What Headsets Do 911 Dispatchers Use?

What headsets do 911 dispatchers use?

You'll find both halves, the headsets and the amplifiers, in our dispatch headsets collection.

A dispatch headset is two parts

A dispatch setup is a headset top plus a PTT amplifier, joined by a Quick Disconnect. The amplifier plugs into the console and holds the push-to-talk button; the headset is the part you wear. That split is why an office headset that works on a desk phone won't work at a radio console on its own.

On traditional radio consoles the amplifier ends in a 6-wire PJ-7 two-prong plug, the standard there for decades. PC-based positions that run the console as software use a USB amplifier instead. Either way, the QD on the amplifier has to match the QD on the headset.

One ear or two?

Most of the choice comes down to how much of the room you need to hear. A single earpiece leaves one ear open for the supervisor, a colleague handing off a call or the desk speakers playing other channels. Two earpieces block the room, which helps in a loud center or when you're working a long call that needs full attention. Headset makers build both for exactly this reason. Our guide to monaural vs binaural headsets goes deeper on the trade.

Wearing styles on a dispatch floor

Dispatch headsets are worn for a full shift, so weight and pressure matter more than features. You'll see three styles:

• Over-the-ear and in-ear: no headband at all, so nothing presses on the head over a long shift.
• Over-the-head, one ear: the most common desk style, stable and easy to put on and take off.
• Over-the-head, two ears: for loud rooms and dispatchers who want the floor shut out.

The microphone is the other choice. A noise-canceling boom mic cuts the room noise that reaches the radio, which matters on a busy floor. Some headsets offer a voice tube instead, a thin hollow tube with no electronics at the tip. Our noise-canceling mic vs active noise cancellation guide explains what each one blocks.

Wired or wireless at a console

Wireless dispatch headsets exist, and they suit dispatchers who need to stand, move to a map or step to a supervisor's desk without dropping the radio. A wireless PTT base plugs into the console like a wired amplifier, often through the same PJ-7 connection, and the headset keys the radio from a remote button. Some bases, such as SHG's S D200, run two remotes at once so a trainer can listen in. The trade is batteries: someone has to swap or charge them between shifts.

What changed when Poly left dispatch

Poly, now part of HP, stopped making its dispatch amplifiers and headsets. HP gave the reason as critical components its suppliers could no longer provide.

Nothing already installed stops working, and HP said it would honor the one-year warranty. When a unit fails now, the replacement comes from another maker. SHG has mapped a replacement to each discontinued Poly model and uses the same PL quick disconnect, so its amplifiers plug into the Poly headsets and cords already on your desks. We carry the line in SHG headsets. If you're sorting out the radio side too, what push to talk is covers how the button works.

Personal headsets on shared positions

Dispatch positions are shared across shifts, but a headset is worn against the ear for hours. Because the headset top unplugs at the QD, each dispatcher can keep their own and plug it into whichever position they're working, while the amplifier stays wired to the console. Replacement ear cushions keep a personal headset going for longer. If you hear your own voice in the earpiece while you talk, that's by design, and what sidetone is explains why.