WHAT WIRELESS HEADSETS WILL WORK WITH THE WIRELESS HEADSET INTERFACE?
The Wireless Headset Interface was developed using a Plantronics wireless headset designed for use with telephony or “Call-Centre” systems. Telephony wireless headset systems provide features that are very applicable to the Diving Supervisor, such as:
* Microphone muting * Noise cancelling microphone for noisy dive control rooms * Long talk-time (from 9 to 14 hours) * Rapid battery charging * Call conferencing (multiple headsets online) * Long range (over 100 metres) * High quality audio signal transmission * Lightweight and comfortable headset Suitable models are: Plantronics Savi 8200 UC series Plantronics Savi 700 series (superseded by 8200 series) Plantronics Savi 300 series (superseded by 700 series) Plantronics CS500 series Plantronics CS361N (superseded by 500 series) I recommend the binaural models (Savi 8220 & 720), rather than the monaural (Savi 8210 & 710). The dual earphones are better for conducting bell checks or for when it is hard to understand the divers. Most supervisors wear it with the right earphone behind the ear for normal operations and put the right earphone on the ear when it is noisy in Dive Control, for longer conversations with the divers and during bell checks. The headset is so lightweight that comfort is never an issue. You can even pair up to four wireless headsets (depending on the model of wireless headset) together to have multiple headsets online at once. This is very handy when conducting inspection diving or when a trainee supervisor is on the panel. Plantronics Savi 8200 Series (released in Q2, 2019)– replaces the Savi W700 series.
The Savi 8200 series replaces the Savi w700 series and works on 2.4GHz wireless technology. I have not had the chance to test it myself, but it has been reported by supervisors who are using it that it works fine. The 8200 series has a couple of key improvements over earlier models, such as Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), higher fidelity earphones and longer battery life. Bluetooth Headsets:
Bluetooth headsets (such as the Plantronics Voyager) have been trialled and found to not be suitable. Bluetooth uses audio compression and decompression technology, which causes audio transmission delay (high audio latency) and “echo” issues. |