Phonak Roger ON / airplanes and new cables

#1

Hey all:

Just wanted to mention that my Roger ON is a game changer regarding hearing clients in areas with poor acoustics. If you don’t have one…get one!

Also, I often fly overseas. The Roger ON works flawlessly with the movie display on the back of the seats. However, the original cable that came with it is total garbage…so I upgraded it with these as with the 90 degree angle, it won’t get damaged by getting in / out of the seat:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1PJXCFM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMG7QKJ5

3 Likes
#2

Phonak cable work the other way round for all cables on Amazon.

Amazon sell output cable where you need input cable.

1 Like
#3

Did you buy the microphone version of that USB cable? And you tested this already? As @Zebras mentions, all the cables I’ve seen on Amazon are for aux input, not output to microphone.

This could be very good if it works.

WH

#4

Got the input and output the wrong way!

@WhiteHat explains it much better than me!

#5

I will be flying to the Philippines soon so I will test it out. The cable that came with the Roger is total garbage and breaks easy at the male end. Does anyone have a link to a different type of cable that is more than likely to work???

#6

NEVER MIND. I said something worked, but it looks like it only sounded like it worked because my aids were connected to the computer via bluetooth.

#7

The original cable broke at the male end when I got out of my seat because I smashed against it. So, I replaced it with the cable in the Amazon link along with the 90 degree adapter. I will test this soon.

#8

Oh and the double jack thingy - thats only for some airplanes. Typically, it’s just the single jack to my Roger On.

#9

You all are right…this doesn’t work (tested on my computer). Does anyone have a link to a cable replacement?

#10

You can get a cable with a headphone jack at both ends and use that with the Roger base unit. You’ll have to also connect it to a power brick via the USB port. It’s unwieldy, but it will work. That’s how I have my work computer set up. (I’ve been out for a few weeks and misremembered which cord I used when I mentioned it in my earlier post.)

There are a lot of headphone-to-usb-c adapters that are just one piece, no cord. Maybe one of those would work with the headphone cord? No idea.

#11

Ok, one more suggestion:

In this thread

@Zebras said this cable would work:

They want nearly $50 to ship it to the US, though.

2 Likes
#12

@Zebras @CombatWombat

I just bought 4 of these from the UK at around $75. Pricey but I’ll have a few extra here and maybe sell one or two.

Does anyone know if this 90 degree elbow will work or will it throw the whole thing off?

https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Plated-Connector-Compatible-Controller-Speakers/dp/B09CDC1MV9

#13

I’ll be happy to take one or two off your hands!

I’m thinking the adapter should be fine, because it’s still consistent with the headphone end being connected to the audio source. But I guess you’ll find out when they get here… If not, be careful with that expensive cable! :rofl:

#14

I think what you mean when you say headphone jack is headphone plug. The jack is the receptacle; the plug goes into it. And by Roger base unit, assumedly you mean docking station.

I have a round Roger Select iN microphone, which is the model previous to the current (and rectangular) Roger On iN. (They’re gonna drive us crazy with these names.) It came with several cables. One has the small USB-C male connector on one end, which plugs into the microphone. The other end is a 3.5mm stereo type (three contacts, i.e. two conductor shielded) male micro phone plug which plugs into many things including airplane audio jacks. If its one foot length is sufficient (you can tuck the microphone into the seatback magazine pocket by the tray, from which it will transmit to your hearing aids), you’re done – unless you want to power the microphone externally rather than relying on its internal battery. In that case, you bring along the docking station. Insert the microphone into its docking station. At rear, plug in a 3.5mm male to male jumper cable of suitable length, which you bought unless one of those came with your microphone. If necessary you can lengthen that cable with another, this one a 3.5mm male to 3.5mm female extension cord. That connects the airplane audio jack to the audio jack on the back of the docking station. The Roger microphone also came with a power cable to use with it or with its docking station. In this case, since the microphone will be sitting in its docking station, the USB-C end of the power cable now plugs in at the back of the docking station. The other end of that cable is a standard, larger USB connector. Plug that into a powered USB jack to get the needed 5V power, if one is provided on the plane. Otherwise plug it into a power adapter which you brought for whatever type AC power connector is available, to convert the AC power socket voltage from 110 or 220 down to 5V as required by the docking station. You can tuck the docking station and unneeded length of cables into the magazine pocket, or leave it on the open tray table. Just don’t let it hang in the air to avoid stress on the cable connectors or worse, having the microphone fall out of the docking station and end up lost under a seat. Now you don’t have to worry about the Roger microphone running out of juice on a long flight.

2 Likes
#15

What is Roger ON? Can you explain/describe?

1 Like
#16

@Exmole …if you read the link below, it will explain. But in a nutshell its a little microphone that can help redirect sound to (Phonak) hearing aids to hear better in certain situations (bad acoustics area, loud restaurants, classes, etc.). It also can be used to listen to movies, etc. on airplanes and connect to your computer to listen to whatever directly into (Phonak) hearing aids.

Roger On: Hearing Aid Microphone - Roger On | Phonak

1 Like
#17

@Hoofie_Puppet

Thanks for your recommendation. I dont have a Roger ON but I’ll look into getting one with your recommendation.
The cable recommendation helps too.
" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1PJXCFM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMG7QKJ5 "

#18

That cable will not work with the Roger. It is designed to send the audio from the usb-c side to the 3.5mm plug. You need the data to go the other way. The cable you reference is for aux in and you want the 3.5mm plug to go into your audio source to send audio to the microphone which will transmit it to your HAs.

Roger on comes with one media cable. I wish I had five.

WH

#19

@DaveL @WhiteHat is absolutely correct. Me buying that cable did NOT work. This is why I finally bought the needed cable from the UK website. I find it amazing this cable is no where to be seen on the retail market in the US or Canada. I got my cables in about a week from the UK site (I bought 4).

This is what you need: https://www.deafequipment.co.uk/product/37450497/3PRON35USB/Phonak-Roger-On-USB-C-to-3-5mm-audio-convertor-lead

2 Likes
#20

Thank you! Helps a lot