For 11m DXers who appreciate crisp, clear audio, noise cancelling products have arguably been the greatest gift EVER to the hobby. Those radio enthusiasts fortunate enough to have experienced their much publicized benefits will tell you that the sometimes excessive price tags are undoubtedly worth every cent. Not only does this type of technology make QSO’s with weak stations possible by eliminating harsh background noise and enabling you to pull out low signals, but it also makes the hobby of DX’ing much more pleasurable because of it.

A while back, users of ‘11m DX Activities Oz’ were introduced to the BHI Nes 10 noise eliminating speaker in a review by 43FR011 Kate, a quality little DSP unit capable of making even the poorest signals audible. Just as it’s crucial to own a good quality speaker system for the shack, however, it’s also essential to own a pair of good headphones — particularly if you operate in a home QTH with excessive kid or XYL background noise or enjoy the occasional DXpedition or field day adventure.

Enter Heil’s Noise Cancelling Headphones and, providing you can forgive some of the design faults noted by a few overseas ops, you’ve got yourself a fairdinkum winner!

With all the hoo-ha of Asian fishing boats and fizzing band harmonics, DX’ing on 27MHz can often be an extremely frustrating experience. As all 11m DXers will testify, added noise from computers, fridges, air conditioners, televisions, Foxtel TV top boxes, passing trucks, fans and even fluorescent lights, can buzz right through ordinary headphones, interfering with the pleasure of a fulfilling DX experience.

Lucky I was then to have picked up a pair of Heil Noise Cancelling Headphones a short time ago, direct from Heil Sound Ltd in 2 Division, to see if they were in fact as useful as I had heard.

Like the product statement claims, the Heil Noise Cancelling Headphones cancel out annoying ambient noise, leaving you with clear, high quality audio like you’ve never heard before. “How is this achieved, Darren?” you might ask. “Is it just a gimmick?”

For the tech heads, this unique technology uses two small mics placed deep inside the headphones that listen to the outside as well as the radio noise. On the left earpiece, there is a slide switch to turn the noise cancellation on or off while a green LED above the switch indicates it is on.

Conveniently, a switch on the left earpiece lets you select noise cancel or no cancelling. But be prepared to be astounded, however, when you flip the switch to cancel as it gives a totally different perspective to typical headphone listening. Basically, you’ll soon discover what owning a set of quiet headphones is all about! Trust me when I say you’re wading through heaps of extra noise you don’t need to deal with if you’re using standard headphones like I’ve been using for the past decade.

Retailing for about $150AUS, this ultra-valuable piece of shack equipment operates on a single AA cell battery for about 30 hours, providing high fidelity and dual channel sound — with or without the active noise cancellation. Unlike some popular headphone models on the modern day market, they are lightweight and fairly comfortable to wear and fit easily into an optional leatherette carrying bag which is recommended too if you intend on keeping the gear in good nic. The adjustable headband makes it basically one size fits all.

On the negative side, the padded ear covers are not angled well to cover all of the ear and this can be a real problem if you’ve got Dumbo ears like my mate 43LR155 Dave. Like most operators, I would prefer that they were designed to fully enclose the ear rather than sit on the ear, but that’s a matter of personal preference and doesn’t detract from their usability.

Furthermore, a mate of mine who purchased the headphones about 12 months ago has experienced quite a few dramas with them. In his opinion, the headphone is poorly engineered from a mechanical standpoint. As pedantic as he is with his radio equipment, the plastic headband has now cracked open in a couple of places where the metal headband strap fits into the right headphone body, and then again at the swivel joint of the headphone.

As I said before, I have only owned the Heil Noise Cancelling Headphones for a few weeks and am yet to experience any problems with them. But even though I’m no synthetic materials expert, the plastic used appears to be quite fragile. One way of overcoming this issue would be to transplant the electric components of this headphone into a more robust headset — something I would certainly consider if I encountered the same problems.

The noticeable effect of Heil’s Noise Cancelling Headphones is the near–elimination of the low-frequency ambient noise presented to the ear. This greatly reduces fan and other noise from the transceiver, and incidental family noise in another room, making DX’ing on the 11m band in particular much more satisfying. The headphones do not, however, eliminate higher-frequency noise like the high frequency component of voice from the television, pet birds chirping, telephones ringing etc.

If you’re looking for a pair of headphones to make your DXing hobby easier or wanting to upgrade your current model, and the noise cancelling characteristics of the Heil product interests you, then I can recommend this product as one worth trying.

For more information on the Heil Noise Cancelling Headphones, visit http://www.heilsound.com/amateur/default.htm . If you decide to purchase a set, please let us know what you think of them by posting your comments on the site.

73

Darren
43SD054/ 43FR010
Admin Team
ICQ: 298 106 211