use the radio/phone interface as

it's currently configured.

I'm always sniping on the dispatchers to use their headsets at the phone

consoles, instead of using the hand-sets, because I want to reduce the

cumulative effects of that " cradling " maneuver for them. Even if they

cradle a handset whenever they're working a radio console, when they're

working at a phone position, they should opt for the headset. Any respite

is good.

Anyway, Plantronics headsets are OUR favored equipment, and there are

plenty of variances to allow for personal preference. We do NOT use the

" dual ear " style, because that blocks the sounds one needs to hear from

co-workers, equipment alarms or audio alerts (that wouldn't be piped into

the headset), and the sometimes soft footsteps of approaching brass. <grin>

Happy to be here, proud to serve.

Olmstead

Communications Supervisor

~on the Central California coastline~

" Not presumed to be an official statement of my employing agency. "

Home E-mail: mailto:gryeyes@...

http://www.gryeyes.com/

[Guest guest]

> At 14:53 11/09/2001 -0800, the from Sheboygan PD wrote:

> >Currently our department uses headsets for radio/telephone that go over

the

> >head with one ear being covered by the ear piece. The problem with the

> >headset is they hummm to much so after every telephone call we basically

> >turn down the volume and then turn it up when we answer the next phone

call.

>

> That sounds like an interface problem.

> Olmstead

> ********************************************************************

Possible grounding problem. Have the techs check to see if you are getting

some voltage off the phone line itself.

Iowa State Patrol Communications Cedar Rapids

Werling, Anamosa, IA N0XZY AOL IM Ridgeroader

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