Military Throat Mic, looking for specific one.

[MayhemXXXFrosty (AndrewMp5k)]

Hey guys, I have been wanting a Throat Mic system for a while, bought the FireFox from DevilDog a while back, but it doesn't work with my current radio setup, so I thought to buy a new radio. But I figured if I needed a new radio, why not get a new Throat Mic? (At the time, I didn't have much money to spend on a Throat Mic, so Paul *DevilDog* came to me and offered me up a great deal on one).

The specific Throat Mic is the one Demi Moore uses in G.I. Jane (the movie). I have been trying to find it, but alas, I have not been able to even locate what one it is. I also can't find a good picture of it for you guys to try to help me, all I know is that you activate talking in it by a piece on the actual Throat Mic itself. Best pictures I can find of it:




I'm still looking throguh countless pages of Yahoo! and Google, but still nothing.

Any and all help would be appreciated.

[Rogue1]

andy, i think jane is using the hollywood version of a LASH 2 system. very expensive to get the real thing, around $500 or so i'm told. they actually activate it with a palm switch or finger switch but when they reach for the unit on the throat, they are squeezing the two transponders on the neck together to make the thing work better. airsoft extreme sells a cheaper unit to work with FRS/GMRS radios made by DEVGRP and i use one made by PRYME that i'm still trying to get the bugs out of. both are about $100 and are well made and can be ordered to fit any radio.

[MayhemXXXFrosty (AndrewMp5k)]

Do you (or anyoen else) know if there are any that work with having a switch on that actual throat piece? I like that idea then a button that is on your shirt, or in your hand, or anything like that.

[Rogue1]

i looked at my optional finger switch that came with my PRYME unit and i guess you could velcro it to one of the two transponders that are on the neck but i've never seen it done that way. never know, ya might be on to something? look at the link in the left column to specwar gear , there are pics of mil spec commo gear there to check out.

[Zorak]

I've tried just about everything under $200 and they've all had issues. The Pryme is great if it happens to be electrically compatible with your radio. Mine works with my Motorola FRS but not my Garmin or any of my Icoms.

Every unit I've ever seen, pro and replica, has had a seperate ptt unit. I'd worry that constantly grabbing the throat mic to hit the ptt would move it around and thus reduce its effectiveness.

[MayhemXXXFrosty (AndrewMp5k)]

Well it's not like I would grab for the PTT unit on the throat mic, it would be more or less of a kind of touch, and you would have to hold it down to talk, so while I am pressing it, it is also pushing the two transponders together, thus making my voice more clear.

I like that idea better then that of something on your palm/finger, or on your tactical vest, like Bruce Willis has in Tears of the Sun:

[asskickulater]

Side note does any one know wear you could find a mic like Bruce Willis has in the pic above?

[MayhemXXXFrosty (AndrewMp5k)]

This one looks like it:

www.clearercom.com/stryker.htm

The Stryker, found it for just about $100 everywhere.

[Zorak]

Wow. That thing looks so exactly like a Pryme mic that they have to be OEM'd from the same company.

I understood what you meant, Andrew, but I wonder if that idea of just touching is going to hold up under tactical conditions. In the midst of a game I find it hard to do anything all that gently. My hand is going to fly to the PTT button, and if I'm in a weird position, I'm probably going to be fumbling for it. I also think that if you fit the throat mic properly, you shouldn't need to press the transducers to your throat to get a good signal.

I admit that I also see the advantages, though, and I might try such a setup if someone made one. At the very least it would be harder for some foreign object to hit your PTT and make you hot mic, as happened with my chest PTT last time I played. I think I'd notice if I was lying such that a branch was shoved against my throat.

[MayhemXXXFrosty (AndrewMp5k)]

Hmm, I see your point. But I just thought it would be better, seeing as though if I am in the middle of a game that;s heating up, I know that I get tense, so if I have a finger/palm PTT button, I may accidentally push it on (and hold it) without noticing.

While I would know if something's pushing into my neck (like you pointed out). Also, my neck is never in an area, where something could push into it (when I am crawling in the brush, if the PTT button is on my finger/palm, my hands are moving up and up with my body, so the PTT is getting jiggled around and possibly set off.) I couldn't crawl around with a chest mounted PTT button either, as that would dig into my chest, and would hurt/annoy me.

I have two now (I just ordered a second one, and soon I will be ordering a PRYME possibly, when i figure out what new radio I am getting).

Anyone have any advice on a nice set of radios (I remember a set of radios, they were different colors to mark different kinds, black, blue, yellow, and red I think. Or something like that, possibly Motorola, not sure, possibly not. Quality, and a bit expensive. Like $80 for a pair or something).

[xaos]

IMHO, the best place to mount a PTT unit would be on one's offhand shoulder...it's high up enough that it'll be out of the way (and not lead to hot micing), yet still easily accessible.

That's just me, though...I'll never use a throat mic, simply because I can't stand having things wrapped around my neck. I'd rather use a boom; they're more reliable, and don't cause me undue discomfort.

[Zorak]

You don't ever shoulder your weapon on your bad side? I sometimes do so, if my cover is such as to make it suffuciently advantageous.

[MayhemXXXFrosty (AndrewMp5k)]

The mounting on one's offhand shoulder still provides a problem with crawling around in the bush, because the cord would be on you, and could snag onto a loose tree limb or something and you could end up ruining the throat mic because of it.

I also use my offhand shoulder, if it better suits my situation, as I am ambidextrous (when it comes to guns) and my left eye is my dominate eye, of which sucks for bow hunting since I am right handed (more accustomed to).

Anyone know what radio I am talking about? Each have different specs, I think all are water proof, different colors have different features/prices (like one has more channels, and mile range, maybe water resistant, and what not).

I think Arc mentioned them in a thread a while back, was planning on getting some, but they slipped my mind before I could purchase.

[Zorak]

Radio-wise, I haven't had a chance to do much of a review yet. If you're looking at airsoft-level accessories (as opposed to actually buying a LASH), going Motorola may make sense. I say that because my Motorola is the only thing that ever worked with my Pryme throat mic. Anyone making any accessories for the newer Moto 1-pin connector is going to be testing them against Moto radios, whereas the 2-pin jack is common to about a million different brands with who knows how many internal specs. I'd just look at the Cabela's web site and check their selection.

If you want to get nuts, GK uses the ~$140 Icon IC-F21GM 1-4w GMRS unit. It can't operate on the FRS-only frequencies, so it might not be a good fit for you.

I used to loathe the compact Motorolas because even in GMRS mode they only offer 1w transmit power. However, my recent experience with GK's Icoms tells me that high transmit power levels require crazy mad battery power. A normal FRS unit transmits at 0.5w and might last 20 hours on three batteries, right? If we assume constant efficiency, which may be optimistic, a 4w radio with 4 batteries of the same power rating would drain them in three hours and twenty minutes. High power isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[xaos]

I'd mount the thing on top of my shoulder, Z...thus removing any interference with potential offhand shooting (which I don't do anyways, because I find I'm pretty much incapable of successfully doing so...for me, it makes more sense to find a position where I can shoot with my strong hand, rather than fighting my inability to shoot offhand)

Re: cords and cables and such - if you're smart about how you do it, there's very little cord out there to hang up on things. I haven't actually made use of a radio in a while (been waiting for the rest of the GK boys to decide on a specific radio type), but when I regularly did, I didn't ever have enough wire hanging off me to catch on anything, even when moving through some really thick shit out in the field.

My optimum setup would be as follows: radio on the rear of my offhand shoulder, PTT on top of the same, and earpiece in my left ear...all on the same side of the body, and all close together, leading to a very small amount of exposed wire to catch on things, and extreme ease of use for the way I prefer to play.