Headsets
 

Guys :


Anyone got recommendations, prioritised on a) noise reduction, b) comfort, c) price and d) any other important factor, for headsets?

And how about ANR headsets - are they really that good, and do manufacturers make them for helicopters ?

The current headsets I've got are from my f/w days and showing their age.

WNR

I`ve tried a few ANR headsets recently. I`ve found the best to be "Pilot" ANR headsets the batteries are self contained in the sets and only need to be recharged after about 30 hours(according to the manufacturer)

The lead is detachable so its quite easy to get the appropriate helicopter leads. You will probably need two leads (one UK Nato & one US Nato) for the R22 & 206.
Also make sure you get the metal band accessory that aerobatic pilots use, it gives a lot tighter fit.

Shop around for the best price.

[This message has been edited by fastback (edited 15 July 2000).]

WNR, I've flown for years with a standard black Peltor helo set, very tough though they may not look it, noise attenuation is excellent, light weight and very comfortable, particularly if used with the earpad protectors which are absorbant stick-on paper, and the headband pad. They are VASTLY superior to the David Clark which are horribly heavy and uncomfortable.

I did own a Pilot which was a copy of the Peltor and it was so cheap and nasty I threw it after a month.

Not tried noise cancelling myself, found the Peltor so good I didnt want the hassle and considerable expense of batteries. After 10 yrs/3000hrs in light turbine helos I still have no appreciable loss on the audiogran trace which I think says it all.

Bon chance!

I know of someone who tried the Bose ANR headset for helicopters and found them to be no better than normal headsets at a huge cost.

I agree with Piston Broke, the normal Pilot headsets are totally useless, however the ANR 17 -79 are very good.

They are around the £350 mark which seems alot of money, but having spoken to afew people that on the edge of the CAA limits regarding hearing loss, if they help in any way it`s worth it.

Peltor make a very good headset. I have owned a set for the last 5 years and they have been very reliable. They also had ANR headsets which they have taken of the market.

I`m afraid the Peltors have been left at home once I`d tried the Pilot ANR`s. (with the metal headband)

i have a set of dave clarke h10-13 and the gel seals make them much more comfortable than the standard peltori fly the 22 44 and the ec120 and we have just put the boose anr in the 44 and it is amazing .. everyone must try it
watch though , make sure the low rrpm horn is rigged through the ics because some arent and the anr will cut the horn out!!

have boose anr on the 120 also very good for the long haul , if you do 8 hours a day like i do they are well worth the money. no headaches after a long day i think the kit has to be installed into the helicopters themselves --- each one---- try to convince the boss!!

at least try the anr before you buy any headset!

I think wossarunaway makes his point succinctly;
if it's your headset that's made you incomprehensible then get another one, else try spelling, syntax and grammar - we might stand a chance of understanding you!

David Clarke gel seals leak and run down your neck , and the headsets themselves are uncomfortable overweight shyte anyway, as most of us know.

I watched the Austrian Grand Prix today (didn't Scum-Hacker do well???)and most teams pit crew seemed to be using Peltors.
I rest my case.

[This message has been edited by piston broke (edited 17 July 2000).]

I wanted the most effective noise cnacelling headset about - and I imagined the new BOSE X-Headset might be the go. I was pretty happy with it until another pilot let me try his David Clark H10-56X.
The David Clark is heavier and bulkier, but is superior in noise attenuation. Also, when the batteries fail - the David Clark is a very effective passive headset. The BOSE sounds terrible - let me tell you - you scramble to get new batteries in ASAP!!! SO, for value for money AND better attenuation - go for the David Clark. I was in Yemen and I couldn't get the BOSE back to the factory or I would have exercised the 30 day moneyback guarantee... also - the battery only lasts half of the published time span - about 10 hours.
Cheers,
Ed

was piston broke slagging me??
am i slow?? or just hearing impaired from faulty headsets??

I have got Lightspeed ANR's, they are 1/2 the price of D.C's and very comfortable. The ANR 20k has been reviewed by most of the US press with top results. They are wider than most ANR's but very light and comfortable. Because they are now avail in the UK try them at a shop first. (then buy them in the states.)

I've tried lots of headsets over the last ten years, including ANR ones. The ANR I use now is the David Clark, I think it's the H10-56, it's the chunkier of the two basic types they have, and love it. I had Bose for a while, but although they were the most comfortable, and funky looking, they were not suited to the type of flying I do which is mainly bush work and all the travelling. David Clarks can take a bashing. Most of all, the DCs have great passive noise attenuation, so if you pop out of your ship to fuel it up or load pax and disconnect from the battery pack, you still get 27db of noise attenuation, that's more then most regular headsets. With some of the other headsets, while you're connected you're OK, but when you disconnect, or the battery juice runs out, things become real loud real quick. I also had a Peltor regular headset, which I liked for personal use, but I would recommend DCs for flight schools where others will use them and not look after them quite that well. Another point, after forking out for my ANR DC, a while later I got a job flying 212s which had the military ICS system, different impedence or whatever, and regular civy headsets didn't work. Usually it's just a matter of changing the mic, but in R22 and 206 you'll be OK, just bear that in mind when you go off somewhere to fly another type. Finally, what a lot of pilots do and swear by it, is just find some nice comfy ear plugs and wear them with the headset, and save lotso dosh and lotso hassle with battery packs and all that.

WhoNeedsRunways

Have you looked at www.pilottoys.com - they have a whole section on headsets with techie descriptions - might find something you like there.

Headset Dilemma
 

I've got a peltor headset that I use when flying fixed wing. Of course this doesn't fit in an R22 because the R22 has one jack not two. I ordered a converter kit from Transair to find it only fits the Jetranger connections. I've asked around most aviation places and no-one seems to be able to supply the correct one. Anyone know where I can get one from.

[This message has been edited by ravenx (edited 11 June 2001).]

www.flightsuits.com

Everything you need is there from clothing to electronics.

------------------
Marc

Rx,
I am nearly certain that you can obtain from Transair, a combo Nato which will slpit apart and fit with one the B206 and the other the R22, I have done this but my NR headset is Pilot, and they helped me to sort it out, the diff is the R22 needs a Silver Nato plug and the JR I use has a Gold Nato.
Hope you find the right one.
regards
PRB :)

VFRPilotPB - I did try them and that's where the original one came from but after several phones calls back to them after realising it didn't fit they just said sorry can't help

RW-1 - I did try www.flightsuits but for some reason all of their email addresses bounced

The problem is that Pilot's bronze coloured adaptors are wired incorrectly. We sell them, and we have to rewire every one to make them work. The functions of the pins on the UK (bronze) and the US (silver) are different. E mail me separately and I can either tell you how to rewire the adaptor or get it done for you.

For those that are interested, let me explain further.

GA aircraft use a double plug arrangement as standard - one for mike and PTT and the other for the received audio.
Helicopters have two standards - one US NATO with a silver plug and one UK NATO with a bronze coloured plug.
The silver and bronze plugs are slightly dimensionally different and will not work when you attempt to mate them
even though they appear to be the same at first inspection.

Most Jet Rangers in the UK have been rewired to use the UK bronze connectors, but most Robinsons still have the US silver
wiring. However, this is not always the case. Best thing is to look at the plug - if it is bronze it is UK, silver it is US.
Never fear, inter series adaptor cables are available between all of these standards.

The problem here is that the main source of these adaptors is Pilot Communications who supply most of the UK pilot shops. Unfortunately their
factory in Korea got the wiring wrong for the bronze plug. They assumed it was the same as the silver US plug. It isn't!
As a consequence all their products fitted with bronze helicopter plugs will not work until they have been rewired. Their
factory are now aware of the problem but there is a lot of product out there on dealers shelves which is still wired to the original incorrect
format.

Sorry to bore you, but it took me a long time to work out the cause of this problem and the above may save somebody else the same frustration!


[This message has been edited by muffin (edited 12 June 2001).]

No that wasn't boring. It's useful to know that if I do get an adapter from somewhere I'll have a course of action if it doesn't work immediately. Can you send the details of the wiring and then I'll be able to check

Thanks

Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) Headset
 

I’m going to buy an ANC headset in the next couple of weeks. However I’m still considering two options:

- Bose Aviation Headset X

- David Clark H10-76XL (this is the low impedance model, since the aircraft I fly has a low impedance intercom system)

Any comments, specially in terms of noise attenuation, comfort and customer service in the UK?

I got to use the Bose 10 in Hawaii last week with a couple of operators and found them great. The earcups on them fit well, some sort of gel inserts there, and made a very distinctive difference. Most tour operators in Hawaii seem to be using them.

Cant comment on the David Clarks since havent tried them.

Pac Rotors

Tried the Bose ANR headset in an S76 a few months ago. On the whole found them quite good and very comfortable, the one problem seemed to be that they did not get rid of the whining gearbox noise. In fact, that was the only noise left to listen to, which after a while drove you mad!!! Most people who used the headset found more or less the same thing. My advice would be to see if you can get the set on trial before you actually buy it as it is a lot of £££ to shell out if it is not going to do the job you hoped.
If the company you are purchasing from are a bit reluctant, tell them you are from a large company and the trial may result in many orders. It worked for us!!!

Hi VF,

"Pilot" make a good set too cost me about £280 and are very light, but need charging up daily , however there was a report of some sort of accident in a Heli caused by the wearing of NC headsets, but cannot find the thread.
My Regards :)

Vfr :

This, I think, is the one :
http://www.aaib.detr.gov.uk/bulletin/mar01/gbyhe.htm

first of all, i thought they were named anr for reduction and not cancellation (although a 'c' in the abbr. would have been fantastic). be that as it may, i have one thing to say about the bose vs david-clark: 12 oz! :D it is fantastic. try wearing a d.c. headset for eight hours straight. :mad: the downdraft with the bose x is changing the batteries every fourth-fifth hour.

cheers
tigerpic

Thanks for the answers I've got so far.

A few questions for tigerpic:

Bose claims that the 9volt battery last 20 hours. You said 4 to 5 hours. Why is that? Do you use rechargable batteries?

What do you think about the gearbox noise that pitchlink mentioned?

Are you flying turbine or piston?

Personally I'm flying the Super Puma, so I'm concerned about finding the same problems the Bose X has on the S76.

More comments please. They are very welcome :)

If you have a headset that you are really happy with then you may consider fitting an ANR kit into it.
www.headsetsinc.com make kits for most models, that can be fitted yourself in a few hours. Cost is under US$200.

Myself I have been using a Bose II for over 3 years and find the odd time I fly with my old standard David Clark painful.

Problems none, but new gel seals required every 6 months. Bought it with rechargable and non rechargable battery pack but believe that option isn't available on the Bose X.

NF Hi,

Yes that was the thread, thank you.
My Regards ;)

i have bose in my 600. i find them comfortable they work well with my ship. also used them in a enstrom480
you can get a power injector kit so you dont need a battery pack this saves clutter in the cabin and charging battery packs incedentley [sorry cant spell] they work as normal when battery is flat regards steve.,

Sennheiser makes a nice kit as well, and the ANR part is second to none. I can't give you specifics about the headset itself, because I always wear a helmet. Having said that, the conversion kit they offer for the SPH5 helmet is magic, and has the same electronics as the headset. Worth a look.

vertical flight:

i dunno why they claim 20 hours, maybe they changed the original battery pack that was one 9v battery to the old one that had plenty of aa batteries. no, i don't use re-chargeables, because everything is an efford - think about buying it, finding the place where to buy it, getting into your car, driving to the place, etc.

to be honest with you, i haven't noticed any special annoying noise from the gearbox. there are a lot of annoying noises from a helicopter and this is choosing between two lesser evils. i fly a jetranger, but i've used the headset in r22, enstrom, longranger, and a109. the bose is still good!

everything about a headset is stressing, the pressure, the noise, the weight. finding the headset with the least amount of each is the key. what type of operation do you do? if you only fly a couple of hours a day, maybe a d.c. is good for you (money-wise), but if you are pushing 5-8 hours/day, i would suggest testing the bose.

bose's warranty also works perfectly (two years i think)! i sent the head with fedex from florida after the mic stopped working. they fixed the mic, plus changed a few other things, returning the headset within ten days. how's that for customer support!

There might be some early adopters out there who want to check out a non headset/ non ANR solution.

17 years ago I was involved in trials of moulded earpeices with bone conductive mics for special forces. My part was checking out use and effectiveness for free fall operations.

I noticed this site: www.pantherelectronics.com

A claimed 46dB reduction once custom earpieces replace the ones they arrive with may be too quiet for safety but certainly seems an avenue worth checking out. The universal earpieces are rated with a 31dB reduction and they're priced at $464.

I can say from experience that the bone conductive mics work incredibly well in high noise situations.

Rob Lloyd

Prune Towers, we tried ear plugs(specially moulded to that individual) and they worked quite well, however, they were a problem around the helipad when working outside the running helo what's more: we kept 'misplacing' the bloody things because of their size!!!

We now use Active Noise Reduction headsets(ANR) set inside the headphones. Headset Services @ Shoreham designed them for us.
We looked into the research that DERA had compiled over many ears(sic).
Basically there isn't anything available on the commercial helo market at the mo' that will reduce/cancel low frequency sound[MGB, certain engine frequencies, etc]. The best models on the market only cater for high frequency noise such as the turbine whines etc and it is these that apparently cause damage to the inner ear and not so much the low freq.
Be very wary of an 'off the shelf' model because they may have been designed to capture a very narrow spectrun of high freq noise found in anything from motorbikes to model a/c!!! These are not tailored to the helo market per se.
Usual saying: you gets what yer pay for.... :cool:

Noise reduction headsets for rotary?
 

Can anyone rec. a good ANR headset for rotary? I need one with a non-Nato plug (three insulating stripes rather than four?) and a UK source for it, preferably. I'll have to use batteries.
TIA.

I Use a Pilot 17-79 ANR and when you press the button the engine noise melts away. It has dual jacks and I use an adaptor to give me US and UK Nato plugs. It's comfortable too.

I'm in discussion with David Clark at the moment ref ANR headset.

If I get any useful info I will post.

BTW Gaseous I think yr headset is fine for piston but not for turbines.

[ 21 November 2001: Message edited by: TipCap ]

[ 21 November 2001: Message edited by: TipCap ]

You may well be right. I only fly a Robinson.

I'm also interested. I've been using a non-ANR David Clark and it simply clamps too much for my preference. I'm thinking of getting the Bose as I will have the opportunity to get it at a discount for a little longer. What do others think of it in terms of both piston (now) and turbine (future, hopefully) performance?

Call up ANR using the search facility this has been discussed in detail before. ;)

Thanks TC! Somehow I didn't think of that. I remember some old threads but didn't recall them mentioning differences between turbine and piston (and I didn't feel like clicking back and trying to find it--should have realized there is a SEARCH function!) Duh :D