Thoughts on communication systems

[John Willeford]

we are adding a new machine to our arsenal . A 50' crane. Anyhow, we are wanting/needing a good communication system. Generally we run a 3/4 man crew. I want total 3/4 way comm. I like the thought of Bluetooth radio and phone integration ( I'm sure there is a thread topic of its own). I would like to hear from experience. Please mention Brand and Model when boasting or bashing your goods please.

 

[Cottonoak]

We use the sena com system from Treestuff. You can get them on Amazon a lot cheaper. They work well and it's nice to have tunes while you work.

 

[luckydad]

We use the sena com system from Treestuff. You can get them on Amazon a lot cheaper. They work well and it's nice to have tunes while you work.

Yep they work fine.

 

[Coen]

Yep. They are fine

 

[pdqdl]

How good is the noise cancellation and range on the Treestuff coms? I never believe advertised range, and no one seems to say much about the noise cancellation.

I have a Peltor bluetooth earmuff for use with my phone, and it has phenomenal noise cancellation. I can run a chainsaw and have a casual telephone conversation at the same time. It would link to a bluetooth radio interface device connected with almost any standard radio, but that is a lot of hardware to tote around. The Peltor LiteCom radios use business radio frequencies, and have a pretty decent range, but they are also somewhat pricey. I'm pretty sure they have the same excellent noise cancelling features, however.

 

[squad143]

Just purchase the Sena SMH 10-11 and install them yourself. You thank me later

I have had four sets of the Peltor Pro Comm lites and used them form quite a number of years. My boom mics started acting up and when I found out that replacements were around $100, decided to buy some Senas.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...d_t=201&pf_rd_p=1944687562&pf_rd_i=B00CEHC32A

Pro about the headsets. VOX is awesome, although it requires a quick blow into the mic before you start talking or you miss the first few words.
Negatives: Very expensive. Around $500 a headset. Not Bluetooth (can't connect to my phone). Batteries are AA, not rechargeable. Some find them heavy, heavier than ear muffs. Not too crazy about water (rain or sweat) and can act up or go dead. They work off FRS, so you can be on the same channel as the neighbours kid. (Although there are many channels available.

I purchased four sets of Sena SMH 10-11.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=gps&field-keywords=Sena+smh+10-11

Pros: a lot less than the Peltors.(about $160) Bluetooth (can answer my phone, listen to music). Light to wear, don't even notice them on the helmet. Easy to work buttons. Built in rechargeable batteries.
Cons: Can only use up to four headsets at a time. Bit of work setting them up (not installation, but pairing them and keeping them paired). The Velcro that holds the remote mic on is junk (replace it with good double sided sticky tape, or zip tie it to helmet liner). Speaker wires hang out the outside (however they don't seem to get caught on anything). Group intercom, everybody is on an open channel (there is a bit of noise sometimes with chainsaws/chippers running (but it's easy to turn down the volume).
I haven't played with many options on the Senas (vox and other features). Just got them going on group channel and started using them.

The range is better with the Peltor system (over 800' in the woods) as opposed to the Sena's which seem to start to crackle once you get past a few hundred feet.
I've heard of some reviews (motorcycle) where there have been some out of the box issues, but Sena does rectify the issues immediately.

Hope this helps.

 

[treebilly]

We got the sena units a few months ago and love them. We're running four comms every day without to much trouble. We also have had to factory reset them every couple of weeks. All of the sudden helmets 1&2 will be linked and 3&4 are out but still linked with each other. The noise cancellation is so so. Some days it's great. Other days I'm turning mine down.

 

[John Willeford]

Thanks for the input. I don't car the cost so much just need better communication on site. sure could have used it today!

 

[anlrolfe]

Old school:

https://www.osha.gov/dte/grant_materials/fy10/sh-21009-10/Hand_Signals_Cranes.pdf

And its worth saying that a rigger course may be prudent.

 

[John Willeford]

Old school:

https://www.osha.gov/dte/grant_materials/fy10/sh-21009-10/Hand_Signals_Cranes.pdf

And its worth saying that a rigger course may be prudent.

I appreciate that, and actually you reminded me that I need those laminated and posted on the truck somewhere. The truck is being built now. I'm no nubee, in tree service for 26 years, ISA certified in rigging and climbing. Want my men to have the same. I like the thought of being Able to take advantage of teachable moments and added safety. Should have made the comma decision sooner.

 

[pdqdl]

Just purchase the Sena SMH 10-11 and install them yourself. You thank me later

I have had four sets of the Peltor Pro Comm lites and used them form quite a number of years. My boom mics started acting up and when I found out that replacements were around $100, decided to buy some Senas.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...d_t=201&pf_rd_p=1944687562&pf_rd_i=B00CEHC32A
View attachment 461379
Pro about the headsets. VOX is awesome, although it requires a quick blow into the mic before you start talking or you miss the first few words.
Negatives: Very expensive. Around $500 a headset. Not Bluetooth (can't connect to my phone). Batteries are AA, not rechargeable. Some find them heavy, heavier than ear muffs. Not too crazy about water (rain or sweat) and can act up or go dead. They work off FRS, so you can be on the same channel as the neighbours kid. (Although there are many channels available.

I purchased four sets of Sena SMH 10-11.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=gps&field-keywords=Sena+smh+10-11
View attachment 461383
Pros: a lot less than the Peltors.(about $160) Bluetooth (can answer my phone, listen to music). Light to wear, don't even notice them on the helmet. Easy to work buttons. Built in rechargeable batteries.
Cons: Can only use up to four headsets at a time. Bit of work setting them up (not installation, but pairing them and keeping them paired). The Velcro that holds the remote mic on is junk (replace it with good double sided sticky tape, or zip tie it to helmet liner). Speaker wires hang out the outside (however they don't seem to get caught on anything). Group intercom, everybody is on an open channel (there is a bit of noise sometimes with chainsaws/chippers running (but it's easy to turn down the volume).
I haven't played with many options on the Senas (vox and other features). Just got them going on group channel and started using them.

The range is better with the Peltor system (over 800' in the woods) as opposed to the Sena's which seem to start to crackle once you get past a few hundred feet.
I've heard of some reviews (motorcycle) where there have been some out of the box issues, but Sena does rectify the issues immediately.

Hope this helps.

Yep. The Peltor noise canceling is truly awsome, but the microphones are too expensive. Kinda fragile, too; mine has been glued back on to my headset several times, and you cannot buy just the mounting hardware. I have never had a VOX set that didn't drop the first few words. I'm sure the bluetooth duplex is much more "conversational" for daily use. I like the AA batteries. If you wanted rechargeable, just put some in.

Q1: how well do the Sena speakers fit into standard ear muffs, and what brand hard hat are you using? I don't want to put my guys in the expensive (and less protective) arborist hard hats that the Roptek comm units seem to be adapted to. I prefer the Husqvarna hard hat, because of the rain gutter and I like the muffs better than other brands. If I thought I could just mount up the Sena units, I would probably jump.

Q2: how good is the noise cancellation and wind noise problems on the Sena units?

The Sena 20 allows grouping up to 8 at a time, BTW. If you need bigger groups, you might look into that.

 

[treebilly]

I'll check the sena 20 out.
They have two screws that tighten a clamp to hold it on. We took apart the muffs and put a small nick in the casing with a cut off wheel on the angle grinder for the wire to run in. Used a piece of foam to get a better fit for the sena unit itself. Once we figured it out, it was less ten minutes each

 

[pdqdl]

So...you mounted your units onto a standard hard hat?

I was concerned about the length of the microphone & ear speakers. These things were made for full face motorcycle helmets, & I can envision problems with a regular hard hat.

 

[treebilly]

I'll take a pic of one tomorrow. These are Stihl hard hats. We did have to use the earmuffs that came on them and not the ones that Treestuff sent. Just didn't fit. There is plenty of wire. I coiled it up into the muff. I can't remember how long the mic wire is though.

 

[John Willeford]

We bought this. Let you know how it goes.

 

[Magnum783]

Subscribing to this one I am quite intrigued. I think a guy could make these work easy. Just not sure how the noise canceling would work

 

[treebilly]

The piece of foam is just weather stripping from Home Depot.

 

[Magnum783]

So you attached the mic with just electrical tape? I like the ear muff work that looks awesome. Did the back part just come like that?

 

[treebilly]

No the electric tape is holding the wires because the guy that wears it mess with the Velcro piece that used to hold it. The last pic is the factory set up clamping system. The first pic you can see the weather stripping we put in. The brim on the back of the hard hat sticks out and we didn't like the fit so we added that to make it hold better. I have a petzel and still added the weather stripping. Seems to hold tighter. They come with Velcro sticky pads for the mics and speakers. The mic needs a bit of help. I used a small zip tie to secure mine.

 

[Magnum783]

Is this the same or just something similar to the one treestuff sells? Can you take pictures of it on your petzel I can see it looks like a vertex of sort. Did it take special mounting on that one. Do they come with wind shields for the mics.