A-Kabel, providing new headset range for Zenitel

Zenitel has selected A-Kabel to manufacture a range of headsets for its Maritime & Energy product portfolio, where rough use meets durable Norwegian design.

A-Kabel, although a small company from Årnes in Norway (56km north of Oslo), is well known in the offshore Energy market. It started out as part of ABB, but the current owners purchased the Årnes facilities from ABB in 1991. Since then, they have continued to deliver high-quality cable and components that can stand up to harsh conditions, such as the salty environments and extreme temperatures typical of Nordic costal operations. From a start in cables, A-Kabel’s headset era began after Statoil (today Equinor), pleased with A-Kabel’s other offerings, asked the firm to develop the full range of components for portable communication.

Zenitel and A-Kabel

During a normal year, we see turnover of just about 10,000 specialized headsets. While Zenitel has long offered a range of 3M Peltor headsets, and will continue to do so, we needed a more flexible fit for our specialized headset range. 
Since A-Kabel was able to cover the entire production from connection, cable, switchbox, headsets and spare parts, they became an attractive choice of manufacturer. Although the cost savings is always key in today’s competitive market, the fact that A-Kabel is a highly respected manufacturer who could offer lead time on “On Request” items of only a few days, with overnight delivery to our warehouse, proved persuasive factors in our selecting A-Kabel as a provider of high-quality products to some of the most demanding installations.

Tough headsets for rough and loud environments

We offer these new A-Kabel headsets in 5 main configurations, with various cable lengths on some configurations, resulting in 10 new headsets overall.
 
The VMP PEL-A series comes with standard 10m cable or optional 15 and 20m cable. The PEL-A series connects directly to the VMP unit through flying leads/ferrules, prepared for screw terminals.

The last headset in the VMP series is the PELP-A version that comes with a standard 7-pin plug used on a 10m cable, which makes it a portable headset. It connects with our standard plug box for the VMP series.

The next headset range is the VSP series that comes with a PEL-A version with 10m cable and optional 20m cable. As with the VMP, the PEL-A series headsets are connected directly to the VSP unit with flying leads, while the PELP-A series headsets are connected to the VSP series via standard CD-4 plug box. 

PEL-A series

PELP-A series

The last headset is the P-MT7-A, which is our headset for analog telephones and Talk-Back systems, it comes in one configuration, with standard 10m cable and 4-pin plug connected either through a plug box or directly to the unit. 

All headsets are of robust, double- cone construction and can withstand temperature ranges from -40 to +60 degrees Celsius. When worn, the headsets have IP54 protection on the entire unit, and all metal parts are stainless steel for increased durability. The sound quality of the headsets has been fully tested to make sure they meet our requirements, and with a high noise attenuation of -30dB as well as a very good noise cancelling microphone, these headsets embody our mantra of “to hear, be heard and understood” even in rough, noisy environments.

Accessories and switchbox 

It is also worth mentioning that we offer a full range of accessories for these headsets such as:

The switchbox on all the cables has been especially designed for Zenitel. It features a much more ergonomic design than previous switchboxes we have offered. The switchbox and pushbutton developed for our range of headsets are sealed type, to ensure a long, secure operation life. All internal connections are further protected with shrink sleeves.

We are proud to present this new product range to our customers, partners and end users and trust that you will be pleased with them, as well.