BORELLI CONSULTING: Tactical Equipment Reviews

Cobalt A/V1 Throat Microphone
By: Steve Forgues, 7 March 2005

Over the years I have used many types of microphone setups. Most are familiar with the standard lapel microphone/speaker that is generally used for normal everyday duty use. There are many forms of microphone/earpiece setups for undercover/plainclothes and tactical operations. When it comes to those that work in tactical operations, most are familiar with the L.A.S.H. (Los Angeles SWAT Headset). LAPD pretty much made these famous within the tactical operations world. From my understanding it is a very good system, but with a hefty price. I know, I know, high quality comes high price. Well not all teams have the budget to outfit every tactical officer with a $400+ headset; I have found a throat microphone setup that will not break the budget.

A few months ago, I was flipping through the pages of one of the many LEO related magazines and saw an advertisement for Cobalt A/V. It showed a throat mic for about $100. I first was thinking, just how good could it be for that price. Well I went to their web site and did some poking around to get more information. After a few months I finally broke down and bought one.

There are two models available, the CH-TMC and the CH-TM which is the one I purchased. Here is what came in the box: Throat Mic, Acoustic Tube with four (4) ear pieces, Large Push-to-Talk (PTT)(tactical), Belt clip PTT (duty), Finger PTT (sniper, plainclothes), and radio connect cord. The Large PTT is approximately 2" in diameter, with the button being slightly smaller to eliminate you pressing the button by mistake. The Belt clip PTT is equivalent to the size of a pager.

Here is how Cobalt A/V describes it:
"The throat mic/ear speaker is an injection molded plastic assembly shaped much like a horseshoe with dual mic elements and an integrated speaker driver. A coiled acoustic tube snaps on to the throat mic to channel sound energy to the ear." (Cobalt A/V, 2004 Catalog)

It is what you would call ambidextrous in that you can set it up for either ear. From the throat mic you will find a cable with a screw down cable connector that you then connect to either the Large PTT or the Belt clip PTT. If you need to use the Finger PTT, it is necessary to use the Belt clip PTT. You will notice on the Belt clip PTT that on both ends there is a connection, one at one end and two at the other.

The single connection is for the radio connect cord, the other two are for connecting to the throat mic and for the finger PTT. Each cable connection has a different pin pattern, so there is no mistakes in connecting to the wrong plug. Both the Belt clip PTT and Large PTT have a rotating belt clip similar to what would be on your standard lapel microphones.

I found that it took a little to get use to, having this throat mic around my neck, but was very comfortable. It is adjustable to different size necks, but if you have a very large muscular neck, this is probably not going to work properly for you.

After using this on duty for several weeks, I found this product to be very good for the money. It is rugged and crystal clear to listen to. One question that I had though was if other officers would know it was me when I transmitted with this unit. I asked several officers about this, they all said yes. They even said that although they knew it was very windy at times, they did not hear the wind as you would with standard lapel microphones.

Whatever radio you are using, Cobalt A/V probably will be able to accommodate you. They have the standard connections for EF Johnson, Icom, Kenwood, Motorola, Vertex, Maxon, and Relm, along with Hirose quick disconnects for EF Johnson, Icom, Kenwood Motorola and Vertex. And if your radio isn't listed, I'm sure they can still accommodate you.

If this does not meet your needs, Cobalt A/V has many other communications accessories available, such as, Headsets, Intercoms, Surveillance Kits, Speaker Microphones and Interoperability units.

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