In response to a letter from Douglas McCray, K2QWQ, in June 2016 QST, and study by the San Luis Obispo (California) Emergency Communications Council, the council has put forth a proposal for an ARES standard headset connector.

As an example of a good ARES standard, the ARES/RACES standard Powerpole® DC connector is now well understood, accepted and used in the field. Also, of course, there are a number of time-tested, well-accepted standard RF connectors on the back panels of our radios, such as the SO-239, and on the ends of our HF coax - the ubiquitous PL-259 or "UHF" connector, for example.

But, as McCray points out, what about the microphone? This is the most complicated connector to standardize so it's not surprising that it's the last. But can we do it? There are lots of different mic connectors in use in the field -- some are easy to obtain, such as the RJ series connector, while others are more difficult to come by. There is a wide range of audio levels to consider: from about -60 to about -20 dBm. Further complicating things is that there are several different push-to-talk (PTT) schemes; some mic elements need power, some don't; and some mics have lots of extra functions.

We are asking your readers for feedback on our proposal, which can be found here. A survey platform for submitting feedback can be found here and/or readers can e-mail me at [email protected]

Thank you!

-- Tom Tengdin, WB9VXY,
San Luis Obispo, California

Source: www.arrl.org/FandES/field/ares-el/?issue=2016-07-20