Earbuds for two way radios?

Hello All,
So I have my radios setup for Church security as desired, with one exception. I am still trying to sort out a few things with headsets. I was able to incorporate the use of some Bluetooth earbuds with one radio. I’d like to now incorporate the use of a few standard wired earbuds as well. The Bluetooth earbuds and the wired earbuds work much better than the typical two way radio headsets. Because you are using two earpieces versus one earpiece which offers a significantly better listening experience. It also helps to balance and reduce the surrounding noises so the benefit is two fold.

Anyhow, I am having difficulty finding some adapters and/or earbuds. So your help would be appreciated.

I purchased a 2.5mm male to 3.5mm female mono adapter (link removed to comply with forum rules). I also purchased some mono earbuds Rugged Radios Sportsman Foam Earbuds - Mono Racing Speakers - 3.5mm Plug (link removed to comply with forum rules). The adapter and the earbuds work great and as desired. But they are not practical. The straight pin is going to get broken off and these earbuds are hideous/uncomfortable.

I prefer the following in the order as desired:

1. Mono Earbuds with a 2.5mm pin. All the earbuds I come across with a 2.5mm pin are a single earbud. Whereas I desire two earbuds, one for each ear. This is what I most desire because it would eliminate the need for an adapter.

2. A 2.5mm (male) to 3.5mm (female) mono adapter. The adapter can be a solid 90 degree adapter or it can be a corded adapter, where there is a short wire between the male and female ends. It would also be highly desirable if the mono adapter was configured to work with stereo earbuds. If they do not have such a thing can someone please recommend some mono earbuds, other than what I purchased.

Thanks,
Ralph

The reason you don’t generally find mono earbuds with dual earpieces for two way radios is simply because the radios output mono, so there isn’t a need to split the audio into both ears. Also, and this is especially true for surveillance style earpieces, in an active business, industrial or other environment such as a parking detail, one usually needs to also be able to monitor the surrounding area, which is more difficult to do if both ears are blocked.

Having said that, there are listen-only earpieces with mono connectors designed for use with radios, such as the Blackbox Foam Listen-Only Earpiece (3.5mm) (buytwowayradios.com). It is 3.5mm, but is a right angle connector.

FINAL UPDATE (for those who may be interested)

I discovered that BTECH makes a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter as does Retivis that will work with wired earbuds. The Retivis however can suffer from an open mic situation depending on which earbuds you use. I could only find one cheap set of earbuds that would work with it, so that was unacceptable.

The BTECH adapter however works perfectly. It also comes with a PTT button but I cut that off because it’s bulky and truly unnecessary. It’s just as easy to push the PTT button on the radio itself. It’s now a perfect setup.

I went this direction because I found all of the two way radio headsets to be greatly inferior for Church security, as I desired. It was extremely difficult and frustrating to make out what people were saying at times. Especially when in a loud environment such as worship time (music). The earbuds on the other hand give you the option of using one earbud (quite environment) or both earbuds (loud environment). So the experience and communications is far superior with the earbuds vs standard two way radio headsets.

Anyhow, we used several earbuds and a Bluetooth setup for our radios this Sunday and it all proved excellent. I could hear transmissions very good and they could clearly hear mine even though I was speaking softly into the earbuds microphone during services.

Take care,
Ralph

Sounds like you’re on a quest for better earbuds for your radio setup, right? It’s tricky to find the exact ones sometimes. You’ve got some mono earbuds and an adapter, but they’re not quite fitting the bill - too fragile and not comfy.
You’re looking for:
Mono earbuds with a 2.5mm pin that come in a pair for both ears. It’d be sweet if you find these 'cause no need for an adapter then.
A 2.5mm (male) to 3.5mm (female) mono adapter. A 90-degree solid one or a corded one with a short wire would be cool. If it works with stereo earbuds, that’d be a bonus. If not, suggestions for other mono earbuds would help.

Try lookin’ for stereo earbuds with a 2.5mm pin. Even if they’re stereo, that 2.5mm pin might do the trick with your adapter. Might give you the two-ear setup you’re after without needin’ that adapter.

he’s not logged in since september 22!