A bit of audio help
capt_slog
Posts: 3,872
My mum is in a care home. To visit her I sit a room a bit like a prison visit scenario, and I have to talk to her through a screen. She doesn't hear well, and of course the sound doesn't carry well either.
After an hour's visit the other day, I was hoarse from having to shout.
What they need is a microphone one side, and a speaker on the other. If it was for me, I could make something with the bits i have around, but as it's for a carehome environment, they obviously need 'something off the shelf'.
The first issue is, what the hell do you call something like that? Intercom doesn't really do it and the volume on the listener's side has to be a bit more than normal.
I found a Karaoke machine that might do the trick, something like this...
and they are about the right sort of price at under £20
but can anyone offer a different solution please?
After an hour's visit the other day, I was hoarse from having to shout.
What they need is a microphone one side, and a speaker on the other. If it was for me, I could make something with the bits i have around, but as it's for a carehome environment, they obviously need 'something off the shelf'.
The first issue is, what the hell do you call something like that? Intercom doesn't really do it and the volume on the listener's side has to be a bit more than normal.
I found a Karaoke machine that might do the trick, something like this...
and they are about the right sort of price at under £20
but can anyone offer a different solution please?
The older I get, the better I was.
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The other 'problem' with one of those is that they are designed for normal hearing. I had no trouble hearing mum, but she requires volume even under normal conditions.
The older I get, the better I was.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eagle-Station-Intercom-Call-Chime/dp/B0084JWT7Q/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=intercom&qid=1613736619&sr=8-8
Runs on C-cell batteries which aren't cheap but might be suitable - intercoms linked by thin wire, press a button on the 'slave' unit to speak, the 'master' I think has an open channel.
Is this device just for you/your mum? Are you allowed to pass stuff across the divide? Any sharing of a microphone with other people is obviously a high infection risk, probably even with a mask.
I'm assuming you can hear your mum without the need for amplification? If that's the case, how about you get a cheap bluetooth speaker and donate it to the care home? Then it stays in one place, no cross-contamination issues, assuming the care home is happy to charge/plug it in. Then you (and any other visitors with a smartphone too) can bluetooth your phone to the speaker via an app (like 'Microphone Live' which is free on app store). So you just talk into your phone to communicate.
Vastly reduces cross-contamination risks. Should work very well, with added benefit that others can use it too. Hope that helps...
I can hear okay, i don't think it requires two-way.
I like the idea of the bluetooth, I'll certainly look into that side.
The older I get, the better I was.
The older I get, the better I was.