Always Room for Improvement
I finally executed on a little idea I had been kicking around for a while. My work headset has one of those discrete USB headphone-and-microphone adapters, so the headset is just a pair of stereo plugs that plugs into that USB adapter, which then plugs into the computer. I like to listen to music and occasionally podcasts at work, and this has previously required me switching back and forth between headset and earbuds.
What I did here (pictured below) was install a 6’ USB extension cable that allowed me to snake an extended USB cord across the back of my desk starting from my docking station, hiding the little USB fob for the headset behind the desk as well. Then, since the headset ends in just analog plugs and is not hard-wired to the USB, I plugged in a 6-inch audio patch into the headphone side of the plug (the headset mic plug remains direct-plugged into the fob). This 6” jumper then plugs into the “A” port of the A/B switch you see garishly labeled “FLIP2” toward the rear of the picture. The “B” is connected to the retractable stereo cable you see there next to the switch, which then plugs into my phone. The “C” (common in or out) of the switch is then connected to the headset’s headphone plug. This allows me to bypass the USB fob’s audio out from my laptop and override it with phone audio by simply flipping the A/B over to “B”, leaving my headset on the whole time.
I also figured out I can hang the headset off of the thumbtack on that horrifying flowchart, which does wonders for my cable management.
It works well. The only little snag to it is the chance that I join a call and leave the switch on “B”. In this case they would hear me but I wouldn’t hear them. Since we use Microsoft Lync, that’s such a common occurrence it wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow.