Headset Mic's For Helicopters

[pjackson29]

Just throwing this out there, as I have read pretty much all the posts and it still does not answer the question.

Flying helicopters, I have been told Dynamic is better, yet all new DC units come with the electret mic.

I have used a set in an R22 and they worked with the Peltors (electret and dynamic versions) fine.

Did have a comment from London information while using H10-13.4's (electret), saying he could here me fine, but there was a lot of background noise and whistling??? Is this the Electret being too sensative, though arnt they noise cancelling.

From my end its great, I can here my passenger and the NNR is much improved as is the comfort, but not sure how it sounds the other end.

So there you go, any thoughts on this? Some say dynamic some say other. But why is DC going M-7A all the way at present

Thanks for looking

[Devil 49]

I'm just a pilot, but I think that electret are 'dynamic' in definition, but not usage. When I see 'dynamic', it's usually to differentiate a newer design from the older, non-dynamic carbon mic. I have the same headset you're using, and a couple of suggestions: Get the little black foam thingy (breeze shield?) for your mic; and keep the mic centered and against your upper lip, these cut down on extraneous noise.
Other than that, you will find differences aircraft to aircraft in transmission quality.

[TukTuk BoomBoom]

Yeah good tip about the mic socks, always a good idea for helicopters.
Also you can adjust the "gain" on the mics, we do it with all brand new David Clarks, its a small flat-blade type screw in the mic itself. Wind it all the way out (as in anti-clockwise, righty tighty lefty loosy) and it cuts down on the background noise you hear with the voice.
Again, very important for helicopter headsets due to the high ambient background noise.
The good thing about David Clark headsets over peltor is the ease of changing the mics, bloody peltors have to be soldered!

[pjackson29]

Thanks for the info so far.

Regards the sock, the latest DC comes with a foam cover, is that enough?.

Tuk Tuk there's no adjustment for gain on the M-7a Electret mic from what I can see. The gain adjustment you mention is on the Dynamic type mic, so this kind of suggests Dynamic would be better. Have you had a look at the Electret type?

The reason I mention the Dynamic mic and Electret mic is that the DC H10-56 Passive came with Dynamic (probably carbon amplified) and this was built specifically for heli's. Cant seem to get hold of one of these sets either so went down the h10-13.4 route.

Other issue could be the avionics, badly installed maybe. Speech seems clear, and maybe a faint noise that I pickup before start-up

Does anyone know if you can still get h10-56 headsets. I have the option to return the DC H10-13.4's, but not sure if thats the right way to go.

Thanks again

[Gomer Pylot]

I've used a number of different mikes over the years, and I don't think there really is much difference between them, as long as the impedance is correct.

There is apparently a problem with some Robinsons, which have the cheapest available avionics package, without a separate circuit for each headset. This can cause matching problems, and one can override the other entirely. With a proper intercom box, it's not a problem, but it seems to be a major problem in some Robinsons.

[pjackson29]

Ditched the H10-13's and gone for the H10-36. Managed to find a set!

Older dynamic mic with adjustable gain. Extra 1 db noise reduction and the classic DC finish on the cup (smooth)

Sometimes cheaper is better and hopefully I should have no issues with this set. Even if I do I'm keeping them, seems to be getting hard to get the older DC models now.