Swapped my hand signals for a radio mic and never looked back

Used to do the whole arm dance from the ground for every pick, lot of guesswork when the sun hit the window blinds just right. Last summer on a job in Tulsa I finally switched to a two way radio setup, cost about $80 for the headset and spare batteries. Now I can tell the operator to swing left three feet while I'm walking the load, no more shouting over the diesel. Anyone else make the jump from visual to radio, or do some guys still swear by the old hand signals?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse_cooper1mo ago

MAN, I remember that arm dance all too well. The worst is when you're signaling "swing left" but the sun is straight in your face and the guy thinks you mean "boom down". I made the switch about two years ago and the first thing I noticed is how much faster everything moves when you don't have to stop and re-signal every few steps. One tip though, get a mic with a noise-canceling feature or at least a windscreen, because diesel engines will eat your voice alive otherwise. Also, keep a spare battery in your pocket at all times, you don't want to be stuck mid-lift with a dead radio and no backup plan. Some old timers still swear by the visual stuff, but honestly, they just haven't dealt with a miscommunication that nearly dropped a load on someone's car yet. My crew laughed at me at first, now they're all asking which headset I got.

troy_wilson829d ago

Went through three headsets before realizing the problem was my own yelling, not the noise.