Tangle-free Mic / Earphone For Radios

Usually when I am headed out riding in the backcountry I carry a set of radios. It’s a good idea for too many reasons to list here. Although I have a HAM radio license, I opt to carry the GMRS radios with me for the simple reason that very few people have a HAM license to operate the other radio.

Recently I discovered how awesome the VOX / PTT options are on these radios when using a mic & earphone. If for no other reason, the rado can be kept in the pack. The problem is that earphone/mic wire tends to freeze up, get stiff, and is generally a pain in the ass with tangles.

This amount to what we can all agree on; if the gear does not work, we will not use it.

Solution!

A trick is to sheath the wire in 550 cord. Granted if you aren’t good a micro soldering this may not work for you.

 

You simply pull the interior strings of the 550 cord out, threading the wire up the cord (again you will need to either cut / or unsolder – resolder the earphone, mic, and jack. I found this pretty easy to do and modified both mics in under 30 minutes.

I used a bright neon color paracord on the radio side, and a black paracord to the earpiece. I did this two tone so that they would be easy to locate if dropped. Gone are the days of untangling wires and having them freeze.