Headsets

[the wizard of auz]

I went out and bought an adapter lead from Western Airmotive at Jandakot for about thirty bucks. Way too expensive for what it is, but I am known for being a lazy bugga.
Give godfrey a ring and he will see ya right.

[heedm]

Quality headsets do more than put speakers close to your ears and a microphone close to your mouth. The biggest (other) thing they do is sound attenuation. Helicopters have a different spectrum of noise than fixed wing...hence the difference.

If the different plugs bother you then have an adapter made and use just one headset. I've got a pair of FW David Clarks that have worked well in three different helicopter types.

[OopsNearly]

Heedm's got it right, try flying in a turbine helicopter without a headset and then do it in a fixed wing, you will soon note the difference. If you value your hearing and you plan to fly turbine long term then get a helicopter headset, David Clark or Peltor just to name two, and have custom made earplugs also. Good helicopter companies pay for them, we supply both headsets and earplugs.

[Hilico]

Heli headsets have a groove near the top of each ear-cup for the sunglasses.

[18greens]

GLSNightPilot

Thanks for that very logical reply. I can now see the historic reason for the differences.

Heedm

Are you saying the noise attenuation is different in a Heli head set to a FW headset? Do they knock out different ranges of the aural spectrum?

ASPINSWING

What are collective rolleyes?and why would a cord affect them?

To everyone-
All very interesting and thanks for the replies.

[Winnie]

BUY A HELMET FOR FRIGGS SAKE!

You can then choose from Alpha (Very Costly) Gentex (Costly) and Gallet (French )

[Blue Rotor Ronin]

Rotormad,
I, got a David Clark H20-16 with gelpads that I don't use, because they can't be converted to Super Pumas. Ouch!
The Bose I've tried, Very nicey very pricey. Fragile!
Peltors are cheap and chearful. Sturdy but passively pants.
Sennheiser, half price of Bose, double the Peltor. The Daddy!
Happy headset hunting.

[rotormad]

Winnie and anyone else for that matter.

Is buying a helmet worth serious consideration over a decent headset??? If i am going to spend a considerable amount of cash i would like to do it once, if you get my drift.

Any advice on this would be appreciated.

Rotormad

[Winnie]

Rotormad
IMHO it is a very good investment to buy a helmet, I wear mine religiously, and what you'll find is that it takes away even more noise than the headset, as well as giving additional protection against such incidents as birdstrikes and other flying objects! No problem with sunglasses either, since they are already there! The headset is inside as well, the only negative issue I find, is that terrible helmet hair after a few hours!

[rotordk]

Anybody tried the David Clark H10-76XL in Pumas ?
Seems like a good contender.....thoughts please !

[vorticey]

i have a cheap flightcom headset ($395A in 1997), gel seals, electret mic (whatever that means) and big cussion at the top. its great! strait cord wich i have had cut and a nato plug and socket inserted for use in both planks and heli's. nato plugs cost about $45 each ($90 for both). a bungy corded one would have been good but they get cought on everything too.
$8 sunglass seals work wonders!

p.s. i used a new david clark to day to see what the difference was (a cheaper one, $500), the sides were more adjustable (probably cause mine had more padding on the top) and it made my speech sound robotic and almost hard to understand, aswell the mic was big and ugly and had no wind sock, it was a silly pastal blue colour aswell.

[skyfarmer]

ANR headsets....again

Before I get told to search the forums first, already done that, and read the posts. Plus read all manufacturers blurb etc.

Have been instructing now for about 4 months, and was hoping to upgrade my 1996 model DC 13.4 ANR set with a new ANR set, if I know there is going to be an improvement. Loads of new sets available now, newer improved circuitry etc.

So to the question....

Has anyone out there any experience with sets such as BOSE X, Lightspeed Thirty 3G, Pilot 17-79, Telex Stratus Digital, or other makes? The ones listed above are on my shortlist at present.

What I am looking for is direct comparisions between the sets, from people with experience of them.

I know the BOSE set is going to cost me more than a months salary, but if they do the job, and safeguard the medical, then it has to be worth it.

Cheers

Neil

[FlyingFowl]

Have you considered adding the electrics to your existing DC13.4. I converted my 1992's about four years ago well worth the upgrade.

ps
keep an eye on the mixture control if you instruct with them as there is no noise clue if your student decides to starve the engine of fuel.

[skyfarmer]

I have 2 DC headsets, one is factory ANR 13.4 set from about 1996, and the other set a standard 13.4 set.

I could add the Adams electronics set to the non ANR set, or see if DC do a factory upgrade of my old ANR set to the new electronics.

As luck would have it, a chap at the club yesterday came in with a Bose X headset, so i took it up on my next lesson and did direct comparison with the DC ANR set. The student also tried the three different sets (DC Passive 13.4, DC ANR 13.4 and BoseX).

There is not much difference between the ANR sets. The Bose IS quieter than DC ANR, but not by enough to warrant chucking the DC's. DC's do have a definite background hiss at higher frequencies.

The student said the clarity of my voice through the Bose mic was improved over the DC mike, and I could notice a definite improvement to his clarity when I had the Bose on and he was using the DC sets.

I would be worried about build quality /strength of the Bose set though. They seem like a cheap plastic jap toy in comparison to a set of DC 's. The mike boom seems very flimsy where it fits to the headset, get it caught once on shoulder strap and it would probably be ripped clean out of headset.

They are very comfortable and light though, you almost forget they are on.


Our club has recently purchased 16 new sets of Peltor 8006's.

Do not let anyone else make the same mistake, they are F****ing awful. As a pair of them, (left and right seat) the audio is bad enough, the mike noise from them is horrendous

I let all my students use my spare DC 13.4's once they get themselves a set of earcovers and mike sock, so I do not have to listen to the noise from the peltors.

[Squawk7777]

I have two: Bose X and the Telex ANR 1D. The Bose is probably the better one, not by much though. The reason I didn't go straight to the X was the $400 difference, the fact that the ANR unit of the Telex can be powered by 4AA and/or a cigar lighter input. The Bose is also a bit lighter than the 1D.

I have used headsets with electronic add-ons, but am not really impressed. It depends how much your hearing is worth...

7 7 7 7

[skyfarmer]

Thanks,
Have not come across the Telex 1 D, and have only seen adverts for the 50 D. Have you come across the 50 D and if so, is it greatly improved on the 1D ?

[Heliman01]

Bose aviation x

Hi

I have used the DC anr and have the Bose x, and price aside i found the Bose to give better Active noise cancelling, but not very good at passive, so always have a spare battery with you, then you shouldnt have a problem ( i get about 20 hours use out of each alkaline battery). The Bose anr works mainly on the lower frequencies, cutting out alot of the gearbox and blade noise, which is the most damaging range to the ears, you still hear a large % of the turbine high pitch which i am informed is not so damaging !

The Bose is very light and comfortable, even after 6 hours in the seat of a 332 Super Puma. I found myself not as fatigued with the Bose, also overall RT is very clear, and i find i dont have to have the radios on full blast, which will benefit my medical in years to come.

The durability maybe a little compromised as the ear cups are made of plastic, but this makes them light weight and comfortable, the DC were very heavy. As soon as i have finished with my Bose after each flight i put them back in there protective case,and not left in the ops room to get dropped.

After service on Bose is second to none as i have found out, which was the deciding factor for me. I have now done 1400 hours flying with the Bose X, and as you can tell i am very pleased with it.

One final thought for you, that might persuade you to part with the cash is that the price of a minature digital hearing aid for those with partial hearing ( or an ex Super Puma driver ) is around a thousand pound !

[beetlenut]

The Difference ($$) ANR Vs ANR

Have been looking at new helmets recently and have noticed a distinct price variation in ANR kits.

Can anyone help with the following??

1) Is there a particular range which denotes better ANR abilities?

2) Should ANR kits be "matched" or approved by the helmet manufacturer?


The reason being

Alpha ANR kit = $1500 odd on top of helmet price

Gallet = $600 .........................................

3rd party = $200 + buy either of the above helmets.



How do I measure apples to apples hear??



Thanks John

PS: mis-spelling of hear international.

[Lowlevldevl]

My opinion on ANR, having retrofitted aftermarket to an Alpha and having it standard on a Gallet is this.
Unless your helmet is being paid for by your company, forget it.
Neither of my ANR systems has worked for more than a month before breaking down. When they were working the expense of fitting a new 9volt battery every work day was seriouslygalling. Now I use foam earplugs. They do twice as good a job as ANR and are so cheap that the cost of a bulk box from time to time is stuff all.
Try a few different types of plugs to see which is most comfortable. Personally I like the 'classic'. Its made of a medium density cylindrical foam, not tapered, not soft and squishy. For some reason these are the most comfortable for me. You may feel a bit of pressure in the inner ear to begin with but after 3 or 4 days you'll forget they're even there. When I'm finished with them I slip them into a zip pocket in my flight suit and they get cleaned when the suit goes trough the wash.
If, like me you are a slave to new technology, you'll buy the ANR anyway. Somebody gave me this exact same advice also.

Beetlenut hey!? Where abouts in PNG?

[HeliMark]

Another cheap, and I think better way is to get the C.E.P. It is the foam ear plugs with a small speaker in them. There is only a small modification to plug them into the audio of the helmet. The foam is very easy to replace and cheap.

I cut the volume of my radio's down by almost half with them. I have had them for two years now and have not had any trouble with them.