I did find it very handy, it made a huge difference. There is learning curve to using it in this very challenging situation. The instructor is in the middle and turning around while people & dogs are moving around the perimeter. Any more than one physical “body” between the mic and receiver and there is a temporary loss of connection. At one point, I was down on one knee putting the pup into a stack position and he smacked his head into my chest, hitting the main button on the ComPilot. I lost the connection. The only thing that worked was powering the ComPilot off and then on. Then I heard it cycle through the last few things that I had tried.
We’ve got a different course tonight. I’ll see how it works there before trying to upgrade the pen software. I did speak with the audi before the course and they thought the factory reset was a good idea. Thanks for the suggestions.
Now that it is functional, I think I need to go through the manuals a few times. One of my classmates last night is a teacher & mentioned they use these in their school with a technician that does all the setups. I will try to see if I can get any pointers from them on using the Pen.
It originally came with the longer cord, I kept hitting the main button while holding stuff up to my body while working. The shorter “child” cord solved that. I just wish they could come up with something that you wear around your neck, like this. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07V4WHT9K/?tag=wearinearca-20
@Zebras
A little. I used it Tuesday night for a different course, different instructor a little smaller room with pillars. It worked better than the night before.
I figured out if you press and hold the “-” button on the ComPilot it either decreases or mutes the input from the hearing aid mics just like it does with the TVlink. That cuts out the ambient sounds letting me hear the instructor better.
Costco called at the end of Wed and said the new ComPilot was in and they had a slot available for me for today. So I spent last night charging up everything to prep.
Today they set everything up while showing a new audi what they were doing. I don’t think they did a factory reset on the old ComPilot.
I’ll have to read the Pen manual to figure out the lights and buttons for switching the mic modes. That should give me something to play with next week. Then again, that could prove challenging if someone else is wearing it.
Yes that feature of holding the (-) button down is really useful. It does the same if you hold down the program button on your hearing aids.
I personally find the automatic mode works really well for me. I never have to manually change it.
Glad your new ComPilot is in. Hopefully it sorts out your issues.
EDIT - Altho I only wear 1 x Roger 18 receiver as my left ear doesn’t really pick up speech, I can hold down the program button on my Aids to reduce background noise in both my ears despite only one Aid being in the Roger program.
I’ll test that in class tonight. I have a feeling mine programs are set up differently.
The only program I wanted on the HA button was mute so I could quickly turn off loud noises at work.
The way mine are configured (and I think this is default) is the buttons that normally work volume on the HAs turn to balance between Roger input and the HA mics input. Using the “down” buttons on mine changes it for more HA mic input, and the up button changes it to more Roger mic input. Have to use the myphonak app to change volume.
Interesting. I wonder if the buttons on the ComPilot II will change the volume?
I’ll have to play around a bit to see what does what with how mine might be configured.
It sure would be nice if they could put this kind of stuff in a user manual.
If I leave the mics on in large group settings they seem to also amplify the ambient noise. Imagine a bunch of dogs barking in the background overpowering the instructor with the Roger Pen.
It would be nice if I could tweak the input like I can with the TV Link II & get the right balance between the desired input & ambient sounds.
OTOH I caught the interesting video below from one of the Hearing Tracker emails. It looks like Phonak is addressing these issues with their newer equipment & apps. I’ll try to keep up to date on what is available and what works with what - when it come time to replace my current hearing aids. The accessories will make a difference in my decision.
What I have helps, but I see the newer accessories could be even more useful.
