DIY Baofeng Radio Dual PTT for 3.5mm Headsets
Intro: DIY Baofeng Radio Dual PTT for 3.5mm Headsets
After buying a pair of UV-82 Baofeng radios for communicating, I found myself in need of a good headset. While there are cheap alternatives to what I'm going to build, I liked the aesthetics of professional comms in video games (like Escape from Tarkov). The only thing I build is the circuit for the Push-To-Talk, which are rather expensive to buy, especially dual ptts, compared to the radio. You can use whatever headset/headphones you like with a standard 3.5mm audio jack with TRRS configuration.
STEP 1: Circuit Diagram for the Kenwood Connector
I scoured the internet for the wiring of the 2 audio jacks which comprise the kenwood connector, and I found this site on stack exchange. I wired about 40cm of ethernet cable to the 2 connectors and I made a quick case for the Kenwood connector. Mind that this model MUST be inversed in Cura or other 3d printing software for G-Code generation.
STEP 2: PTT Circuit
I designed this diagram on Easy EDA, it uses the simple color coded wires found in the UTP cable. The output audio jack MUST be TRRS with a configuration of Left Channel/Right Channel/ Ground/ Microphone. The difference between TRS and TRRS is that TRRS has a microphone channel. After inserting any connector into the radio, the internal microphone/speaker will be disabled, so it's important having both of these enabled on the output. Beware of different wirings on some headsets. Some may have the TRRS configuration, but they switched Ground with Microphone or something else. This is the difference between a TRS and TRRS. TRRS has 4 poles, while TRS has 3.
STEP 3: PTT Case
The case is made from 3d-printed parts. I will not include case parts, since they are very badly designed, my 3d printer fails in printing complex designs. I screwed the potentiometer and audio TRRS connector to the case to add some stability. Also, I printed covers for the SPT buttons to reach out of the case.
STEP 4: Headsets to Connect To
In this step you can include any kind of headset including a microphone (in that specific TRRS form). I used my gaming headset for this.