professional audio founded 1966 headquarters fairview heights illinois key people bob heil ceo founder sarah heil president products microphones headsets booms shock mounts radio accessories website www.heilsound.com heil sound ltd. is an american manufacturer of professional audio equipment based in fairview heights illinois . the company was founded by bob heil in 1966 and is well known for inventions in live sound the heil talk box and a variety of high quality microphones and headsets for use in commercial and amateur radio . 1 2 heil sound is also the only manufacturer to be invited to exhibit at the rock and roll hall of fame . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 sound system design 1.2 heil talk box 1.3 amateur radio 1.4 home theaters 1.5 microphones 2 awards 3 current products 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit heil sound was founded in 1966 by inventor organist and amateur radio aficionado bob heil 2 in fairview heights illinois . 4 sound system design edit starting in 1966 bob heil came back to his home town of marissa illinois and opened ye olde music shop one of the country s first pro audio stores 5 where he also sold hammond organs . he would also fix the organs on stage before a performance for the musicians . noticing that some pa systems were small and some did not produce full range sound and some could not project into a large crowd bob heil started creating very large pa systems . heil sound began managing the sound in several venues around st. louis from auditoriums to bowling alleys . 6 the company experienced its first breakthrough on february 2 1970 when bob heil and his sound team successfully created a new and innovative sound system for the grateful dead at the fox theater in st. louis after the dead s former sound engineer augustus owsley stanley iii was incarcerated . heil sound then accompanied the band on tour later accompanying the who the james gang 6 jeff beck 2 4 zz top humble pie seals and crofts bachman turner overdrive leslie west j. geils ike and tina turner and chuck berry . 3 heil talk box edit in 1973 bob heil invented the heil talk box which was the very first high powered talk box to be placed on the market . heil sound created the first one to be used on joe walsh s barnstorm tour . the product became a signature sound for joe walsh peter frampton and bon jovi . 4 heil sound later sold the rights to dunlop manufacturing inc. where it continues to be a popular product . 7 amateur radio edit around 1980 many of the large acts heil sound was working with were no longer touring . according to heil punk rock was the direction that music was going and there was no challenge for me in that so i quit touring . heil began listening again to ham radio and after feeling that the sound quality was still mushy with no articulation began working on microphones . 3 heil sound entered the amateur radio market ostensibly working to fix what he perceived as problems in the industry involving poorly transmitted and received audio . bob heil developed lines of radio headsets and components . 1 in 1982 heil sound introduced their hc series elements specifically the hc 4 and hc 5 which allowed the non dsp transmitters of the time to produce different sounding audio by changing microphone elements . the most recent is the hc 6 which is used in many of their current microphone models . 8 heil sound was also an early installer of large satellite dishes for radio . 1 on may 24 2011 bob heil became host of a new netcast show on leo laporte s twit.tv network called hamnation . the show focuses on subject matter for the ham radio enthusiast . bob s first guest was rock star friend and avid amateur radio operator joe walsh who also wrote the theme music . 9 10 home theaters edit in the late 1980s heil sound entered the home theater movement then becoming popular in the united states . microphones edit heil sound mics are different from others in the amateur radio industry by using large diaphragms . awards edit heil sound has been invited to exhibit at the rock and roll hall of fame . 3 bob heil was also named the innovator of the year at the parnelli awards in 2007 . 11 in 1989 heil sound was named usa satellite dealer of the year 1 by the satellite broadcasting and communications association in las vegas . 4 current products edit microphones notes pr series includes the pr 20 pr 22 pr 28 pr 30 pr 31bw pr 35 pr 40 and pr 48 models . heil pr 781 dynamic cardioid microphone designed for use with most makes of elite transceivers of kenwood yaesu ten tec and icom . this model is an upgrade of the pr 780 which was developed to work with icom s ic 7800 radio . rc series includes the rc 22 and the rc 35 wireless capsules . handi mic series the handi mic is an ultra compact hand microphone that comes with either the ic or pro element . hm 12 the new hm 12 is designed specifically for amateur radio communications and to work with the vast majority of low impedance transmitters . pr 10 the pr10 is designed for amateur radio communications and includes a base with ptt and on air light . gold elite the gold elite is designed for amateur radio communications and contains two distinctly different high performance dynamic elements . the fin intended for live sound recording and broadcast applications . similar to the heil pr 20 the fin is illuminated from the inside providing a unique look when plugged into a phantom power source . heritage studio designed for recording studios and commercial broadcast applications . similar to the pr 20 . heil icm designed specifically for owners of earlier icom transceivers that exhibit low gain in the microphone amplifier stage . it was developed in collaboration with icom . headsets pro 7 aviation style headset with interchangeable mic elements available in full range dynamic hc7 ic electret ic and dx dynamic hc74 pro set ps series the headphones include phase reversal technology and include the pro set 4 pro set 5 and pro set ic all with different features . pro set elite series the newer pro set elite headsets are intended for commercial sportscasters podcasters and ham radio oerpators . comes in two versions ; the pro set elite 6 and the pro set elite ic . pro set media pro the pro set media pro is intended for computer use containing a condensor microphone element to meet the requirements of computer sound card inputs . pro set micro single dual side a lightweight high performance headset . pro set plus discontinued the highest quality heil headset equipped for outside use . traveler dual single side discontinued can interface between 100 different radio models cell phones computers and more . shock mounts sm 1 works with the pr 20 22 and similar 1 diameter mics . prsm works with the pr 30 pr 40 and similar sizes available in champagne or black . booms hb 1 all steel external spring mic boom . pl2t removable top for easy microphone installation internal tension springs for clean look . sb 2 intended for small spaces other cb 1 ptt microphone base with push to talk switch . heilwire for making connections to microphones and other devices such as for connecting microphones foot switches keyer paddles and or other data or control devices . the wire reduces capacitive coupling between the control lines and the sensitive ac audio signals residing inside the shield resulting in significant reduction of the possibility of hum pickup or rfi issues . other products include a variety of gear bags microphone connector and connecting cables headset adapters and microphone drum set packages . 8 see also edit talk box bob heil amateur radio references edit a b c d bob heil k9eid speaker . sd900mhz . 2006 . retrieved 2011 05 07 . a b c list of products by manufacturer name . sweet wave audio . retrieved 2011 05 07 . a b c d bob heil a living sound legend . musician s friend . july 27 2010 . retrieved 2011 05 28 . a b c d then and now bob heil k9eid . slsrc . retrieved 2011 05 07 . heil sound microphones . recording hacks . retrieved 2011 05 28 . a b daley dan december 2008 . the night that modern live sound was born bob heil and the grateful dead . performing musician . retrieved 2011 05 07 . musician s friend . interview with bob heil a b amateur radio products . heil sound . retrieved 2011 05 28 . about us . heil sound . retrieved 2011 05 28 . cite error invalid ref tag ; name aboutus defined multiple times with different content see the help page . ham nation . the twit netcast network . retrieved 2011 05 28 . parnelli awards multi media . parnelli awards . retrieved 2011 05 07 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title heil sound & oldid 743638277 categories companies established in 1966electronics companies of the united statesaudio equipment manufacturerscompanies based in st. louissound recording technologyprivately held companies based in illinois1966 establishments in illinoishidden categories pages with reference errorspages 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