Intercom Question

It didn't have anything for the microphone plug
though, so she couldn't talk to us, she could just listen in on our
conversation.

A regular microphone (the aviation kind) work in the microphone plugs of
an intercom (at least all the ones I've used), and the push-to-talk
allows the person to talk (on the intercom) but not transmit (test this
first on your setup!). The mike can be passed around in back.

Jose
--
Quantum Mechanics is like this: God =does= play dice with the universe,
except there's no God, and there's no dice. And maybe there's no universe.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Jose" wrote

A regular microphone (the aviation kind) work in the microphone plugs of
an intercom (at least all the ones I've used), and the push-to-talk
allows the person to talk (on the intercom) but not transmit (test this
first on your setup!). The mike can be passed around in back.

Yeah, but, but, but.....
My solution is more complicated! g

It does let people sit back and enjoy, with just pushing a button they all
hold in their hands.
--
Jim in NC

Wizard of Draws wrote:
I have a plastic bag as a permanent item in my flight bag for use as an
airsickness bag. I never know when I'm gonna make myself or my passengers
sick from my lousy flying.


I keep my headsets in plastic ziplock bags. If somebody has to puke, it's use
one of the bags or use a parachute.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

wrote:
We just joined a flying club with a 1976 Piper Warrior. The airplane has a
two-place intercom. I own four headsets and plan to occasionally take
friends up in the back seats. Is there such a thing as an adapter I could
plug into one of the existing headset jacks that I could then plug three
headsets into?

You can pick up a portable 4-place intercom. Plug that into the co-pilot's jacks
and plug the other three headsets into the passenger jacks of the intercom.
Features like "crew isolate" will be a handicap in the portable unit.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

The Y adapters we've got have both mic and headphones. I'm trying to find
where we got them. I know it was off the web, and I think the place was in
Arizona. They weren't cheap, but they do the trick. I'll keep digging.
Jim B

http://www.pilotproduct.com/page2.htm

Has several options. Not what we have, but similar.
Jim B

"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
The Y adapters we've got have both mic and headphones. I'm trying to find
where we got them. I know it was off the web, and I think the place was
in
Arizona. They weren't cheap, but they do the trick. I'll keep digging.
Jim B

That would be a Sigtronics SPA-400 STO,


That IS a four-place unit. If you're gonna stick with this rental
outfit, urge them to install the backseat plugs.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

George Patterson wrote:
You can pick up a portable 4-place intercom. Plug that into the
co-pilot's jacks and plug the other three headsets into the passenger
jacks of the intercom. Features like "crew isolate" will be a handicap
in the portable unit.

You have to be careful doing that, George.
Sometimes it will introduce feedback between the two intercoms and/or
the radio when the PTT is depressed to transmit.

wrote in message ...
We just joined a flying club with a 1976 Piper Warrior. The airplane has
a
two-place intercom. I own four headsets and plan to occasionally take
friends up in the back seats. Is there such a thing as an adapter I could
plug into one of the existing headset jacks that I could then plug three
headsets into?


I have an Avcomm AC-2EX portable 2 place intercom with the 4 place
adapter. I bought it when I was still a private student and seems to have
been a good investment. I know a couple of instructors who beat them
up on a daily basis. I've even had a use for the 4 place adapter.

In an airplane that has a 2 place intercom, we just plug it in normally
and run everything through the portable. This should work with virtually
any intercom that is compatible with aircraft audio. Remember that the
intercom has to produce the same electrically equivalent signals that a
standard headset would produce. Also any intercom has to accept the
normal signals that a standard headset would produce. Just be careful
of any pilot override switches if you plug the portable into the copilot
side.

With some portable intercoms it may be possible to use the empty jacks
of the built-in 2 place intercom. You'll have to test this to see if it
works
with your intercom.It depends on how the portable is designed and if it
passes the mike signals. If it does work, I'd suggest plugging the portable
into the copilot side as some intercoms have pilot override features you
might want to keep on the pilot side.

If you use a portable PTT switch, some are not wired for use with
intercoms and have to have the mike wired direct instead of switched.
You may or may not be able to disassemble it and make the change.
Not a problem for passengers, but it can be a gotcha for the pilot or
copilot if you haven't tested it with an intercom and don't have a
separate PTT jack on it.

I think that about covers intercoms and portables.

Here's what Sigtronics had to say:
Scott,
You can use the SPO-42 Portable Intercom as you mentioned in your e-mail
with the exception of not plugging the microphone plug into the hand mike
jack. If you want the co-pilot to transmit then plug the intercom into the
hand mike jack and plug two portable PTT switchs in the SPO-42.

The SPA-400 is a four place intercom and the other two positions can be
added to make it a four place intercom.

Sincerely,

Mark Kelley
Sigtronics Corporation
949 North Cataract Ave., #D
San Dimas, CA 91773
Phone: 909-305-9399
Fax: 909-305-9499
www.sigtronics.com

So what I'll do is wait until the owner of the Warrior in our flying club
gets back into town in a few weeks, and ask him if I can wire up the rear
seat positions from the existing intercom. If he says no, then I'll go with
the Avcomm portable that Mr Williams suggested, as it is a whole bunch
cheaper than Sigtronics'. Thanks everyone for the advice and comments.
By the way, the owner is in Florida now finishing up a Velocity he built
and is going to stay down there long enough to fly off the required local
flying time before he brings it back up here to Wisconsin.
Scott Wilson