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Chick
09-18-2011, 08:18 PM
My 912 Rotax powered plane is very open to wind and engine noise. I use regular GA headsets because they are easier on my ears and are tougher than the ones I had as a "fat" ultralight. My problem is one of squelch. On the ground, at reduced power, I can use the vox setting on my intercom with no problem. At takeoff or cruise power, I have to switch over to PTT. It is very inconvenient especially for the passengers. I do have an intercom built for open aircraft; but, I think the frequency of my engine might be causing the problem. It is a much higher pitch than a GA engine. I have tried Mic Muffs; but the squelch stays maxed out. I thought about making my own mic muffs with a very reduced set of holes; but, I haven't done it yet. My radios actually sound pretty clear when I broadcast; but, of course, they are on a different PTT. Any help or thoughts would be appreciated.

Bob Meder
09-19-2011, 11:51 AM
I use a mike muff made by Oregon Aero on my DC's that seems to work well.

Chick
09-19-2011, 08:57 PM
Yes sir, those are the ones I have.

SavannahVG Ken
09-22-2011, 11:20 PM
We removed the doors from our Savannah VG with a 912ULS and my wifes mike was almost unusable. (older David Clark headset) A little black electrical tape covering the back side opening under the sock helped, partial cover on the talk side fixed the wind noise problem with very little attenuation for the intercom. We put the doors back on and have flown several times since. This was the first time I had thought about it still being covered as her conversation are normal. We still have a little fuzz on climb out at times in the intercom, but once up to speed it works well. The tape seems to attenuate the microphone but it is still very usable. Give it a try, peal it off if it does not work. It seems every headset has different frequency levels that they are most sensitive to. You might borrow some others to see what works, my headset seems more sensitive to interfirence on full power climb out, but settles down after slightly reduced power for some reason. Good Luck.

Chick
09-22-2011, 11:42 PM
Thank you! I'll give that a try. It will be about a week before I can try it. The plane's in the avionics shop.

mmarien
10-25-2011, 07:39 AM
I traded in my DC for Zulu with their upgrade program and lent them to my wife who couldn't hear me or the radio in my Glasair II with an intercom for noisy planes. I had the leather muff over the foam muff on the old headphones as supplied by the intercom manufacturer. I also flew around at 65% power to keep the noise down. With the new ANR headset my wife started to correct me when I miss read what tower or traffic was saying. So I bought another set of ANR's. We now have quiet conversations in a plane we couldn't talk to each other previously. They have been the best upgrade since I bought my plane three years ago.

I believe that the difference in quality between a $200 headset and a $800 ANR set goes beyond the noise reduction for the earphones. You might want to borrow some better quality headsets to see if that makes a difference.

Chick
10-25-2011, 09:30 PM
I'm using ANR headsets now. I did try a set of Bose; but, still can't stop from overriding the squelch. I appreciate everyone's help. Keep sending ideas and I'll keep trying them. There is a way to fix this because the ultralight intercom headset combo works great. They are just so loud my ears ring for 2 days after a flight.

acfcpilot
11-10-2011, 05:17 PM
I fly in a Quicksilver MXL II with a Rotax 582...noisy, noisy, noisy. I have considered an ANR headset but I keep reading that they really do not work in this type of open cockpit environment. Questions: (1) does anyone have experience with the UmeCobra Microphone and what is your opinion; (2) any feedback on the Alura SSB ANR Headset would be appreciated; (3) what specific ultralight intercom headset combo works best in the Quicksilver open cockpit...not an enclosed cockpit?

Chick
11-10-2011, 08:29 PM
The Comtronics intercom and headset combo work very well in all the M-Squared aircraft. Your Quicksilver and my M Squared are very much alike. In fact, Paul Mather was the Quicksilver guy for many years. He left and started M-Squared. If you just want an intercom, without radios. The Comtronics are great. Their vox even does the job for our high pitched and noisy planes. I have had a little problem with the Comtronics durability; but, I can tear up an anvil! Good luck!