INDEX

• Prelude
• Taking it to a
  (much) higher level
• Bone Conduction
• Robert G. "Bob" DeFeo,
  Colonel, USAF (Ret)
• Robert E. Haston,
  Major, USAF (Reserve)

BONE CONDUCTION:

The headset portion of the BCH is radically different than UmeVoice’s other headsets. NOTHING fits into or over your ears. Instead, the BNC cable is hard-wired to a very springy, semi-circle, tubular metal band. Although not size-adjustable, this band is available in different sizes, because people have different sized heads.

It slips over the back of your head in the blink of an eye, and two curved sections reset atop your ear lobes, holding it in place. Thanks to this behind-the-head design, the BCH can be worn along with a hardhat or helmet.

Instead of padded speakers, ear plugs, “gels” or any other kind of in-ear or on-ear speaker, there’s a pair of oddly-shaped black transducers, roughly the size of a “jumbo” olive, at each end of the band. These are the bone conduction units, and their flat sides comfortably rest on your left and right temples, just in front of your ears. Finally, UmeVoice’s ubiquitous (and spectacularly effective) noise-Canceling mic, on its highly-flexible Magnesium stalk, is permanently affixed to the left side of the headband, and, like all its other incarnations, is easy to bend and it STAYS PUT when you position it, optimally, near the corner of your mouth.

Bone conduction allows you to hear clearly through vibrations through your temples, while it simultaneously keeps your ear canals open for the use of earplugs for maximum hearing protection. The best of both worlds, when you need to hear clearly, AND protect your ears. It works, and it works well.

Again, this implementation of bone conduction technology is targeted towards those who work in and around extremely loud equipment, where protecting one’s hearing is an absolute must, but at the same time, one has to have a way to communicate with others. With a five hundred dollar price tag, the Bone Conduction Headset is not a casual purchase for Joe Consumer and his cell phone. In fact, jacked into one of my Treos, I found its sound output through the two temple pieces TOO loud, even when I cranked my phones down to minimum volume.

At first, this was puzzling, until it dawned on me that I was dealing with a headset specifically designed for users in VERY high-noise environments, not someone sitting in the relative quiet of a living room or car. The bone-conducting transducers are supposed to be loud.

I had the distinct pleasure of spending some time discussing both the Bone Conduction Headset, and UmeVoice’s Cobra mic with a pair of highly-experienced, career Air Force officers.