Impedance of Headsets
 

Having failed to find a decent lightweight headset that works I wondered if a boom mike could be combined with a walkman style headphone.

Can any Pruner advise on the impedance of a Hi-Fi headset and if it is/could be made compatible with an aircraft audio system.

Not exactly the best headset in the business, but try a TELEX Airman 750.
It is basically a 'walkman' style lightweight headset.
It comes complete with an adjustable gain mic, allowing you to set it up for use with a wide varity of other headsets on an int. system.
Our company use this type as standard, and it would be ideal in a low noise cockpit, however in a 146 I find something like a sennheiser, although heavier, overall more comfortable.
Try Transair's website for price ect..

When you say 'fail to find .... that works' are you talking about getting it to work in a particular a/c type? or with particular other type of headset?

What symptons do you have?

I'm no expert on this but I believe that most compatability problems relate to the impedance of the microphone, rather than the headset.

So if you take a hifi headset, and then add a boom mike, you may not solve the problem.

CPB

PB, I did not make myself clear. I dont like the Telex/Sennheiser lightweights because although they have no noise attenuation they seem to inhibit speech sufficiently to force me to were them one ear on/one off. Our company sadly does not use the intercom.

I have seen a Sony headset that is clearly based on the design of my Hi-fi walkman headphones which I am sure would be ideal if they could be made to work with an aircraft comm system. Hence my specific inquiry about impedances.

Sony already does make an aviation version of the headset you mentioned (and has done for several years) so impedance shouldn't be a problem. Its model No is DR6010 and I believe that one of the major airlines (JAL perhaps ?) has issued it to flight crew for some time now. Have a look at www.marvgolden.com although there are quite a few other companies around that will supply it (this just hapens to be the first I found).

please please please talk to yr avionics/radio engineer for the line or tech services to ensure that yr proposed headset is approved for use on yr aircraft