I took some photos, so I figured I'd do a small write up -
2x ICOM F4S and batteriesThe ICOM F4S is a 4 Watt UHF (440-470MHz) radio. I have 3 batteries for each radio although each battery seems to last all day for the most part. They are 9.6v 1450mah NiMh batteries. The battery attaches onto the radio and is about 50% of the total size and about 75% of the total weight. The batteries come with detachable belt clips, but I don't use them for the most part, as the pouches on my gear a sized for them without clips.
TEA LITE II Headset with lower cordset and ICOM F4S RadioThe TEA LITE II Headset is similar to the Bowman PRR headset and the Cavalvy Elite/Elite II. The base headset is manufactured by Davies and assembled by Television Equipment Associates. (TEA) The headset downlead ends with a U-93 plug which goes into a lower cordset made up of a U-94 push-to-talk, (PTT) some coiled cabling, and terminates in a standard ICOM plug. There is a clip on the PTT to attach it to your gear.
One of the reasons that I wanted the LITE II over a comparable TCI offering is the option of having the U-93/U-94 junction inline with the radio. I wanted to be able to remove the headset and leave the lower cordset "threaded" into my gear. There is an earpiece cover for loud environments, but I've found it to be almost useless for me. I have removed the top strap on the headset, as I've found that it does very little in terms of securing it to my head. This headset gets the most amount of usage by me.
At one point, I wanted to get a lower cordset/PTT that was capable of having input from and output to two separate radios. The issue with this is that there is only one speaker on only one side of your head with this headset. This leads me to the next item -
H-250 Handset and ICOM F4S RadioThe H-250 is a handset that has a speaker, microphone, and push-to-talk button built into it. They usually come terminated in a U-229 connector, but this one has a standard ICOM two pin plug. There is a clip on the back of the handset to attach it to your gear.
I use this handset when I want to use my LITE II headset and two radios. I usually clip the H-250 to my right shoulder. This simple aural separation does a wonderful job of letting you keep which radio is receiving straight. The human brain is very good at distinguishing directional noises, and having a physical separation of radio output to left and right ears allows you to keep track of each. Its not easy, but it is possible to listen output from both radios at the same time. This setup has worked very well for me, and while I haven't ever had a dual radio setup outputting into one ear, I've seen others do it with poor results.
MSA Ranger MICH Communication Headset with 2x U-94 PTTs terminating in ICOM connectors and 2x ICOM F4S RadiosThe MSA Ranger MICH Communication Headset is built around a Sordin Supreme Pro hearing protection headset. It has a microphone on a boom to pick up what you're transmitting and 2 cables to plug into whatever PTT that you are using. In this case, I'm using two MSA manufactured U-94 PTTs with standard ICOM connectors on the other end which plug into the radios. Each ear cup has two speakers, one lets you hear external noise while suppressing loud noises (such as gunfire, explosions, etc) and the other speaker handles the radio input. The radio plugged into the right downlead outputs into the right earcup speaker and the left downlead into the left earcup speaker.
I have the gel seal earcups which make a tremendous difference in terms of the comfort of the headset, especially over a long period of time.
The Ranger MICH Comm headset was something I'd wanted for a long time without any real reason for having one. I finally picked one up late last year for much less than I thought they'd go for. Hooray ebay. Finding the ICOM PTTs was the real trick.
Here is a photo (from a different set) of the chest rig I use and how I'd have the radios, LITE II headset, and H-250 handset setup. You can see the ICOM radios in their pouches on either end of the rig, and the H-250 going to the right (as worn) radio. The headset is hooked to the other radio.
