Help Identifying an Unknown Object - I've Been Told it's part of a Vintage Military Radio Headset

[Dwurban]

Hey everybody,

So, I've been asking all over the internet (mostly Reddit) for help identifying this mysterious object I have pictures of. Before I get into how (I think) it is related to Militaria and vintage war tech, I'll give you all the information I know for sure.

Technically, I have pictures of two of the same object, but one of them has been polished smooth, and as a result, the only writing on the object has been worn away. This writing is nothing more but the three words VOICE, TONE, and RECEIVE located on the one side of the object (however, RECEIVE has been sanded down on both objects). Both of the objects were found sometime in the early 1980s in California, more than likely at an electronic surplus shop or junk yard like Apex Electronics. Both objects are made of aluminum and weigh about 2 pounds. Outside of that, not much information is known about what they were prior to being found.

As far as I know, these are the only two of these objects I've ever seen despite all my scouring through the internet and other resources. And even though I've asked every place that I've come across that might know something about it, pretty much all I've gotten have been guesses. Except for one comment I received , which is the reason I'm posting here today.

This comment read that the object was part of a "Belt mounted portable radio for military usage. This part has a controller dial and the batteries. You'll have a helmet/headset connected to it too. Small part of the system. I saw the exact same thing in a surplus store last week." Unfortunately, as of now he has not been able to provide any photographic or other definitive evidence that this is what the object was, but he did say that he saw it in person and is the exact model of the object I have pictures of. I've searched the internet exhaustingly, using every search term I could think of; "vintage military headset radio", "ww2 headset radio control", "vintage portable belt mounted radio", etc etc etc. But, I could not find anything to prove that that is what it is.

Of course, I'm no expert in vintage militaria. I could be searching for all the wrong terms and that's why I'm not finding anything. That's why I'm asking all of you for help. This mystery has been plaguing me for months, but it's been plaguing several other people for upwards of 10 years or more. I say it's about time we put the mystery to rest.

I've provided several pictures of the object below. Additionally, you can go to this link for more images of the object, including ones with rulers in the shot for measurements. Disclaimer: The pictures are not mine. I do not personally own either object. I'm just trying to figure out what it is/where it came from

Any help any of you can provide would be very much appreciated!

Oh, by the way, I posted this in "The Western Allies" section of the forum because, since the writing on the object is in English, I figure it had to have been from either the United States, England, or another English speaking country. This doesn't necessarily guarantee its country of origin, but it likely narrows it down.

***Edit: I posted this thread here as well since this is apparently the better place for it. If someone on the mod team wants to delete my other post in History and Research, feel free. I would have but it doesn't seem like there's a way for me to do it***

[AZPhil]

I'm glad you put that note at the bottom. I thought maybe I was experiencing Da Ja Vue and I had been here before.

Semper Fi
Phil