Z tactical Z118 Z40OPS Dual PTT - Review

[Reignman]

$45.56 - Kenwood version Ztac Z118 Z40OPS Classic PTT

Ok. So I took a gamble and blew a small chunk of change to try and alleviate my dual comm problems.

Unboxing the PTT I was pretty impressed with it cosmetically. Everything is well labelled and would appear easy to use.

Buttons:When you engage the buttons on the unit you can physically feel when it is time to talk. You can also hear a "Click" when the button is pressed enough and you are ready to talk.

Cables:These seem well made and are thick. An initial problem right away when I plugged everything in was that one of the cables that goes from the radio to the plug was faulty. When I bent the cable slightly right near the kenwood pins I was able to make the radio work. I have ordered 2 more cables in the mean time and hopefully EB will send me a replacement as well.

The TP120 plugs fit very snug into the outlet and there is no slop whatsoever. I have no worries about the plugs becoming accidentally pulled out.

Xmitting:This I found really odd and confusing when trying to read the instructions on how to operate the PTT with a battery. After some testing I have come to the following conclusions.

When you have a radio plugged in and you want to talk you have to turn the switch to the on position and turn the knob to PTT.

If the switch is in the off position you will not hear anything in your ear piece.

When testing the PTT I found that when using a CR123 battery that it gave a bit of feedback in the line and the volume was low finding it hard to hear some xmissions.

You do not need a CR123 battery to run the PTT at all. When taking the battery out I found that the volume and quality of the xmissions were more clear and louder than with a battery.

You can push both PTT buttons at the same time to xmit on both channels.

KNOB:The knob is decent. There is an audible click for each position that it should stop on. It stops where it is supposed to and does not seem like it would be easily flipped to another mode.

Vox:Not tested because I find VOX is a real PITA and I don't think it works on this model.

WHIS:Function does not work on this PTT

Waterproof:From the literature on the box it claims that this unit is waterproof. By the looks of it I would agree to a certain extent. The black parts of the PTT you see is actually a rubberized material. The only spot that I would be worried about water getting in would be the area where the battery goes in at the bottom. There is a little rubber O-ring at the bottom of the threads on the cap that if tightened up I could only assume would be enough to stop water from coming in to a certain degree.

Volume:There are no volume adjustment knobs on the PTT, everything is done direct from the radio itself.

This PTT was tested using 3x Puxing 888 UHF radios in conjunction with the Ztac Bone conduction Mic.

In the end this little unit solves my problem for 45$ and gets my stamp of approval, for now at least.

I will post more photos this evening when I get home.

Testing

2 Kenwood Radios - Listening to 1 Channel each:
No problems at all. Works like a glove, very impressed with it for 45$.

2 Kenwood Radios - listening to 4 channels:
In testing this, when I push the PTT's on the unit it lights up like it should right away, however sometimes it won't xmit to the person listening. Kind of odd and I even tried moving the radios as far apart as I could to see if it was some sort of interference but it never went away.





Ztac LIH Bone Conduction Headset Z011


REVIEW:
First impression when I opened the box was MEH..I wasn't overly impressed with the look of it.
After putting it in my ear and putting it to work it definitely changed my tone.

I found that the earpiece xmitted sound clearly. I had no problems hearing anything that was said. I was able to whisper and it was able to pick it up and xmit clearly as well.

When I say whisper I mean something that if you were going to say something quietly to someone else they could hear it. The plug fits well into the outlet on the PTT. I have no fears of the earpiece falling out of my ear either.

You can hear both radios through the PTT as well.

One thing I do like most about this earpiece is that I don't have a damn boom mic in my face and I don't have to turn and talk into a MIC.

0 problems. Not a bad earpiece for 20$. I'd recommend it.

[pugs144]

Thanks for posting this. I'm interested in how well the bone conducting headset works with your setup. I run dual comms with a Bowman-type headset and a H250 mic clipped to my webbing. If I can replace the H250 with the LIH/dual PTT setup that would be great.

*Edit* Are you able to hear both channels on the single earpiece?

[xav1982]

I just received the exact same kit, and did not had the chance to try it yet. How is the earbone mic ?

[Reignman]

Will add it to my original post. Just at work :P
*original post updated with earpiece review*

[leth1337]

do both radio's inbound traffic come thru the one earpiece (i assume yes) and if so which one takes priority?

[Reignman]

Originally Posted by leth1337

do both radio's inbound traffic come thru the one earpiece (i assume yes) and if so which one takes priority?

I'll have to try it out.

[Reignman]

update - Testing

[xav1982]

Maybe I'm using it the wrong way but I'm not able the speak clearly with the bone conductor thing

[Reignman]

What sort of problem are you having? Are you using the PTT with a battery? what radios are you using? Is the switch on the ptt switched to "PTT" and the back switch turned to "on"?

[xav1982]

Everything on the PTT is setup well, when i press the PTT the sound transmited is very low and full of vibration ... Recetion is #1 on the earpiece and tried with both baofeng uv5r and puxing 888 with the same results. Also tried with and without battery in the ptt

[Reignman]

Hrm. I have no idea what to tell you. Try another headset unit if you have one?

[xav1982]

Thats my next try !

[airtime43]

thx for the bone conduction mic review..

[Kokanee]

I have to echo Reignman's review for this bit of gear; this is a really excellent quality PPT for the price. Build quality is top notch, and works like a charm.

[clsports]

i have the mic parts just two pins, need the tactical mic earphone headset for 3 pins
http://www.haikeoutdoor.com/en/Produ...ord/16763.html