[Elecraft] Koss Headsets for the K3 (Was: Re: Yamaha CM500 Headset)www

[Jim McDonald]

Many years ago, someone on another reflector posted a cheap way to make the
equivalent of a Heil Proset.  Radio Shack had the Optimus PRO-50MX boom
headset, which was made by Koss, on sale.  The mic and its round clamshell
could be replaced by a Heil HC-4 and the Heil mic holder.

The received audio was said to be crisper/better than the Heil headphones.
This was before the days of radios with TX EQ, so the only way to get
communications quality audio was with a different mic.  Now Heil doesn't
sell the mic elements, though I still have spares.

I did that, and it worked fine.  I still have them but prefer a tighter
headphone fit and usually use my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones (no mic).

I just found the original posting:
http://lists.contesting.com/_cq-contest/1998-05/msg00080.html 

73, Jim N7US



-----Original Message-----


Radio Shack used to sell these with a RS box, but labeled Koss on the
phones. I have been using them for years, wore one out. And they sell
replacement pads on their web store (Koss).

Jim K0XU 

On Mar 15, 2012 10:51 PM, "Gary K9GS" <garyk9gs at wi.rr.com> wrote:

> An update:
>
> I stopped by the Koss Factory Store today.  I looked at the SB49 first.
> (The SB45 is identical to the SB49 but without the volume control in 
> the cord).  I didn't really like the way the SB49 fit.  It's a very 
> subjective thing but comfort was what I was looking for.  The other 
> thing I didn't like was the flexible boom for the microphone was very 
> "whippy".  It was almost like a wet noodle.  Not good.....
>
> Next I looked at the SB40.  The fit was great and very comfortable for 
> the 5 minutes I wore it.  The mic boom was stiffer too.  The SB40 has 
> a dynamic mic element.  I ended up buying the SB40.  The price was 
> $39.00 plus sales tax.
>
> I was all set to buy a Yamaha CM500 but I really wanted to see how 
> they fit first.  I looked at a couple places and couldn't find a local 
> store that had the CM500.  For this reason I look at Koss.  The other 
> thing Koss has going for it is the limited lifetime warranty.  Being 
> that I live near the factory this is a big advantage.  Second is that 
> I've owned other Koss products and have always been very happy with them.
>
> As I said I've never used the Yamaha CM500 but the Koss SB40 looks 
> very similar.
>
> I'm also kind of a headphone junkie.  With the K3 I figure that most 
> modern headsets have much more performance (frequency response, etc) 
> than one needs for communication. So they are all pretty much up to 
> the task.  Same for the microphone.  With the TX and RX Eq features of 
> the
> K3 I decided to concentrate on fit and comfort.  I think that juist 
> about any headset and microphone can be made to sound good.
>
> I haven't used the SB40's yet but will report back once I've played 
> with them a bit.  Here's the link to the Koss website:
>
> http://www.koss.com/en/products/headphones/communication_headsets