codeRED has built their reputation for reliability by
supplying professional grade 2-Way Radio accessories to the law enforcement
market. Their Silent Listen only earpieces, Sherlock, Investigator, Recruit
surveillance microphones, Hot Shot and Signal 21 remote speaker microphones,
are Kevlar reinforced for robust performance, even under harsh conditions.
Their cable tensile strength is up to 5 times as strong as some of those
inexpensive headsets you will find on the internet. The market demands robust
and reasonably priced dual ear muff tactical headsets with the fully featured
option set needed for law enforcement tactical teams. After several years of
research and development, codeRED has recently launched the CR-TAC and CR-MILTAC
headset family of products. This article explains the features and subtleties
of a modern tactical headset and helps our dealer base make informed purchasing
decisions that offer the best solution for their customers.
DIFFERENT TYPES FOR DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS
People think of ear muff headsets as primarily for
noise reduction and hearing protection. There are other features available that
differentiate
the choices:
• Noise reduction only (inexpensive). No external
communication, just ambient sound reduction
• Noise reduction with ambient sound
amplification/clipping (also called “hear through” technology,
or “shooter’s headsets”, moderately expense), no
connection for 2-Way radio
• Noise reduction with external communication (either
aviation or 2-Way radio, higher cost)
• Noise reduction with ambient sound amplification/clipping
AND communication (highest cost)
This last type of headset is preferred by SWAT teams
and Military operators. One of the more common versions of this type of headset
is the Peltor Comtac.
FEATURES EXPLAINED
The combined features of the headset, along with
robustness of design and intended use, will drive costs up. It is good to know
what the features are and determine if your customers really need to pay for
them.
The ear muff feature:
The ear muff cups do the noise
insulation, usually rated as Noise Reduction
Rating (NRR) and measured in decibels (dB). If users
are in a 100 dB environment, a 22 dB NRR headset
will lower it to about 78 dB, which is under the OSHA
limit for continuous exposure. NRR is not exactly that, and involves weighted
averages and math, but let’s keep this simple. Gun shots can be over 130 dB
depending on caliber, so combining ear muffs with foam ear plugs for extended shooting
range visits is a good idea.
The communications feature:
Muffs have speakers in each cup and a microphone,
typically a boom microphone, which is the best choice for high noise
environments. There can be some noise cancellation in the mic, but really the
dominant feature is proximity of the mic to the users mouth (our website has
more detailed
technical information on boom mics as well). The
users voice will over come the ambient sound, so keeping the mic as close to
the users lips is best. Usually, general aviation head sets are a bad choice
for 2-Way radio use, the electrical impedances (resistance, in Ohms) can be
considerably different, and many times will not work with a 2-Way radio. The
“hear through” feature is more complicated and deserves a little more
discussion. We have seen this feature referred to as “noise cancelling” which
is a little misleading.
The noise cancellation, or reduction, is taken care
of by the mechanical insulation of the ear muff.
What these headsets do is more accurately described
as “noise clipping”. Essentially what is going on
with this feature is users have a micro phone (not the boom mic) external to the ear muff cups. This microphone picks up the ambient sound and amplifies it to the users ears inside the ear muff. Typically, these speakers are limited to how much sound they can transmit, and better designs keep it below the OSHA limits. It should be said that any amplified sound will be added to the sound that comes through the physical ear muff cups. When the ambient sound exceeds some predetermined design criteria
the amplification will be clipped, or, shut off completely. Usually clipping starts around 80 dB and happens in a few milliseconds. Restoration of ambient sound will have a small delay, something less than 1 second. Better designs have settings that give the user better than ambient sound amplification, creating a sense of “super hearing”, great for stealth use and situational awareness in a quiet environment.
NOISE CANCELLATION FUNCTION EXPLAINED
The ambient sound amplification and noise clipping in
tactical headsets is powered by batteries, which must be maintained and replaced
when needed. A good design will includeauto-shutoff, when not in use to extend
battery life. If the batteries die, users still have the NRR rating, they just
will not have the ambient sound amplification.
No noise clipping will be necessary as the ear muffs will be working at their
maximum NRR. True electronic noise cancelling is where the external ambient
sound microphone samples the ambient noise frequencies and generates sound
waves of the same frequency (pitch) and amplitude (volume), but 180 degrees out
of phase, to counteract the continuous ambient sound. Sometimes it works well,
but that technology is not appropriate for tactical use. It would be better
suited for industrial applications where machinery is creating continuous rhythmic
ambient sounds.
codeRED LE PRODUCT OFFERING
Photo by Chris Bravo
CR-MILTAC OVERVIEW
We have settled on a design we think “ticks all of
the boxes”. As mentioned, we launched this design in early Q4 of 2021. The
first launch was SWAT team specific and complemented our field proven Pro
series PTT family. It is called the CR-TAC. Initially it was available only as
a complete unit with the Pro series PTTs. With the success of that initial
offering, we expanded the product platform to include our NX series PTTs
including dual PTT options. Then, in Q1 of 2022 we launched a military version
of
the headset with hardened features and compliance to
stricter MIL STD requirements.
Listed below is an overview of the CR-MILTAC feature
base:
- Dual ear Muff headset with “hear through” technology and noise cancelling electronics
- Ambient sound amplification for heightened situational awareness
- OSHA compliant hearing protection for high noise environments, NRR Rating 24dB
- Mounts onto Team Wendy/EXFIL 2.0 and 3.0 ballistic helmets using our CR-TAC EXFIL rail helmet adapters
- Available for Motorola APX, XPR, XTS series radios, all Kenwood multi-pin radios, and Motorola and Kenwood 2-pin radio connections
We have had excellent feedback and sales on these two
product lines, so much so that we are having trouble keeping our inventory
levels to meet the increasing demand. The CR-TAC product line is generally
stocked in large volumes, while the CR-MILTAC will be built to order for larger
requirements.
— Mike Gaston, Owner codeRED