Click here to download the 2025 OHIS Adapters and Consoles flyer.
The HHI product line delivers standards-based interoperability between radios and users (e.g. headsets). HHI, Halibut Headset Interfaces, is the Halibut Electronics name for products that implement the Open Headset Interconnect Standard (OHIS).
HHI products include:
- Adapters add OHIS compliant interfaces to your headsets and radios.
- Consoles add functionality to your shack, using OHIS interfaces.
What the heck is OHIS?
The Open Headset Interconnect Standard is an electrical and physical standard for the connections between the user and the radio: microphone, headphones or speaker, and PTT. Often times, these take the form of a headset, but not always.
Ideally, radios and headsets would have OHIS-compliant ports on them directly. In 2025, we are early in the adoption of OHIS. Instead, we use adapters, such as HHI Radio Pro and HHI User Pro.
This is most important in multi-user environments: club shacks, contesting stations, or emergency operations centers. It is in these environments that OHIS really shines: any operator can bring in their own headset, sit down at any radio, and plug in directly without concern for whether they have the specific adapter for their particular headset to that particular radio.
HHI Adapters
HHI Adapters convert non OHIS-compliant connections to an OHIS Radio or OHIS User connection. Currently, these adapters are available:
HHI Radio Pro
HHI Radio Pro adds an OHIS-compliant Radio port to any radio, while maintaining the radio’s original microphone, headphone/speaker, and PTT connections. Both ports get receive audio from the radio, but the PTT selects which microphone audio is sent to the radio.
Any radio means any radio, no matter the pin-out or signal level. Any signal can be assigned to any pin of any connector, and trim pots adjust signal levels for a perfect match.
HHI User Pro
HHI User Pro converts any headset (or other microphone, headphone, and PTT combination) to an OHIS-compliant User port. This allows you to connect your audio devices to any OHIS-compliant radio, such as the HHI Radio Pro.
Similarly to the Radio Pro, any audio devices means any audio devices, no matter the pin-out or signal level. Any signal can be assigned to any pin of the microphone and headphone ports. It also includes a pre-amp and mic level trim pots, with built-in VU meter, to support any microphone level.
HHI Consoles
HHI Consoles are devices that go between the user and the radio and provide extra functionality.
HHI Contesting Console
The HHI Contesting Console connects two users to one radio, with an intercom between them.
- Each operator has their own 4 channel mixer for their headphones: Radio, Intercom, Side tone, and Ambient.
- Whichever operator presses their PTT, their microphone audio gets sent to the radio.
- An Ambient microphone allows operators to hear what’s going on around them, or turn it down to block outside noise.
- Connect a speaker to the Radio Speaker port, and people around you can hear the radio, or turn it down during quiet time.
Possible use cases for the Contesting Console include:
- Connect a Logger and an Operator to the same radio in a casual contest, like Field Day.
- Train new users. The Elmer and trainee can hear each other, and also hear the radio, and talk on the radio, without having to remove their headphones.
- Multi operator POTA/SOTA activations.
The Contesting Console uses OHIS-compliant ports to connect to the users and radio.