Fixed VHF radio with bluetooth connection to hearing aids

[Bergamot]

I recently replaced my hearing aids with a pair that are bluetooth enabled. This has transformed telephone calls as callers sound as though they are in the centre of my head. It sounds alarming but at least I can hear them, so it is great. This got thinking about all the times I have not heard a vhf call or my several requests to "say again" to a frustrated harbour master when requesting clearance to exit/enter harbour. A fixed VHF radio with bluetooth connectivity to hearing aids would be a really useful safety feature for me. A google search just threw up adverts for standard radios and a Cobra handheld with bluetooth to make telephone calls from the handset but not sure about its ability to receive VHF via bluetooth.
Can anybody recommend such a fixed radio?

 

[Plum]

I recently replaced my hearing aids with a pair that are bluetooth enabled. This has transformed telephone calls as callers sound as though they are in the centre of my head. It sounds alarming but at least I can hear them, so it is great. This got thinking about all the times I have not heard a vhf call or my several requests to "say again" to a frustrated harbour master when requesting clearance to exit/enter harbour. A fixed VHF radio with bluetooth connectivity to hearing aids would be a really useful safety feature for me. A google search just threw up adverts for standard radios and a Cobra handheld with bluetooth to make telephone calls from the handset but not sure about its ability to receive VHF via bluetooth.
Can anybody recommend such a fixed radio?

No experience of bluetoith hearing aid but I have got one of these. Plugs into the remote speaker socket on my fixed VHF, plus you need a usb power supply, although in theory the battery will last 8 hours. 5.0 Transmitter Wireless Bluetooth Audio Receiver Adapter Aux 3.5mm Jack 2-in-1 | eBay

 

[habeer]

The ICOM M510 can use your smartphone as a remote mic/control - so I think it should work with your hearing aids. I don't have such a radio, but I can definitely understand why you'd want this. It's very nice to have the caller audio straight into your ears.

(The only downside I've found with the bluetooth hearing aids has been when I've left my phone upstairs when working in the basement, and someone has answered my phone for me. I can hear the caller but not talk, and my helper can talk but not hear the caller. Also, the musician mode is brilliant when singing in a choir)

 

[Boathook]

Give icom UK a phone call. They've been very helpful in the past when I have rung them.

 

[Sandy]

I remove my hearing aids when sailing as it sounds like I am in a poorly edited YouTube film.

The Remote Mic at the wheel has changed my life.

 

[Dellquay13]

The theory is good. Many Bluetooth receivers are available, but you need to ignore them and find a transmitter, they are less common. In general, Bluetooth receivers like your hearing aids will only pair to one transmitter at once, so you would have to choose between pairing your phone or your vhf in advance, BT doesn’t seamlessly switch itself between different devices as you go.

 

[Boathook]

I remove my hearing aids when sailing as it sounds like I am in a poorly edited YouTube film.

The Remote Mic at the wheel has changed my life.

The remote mic is good.

 

[Bergamot]

No experience of bluetoith hearing aid but I have got one of these. Plugs into the remote speaker socket on my fixed VHF, plus you need a usb power supply, although in theory the battery will last 8 hours. 5.0 Transmitter Wireless Bluetooth Audio Receiver Adapter Aux 3.5mm Jack 2-in-1 | eBay

Thanks for your excellent suggestion and the link, That sounds like a good solution in transmit mode and connected to my Standard Horizon external speaker connection and powered from my 12v cig connector with a USB adapter. I will give it a go. My Standard Horizon only has wires for an external speaker with no socket so I will have to add a female 3.5mm female connector to that to plug it into - all doable. I will report back.

 

[billskip]

I've seen many skippers/crew that use headphone and mike, I thought these were Bluetooth to radio also.

 

[Dellquay13]

Thanks for your excellent suggestion and the link, That sounds like a good solution in transmit mode and connected to my Standard Horizon external speaker connection and powered from my 12v cig connector with a USB adapter. I will give it a go. My Standard Horizon only has wires for an external speaker with no socket so I will have to add a female 3.5mm female connector to that to plug it into - all doable. I will report back.

Be careful connecting a bluetooth transmitter to a speaker output. The BT will be expecting input voltage around 0.3- 0.775v, the speaker output will be around 3-9 volts.
On closer reflection, getting a low voltage ‘line level’ audio out from a vhf radio is not common. Most people would not be using an active speaker with integral amp, so the speaker out will already amplified to drive a passive speaker.

It may be possible to find a line level signal at a command mic socket.

An rough and ready option would be to fit a resistor network to the extension speaker output (potential divider, for a typical BT input impedance of 500ohm, R1=47ohm and R2=10ohm).

If you can fit it into the Bluetooth input plug it would be neater, but you may find that 0.5w or 1w resistors are too big to fit inside.

Start off with the radio turned right down low and turn it up slowly to find the lowest level that gives enough volume from the BT.

An impedance matching audio transformer could also be used to pad the voltage down.

 

[Bergamot]

Be careful connecting a bluetooth transmitter to a speaker output. The BT will be expecting input voltage around 0.3- 0.775v, the speaker output will be around 3-9 volts.
On closer reflection, getting a low voltage ‘line level’ audio out from a vhf radio is not common. Most people would not be using an active speaker with integral amp, so the speaker out will already amplified to drive a passive speaker.

It may be possible to find a line level signal at a command mic socket.

An rough and ready option would be to fit a resistor network to the extension speaker output (potential divider, for a typical BT input impedance of 500ohm, R1=47ohm and R2=10ohm).
View attachment 187199
If you can fit it into the Bluetooth input plug it would be neater, but you may find that 0.5w or 1w resistors are too big to fit inside.

Start off with the radio turned right down low and turn it up slowly to find the lowest level that gives enough volume from the BT.

An impedance matching audio transformer could also be used to pad the voltage down.

Thank you for your helpful comprehensive reply. I have emailed Standard Horizon asking for their technical advice before I proceed.

 

[Plum]

Thanks for your excellent suggestion and the link, That sounds like a good solution in transmit mode and connected to my Standard Horizon external speaker connection and powered from my 12v cig connector with a USB adapter. I will give it a go. My Standard Horizon only has wires for an external speaker with no socket so I will have to add a female 3.5mm female connector to that to plug it into - all doable. I will report back.

It certainly worked on my ICOM fixed vhf so I could use my phone as a wireless external speaker.

 

[snowbird30ds]

I wanted to try the bluetooth to hearing aids a couple of years ago and bought an Mpow bluetooth transmitter and changed the speaker out on my SH GX1500 to a male 3.5mm jack so it connected direct, hearing aids at the time were oticon and had to connect via a "streamer" worn around the neck, now have phonak aids with direct bluetooth and just tried it with the transmitter and works fine to both ears with volume control via the aids, I originally found the latency a problem so open up the radio and fitted a switch to cut the speaker but not tried with the new aids connected to the radio yet, will have to send swmbo off with the handheld next visit to see if the latency is any better as I'd prefer both speaker and aids working.
Using the transmitter hooked to the pc playing music I could still control the aids via the phonak app but obviously the phone notifications didn't come through while connected to the transmitter, I've found the phone connected to hearing aids very useful.

 

[Bergamot]

I wanted to try the bluetooth to hearing aids a couple of years ago and bought an Mpow bluetooth transmitter and changed the speaker out on my SH GX1500 to a male 3.5mm jack so it connected direct, hearing aids at the time were oticon and had to connect via a "streamer" worn around the neck, now have phonak aids with direct bluetooth and just tried it with the transmitter and works fine to both ears with volume control via the aids, I originally found the latency a problem so open up the radio and fitted a switch to cut the speaker but not tried with the new aids connected to the radio yet, will have to send swmbo off with the handheld next visit to see if the latency is any better as I'd prefer both speaker and aids working.
Using the transmitter hooked to the pc playing music I could still control the aids via the phonak app but obviously the phone notifications didn't come through while connected to the transmitter, I've found the phone connected to hearing aids very useful.

Thank you for your very helpful comments and advice. I also have Phonaks and use the app’ and a similar GX1600 SH radio: so I am hopeful. I will see what SH say about this before I proceed with my schoolboy soldering. Not quite sure what you mean about the latency but I will Google it.

 

[snowbird30ds]

Latency is a delay in sound between hearing aid and speaker that can be annoying.

 

[Thistle]

In general, Bluetooth receivers like your hearing aids will only pair to one transmitter at once, so you would have to choose between pairing your phone or your vhf in advance, BT doesn’t seamlessly switch itself between different devices as you go.

Not sure about that. As I type my hearing aids will connect with the mobile phone in my pocket or with the laptop I'm using for this post, whichever demands their attention. I'm not sure if there is an order of priority (or if I can alter it if there is one) because I've never been aware of both transmitters seeking attention at the same time.

 

[Bergamot]

Not sure about that. As I type my hearing aids will connect with the mobile phone in my pocket or with the laptop I'm using for this post, whichever demands their attention. I'm not sure if there is an order of priority (or if I can alter it if there is one) because I've never been aware of both transmitters seeking attention at the same time.

I have experience of listening to music in my car via Bluetooth being interrupted by a mobile phone call via Bluetooth from a salesman selling solar panels. - very annoying!

 

[Dellquay13]

I have experience of listening to music in my car via Bluetooth being interrupted by a mobile phone call via Bluetooth from a salesman selling solar panels. - very annoying!

My vehicle BT has separate channels for music and phone, it defaults to sharing them to my phone for both music and calls, but I can separate the two for different devices if needed.

 

[st599]

Icom's higher end radios allow phones to connect via an app RS-M500 : Software - Icom UK

Presumably you can link your phone to hearing aids as per normal.