TangoWhiskey
Touchdown! Greaser!
OK, I'm NOT referring to an aviation headset. I'm usually the Google God (or so my friends say) and can find anything, but after a conversation with Plantronics online support and hour with Google, I'm asking for your help. I can't be the only one who wants this!
Background: I telecommute often. Work in a data center as an architecture engineer. Lots of servers and hardware. Am on-call via rotation, and can end up on a conference bridge with vendors, technicians, and other co-workers for hours. I usually plug a 2.5mm wired headset/earbud/microphone into my home phone's headset jack, or the 2.5mm plug on my cell phone so I can type with both hands and not crook my neck to one side.
The problem: I have to turn on the mute feature on the phone. Two-button process with my cell, three (menu option) on my home phone. Creates two issues: takes me longer to respond when somebody asks a question (have to get off mute), and if I forget to RE-ENABLE mute, family conversations in the background (or comments I make) can be heard by colleagues -- don't ask, it's another thread!
So I spent time looking today for either a headset with a PTT switch (always on mute unless I push the button, like air traffic control or a dispatcher would have), or an aftermarket 2.5mm inline PTT button.
Couldn't find either!!! Plantronics makes headsets for dispatchers that do this, but for $500+. They don't make them for home users. Radio Shack didn't have them either.
I can find cell phone headsets/earbuds with "PTT", but their PTT means "enable voice dialing", not the "stay on mute until I push this button, and go back to mute when I let go".
I'm starting to think I will have to build my own. Momentary SPST normally open push switch?
Help me find one for reasonable? I can't be the only one who'd buy one of these. The plantronic's guy said so!! (he was surprised they didn't have one).
Background: I telecommute often. Work in a data center as an architecture engineer. Lots of servers and hardware. Am on-call via rotation, and can end up on a conference bridge with vendors, technicians, and other co-workers for hours. I usually plug a 2.5mm wired headset/earbud/microphone into my home phone's headset jack, or the 2.5mm plug on my cell phone so I can type with both hands and not crook my neck to one side.
The problem: I have to turn on the mute feature on the phone. Two-button process with my cell, three (menu option) on my home phone. Creates two issues: takes me longer to respond when somebody asks a question (have to get off mute), and if I forget to RE-ENABLE mute, family conversations in the background (or comments I make) can be heard by colleagues -- don't ask, it's another thread!
So I spent time looking today for either a headset with a PTT switch (always on mute unless I push the button, like air traffic control or a dispatcher would have), or an aftermarket 2.5mm inline PTT button.
Couldn't find either!!! Plantronics makes headsets for dispatchers that do this, but for $500+. They don't make them for home users. Radio Shack didn't have them either.
I can find cell phone headsets/earbuds with "PTT", but their PTT means "enable voice dialing", not the "stay on mute until I push this button, and go back to mute when I let go".
I'm starting to think I will have to build my own. Momentary SPST normally open push switch?
Help me find one for reasonable? I can't be the only one who'd buy one of these. The plantronic's guy said so!! (he was surprised they didn't have one).