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gliderx5
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 203
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 Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 5:51 pm Post subject: Headset Modification |
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I just posted a new video tip for adding cheap earbuds to your headset to cut down on the engine/prop noise. It's effective and economical.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETiRiRqb5_I
Enjoy
Malcolm Morrison
www.wienerdogaero.com
[quote][b]
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lcottrell
Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 1494
Location: Jordan Valley, Or
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 6:28 pm Post subject: Headset Modification |
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What a great idea. Kind of makes one wonder why they didn't think of it themselves. I bought the ear bud type of headset from Quality aloft or some such thing, and it works great. The only problem is that the noise still comes in through the head bones or what ever, and though you can hear whats being said and or music through the set, the noise is still there, and what you end up with is still a lot of ambient noise. The ear buds is just louder than the engine noise. I had been considering using either my regular headset or a set of ear muffs to help block some of the ambient noise.
Thanks,
Larry
On Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 7:51 PM, <gliderx5(at)comcast.net (gliderx5(at)comcast.net)> wrote:
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byoungplumbing(at)gmail.c
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:57 pm Post subject: Headset Modification |
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I had thought of doing that but was trying to find a magnetic coupled earphone jack.... that way instead of pulling things out,, the magnet would release and it would come apart without breaking... and go back together quick and easy
Boyd
If someone knows where I can find such a devise let me know.. [quote][b]
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Richard Pike
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 1671
Location: Blountville, Tennessee
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:39 am Post subject: Re: Headset Modification |
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That does work really well, did that a few years ago with an old Comtronics headset and it did make a huge difference. You have 2 sound barriers instead of 1. Guess I got lucky, did it just like the guy in the video, it was very simple and easy to do.
The Comtronics died of old age, am currently using a Gulf Coast Avionics noise canceling headset, and it is doing a good job - wonder what would happen if you attached the earbud speakers to the GCA headset speakers w/ their noise canceling function? Better? Worse?
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Richard Pike
Kolb MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
Kingsport, TN 3TN0
Forgiving is tough, being forgiven is wonderful, and God's grace really is amazing. |
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Richard Pike
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 1671
Location: Blountville, Tennessee
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:08 am Post subject: Re: Headset Modification |
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[quote="byoungplumbing(at)gmail.c"]I had thought of doing that but was trying to find a magnetic coupled earphone jack.... that way instead of pulling things out,, the magnet would release and it would come apart without breaking... and go back together quick and easy
Boyd
If someone knows where I can find such a devise let me know..
You got me browsing for magnetic connectors and found a web page for people who go to cosplay events and make their own clothing with lights embedded (?!? whatever) - it uses magnets with wires attached to them for connectors. The author talks about embedding the magnets in acrylic. I am thinking it would be easier to just pot them in epoxy or silicone? Maybe right on the outside of the headset, and the wires from the earbuds potted so that the magnets on headset/wire would attract each other and keep the polarity? Scroll down the page about 2/3:
http://www.fictionalclothing.com/blog/
Here are some tiny magnets: http://www.teachersource.com/product/752/electricity-magnetism?gclid=CMbjkM2InsQCFWYV7Aod9TMAdQ
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Richard Pike
Kolb MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
Kingsport, TN 3TN0
Forgiving is tough, being forgiven is wonderful, and God's grace really is amazing. |
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ceengland7(at)gmail.com
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 11:33 am Post subject: Headset Modification |
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Larry,
I fly an RV-4 using a QT Halo earplug style headset, and it is quite a bit quieter than the old Lightspeed 15's (active noise cancelling) I used to use. The Halo actually has the speaker elements mounted on the headband, with small tubing connecting to the ear plugs. I would have thought that the Clarity Aloft would be even quieter. Are you sure you had a good seal between the ear plugs and your ear canal? If they don't seal up completely just like regular noise blocking ear plugs, then they won't block external sound very well at all.
I've flown with earplug style in-ear phones (Sony in-ear monitors designed for musicians) under Lightspeed active noise cancelling headsets, and it is a bit quieter with a noise cancelling headset on top, but at the expense of wearing the headset. One of the things I love about the Halo is that I don't have the weight/heat of the bulky headset on my head.
I've never tried any type of in-ear active noise cancelling headset, but if you could rig one with a mic, that sounds like the ultimate solution for those of us who can tolerate 'earplugs' in our ear canals.
For those who have never used any of this stuff:
There's a huge difference between 'earbuds' like what came with your iphone and earplug style systems like the Halo and Clarity Aloft. Regular earbuds do not seal to the ear canal, so they don't really block much sound at all. All regular earbuds will get you is louder sound (and quicker hearing loss).
Charlie
On 3/9/2015 9:28 PM, Larry Cottrell wrote:
[quote] What a great idea. Kind of makes one wonder why they didn't think of it themselves. I bought the ear bud type of headset from Quality aloft or some such thing, and it works great. The only problem is that the noise still comes in through the head bones or what ever, and though you can hear whats being said and or music through the set, the noise is still there, and what you end up with is still a lot of ambient noise. The ear buds is just louder than the engine noise. I had been considering using either my regular headset or a set of ear muffs to help block some of the ambient noise.
Thanks,
Larry
On Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 7:51 PM, <gliderx5(at)comcast.net (gliderx5(at)comcast.net)> wrote:
[b]
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lcottrell
Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 1494
Location: Jordan Valley, Or
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:14 pm Post subject: Headset Modification |
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On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:34 PM, Charlie England <ceengland7(at)gmail.com (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
| Quote: |
I fly an RV-4 using a QT Halo earplug style headset, and it is quite a bit quieter than the old Lightspeed 15's (active noise cancelling) I used to use. The Halo actually has the speaker elements mounted on the headband, with small tubing connecting to the ear plugs. I would have thought that the Clarity Aloft would be even quieter. Are you sure you had a good seal between the ear plugs and your ear canal?Â
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
I just finished modifying my Sig S45 headset with a set of "ear buds". Using a "pencil solder gun" I had no problem at all with soldering the wires? to the speaker. Perhaps it was the type of flux core solder that I had.
I also bought the QT Halo headset, and I liked it for the most part. I had no problem hearing the radio, in fact I had to turn it down quite a bit, and the best part is that I could listen to my music while flying. Not very satisfying with a normal headset. I however was not a fan of the mic. I put an Oregon Areo mic cover on it and it helped a lot, but the "boom for the mic was as limp as 30 day old celery. I finally taped it to some alum wire to give it a bit of a spine. Other wise I had to hold it in front of my mouth if I wanted to talk to some one. My cockpit is just a cover (factory wrap around) over the area that I sit. If I turned my head it would crack the squelch and I would get a shot of full motor noise. So it was necessary to turn up the squelch a lot to keep it from cracking.
You asked about seal, and I did have a good seal, but you also pick up ambient noise through the bones that surround your ear as well. While I could hear great, I felt that the noise of that HKS was still too loud. I was considering  using a set of ear muffs to help with the noise. To be clear- I never had any problem with hearing the radio or my music. My wife however often mentioned the motor noise was quite loud, and there was occasional static. ( I think that there are better mic's out there than the one that they use.)
I have a base station here at the house so I can talk with the wife to get her input on clarity on her end of the conversation. Â
I decided to try adding the ear buds to my Sig S45's. I have found them to be the best option for me even over ANR headsets. ( The ANR is set for GA and works best on the 2400 RPM's of those engines. Ours turning 6000 RPM, are out of the range that they generally work best at.)
However wearing glasses I was not happy with the noise even with gel ear seals on the S 45's. I felt that I had to turn the sounds that I wanted to hear up to the point that my old experienced ears would be still getting damaging noise levels. I could not hear my music very well and if I played it as loud as I needed to hear it at all in the plane, it would cause me to wince at that level out of the plane.Â
After completing the modification I rolled the plane out for some touch and go's. I plugged the ear buds in, covered my ears with the headset, and found that I had to turn the volume down on both the headset and the music radio for the first time. The noise level was substantially reduced from both the Halo set and the S45 before modification, with the ear buds. Upon landing my wife also confirmed that on her end the transmissions were a lot clearer, louder and without static.Â
I will be using my Halo set as a backup. There was that much improvement.
Thanks Malcom.
Larry
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John Hauck
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:11 pm Post subject: Headset Modification |
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Larry C:
Sounds great. Got to get me some "cheap" ear buds and go to work. I have several DC and Sigtronic headsets to play with.
My hearing has gotten so bad and the noise level is so great in the MKIII it takes the fun out of flying. Biggest complaint I have trying to knock out 8 hour flight days. Noise is extremely fatiguing.
BTW: No cockpit noise comparison between a Kolb and an RV4. Kolb is much, much louder and of a much higher frequency, engine and prop. Pushers are normally much louder inside as well as outside the cockpit. Irritates me how quiet my friends RANS S7 is with the same engine and prop I am flying. 
john h
mkIII
Titus, Alabama
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Larry Cottrell
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 4:14 PM
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
Subject: Re: Headset Modification
On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:34 PM, Charlie England <ceengland7(at)gmail.com (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
I fly an RV-4 using a QT Halo earplug style headset, and it is quite a bit quieter than the old Lightspeed 15's (active noise cancelling) I used to use. The Halo actually has the speaker elements mounted on the headband, with small tubing connecting to the ear plugs. I would have thought that the Clarity Aloft would be even quieter. Are you sure you had a good seal between the ear plugs and your ear canal?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished modifying my Sig S45 headset with a set of "ear buds". Using a "pencil solder gun" I had no problem at all with soldering the wires? to the speaker. Perhaps it was the type of flux core solder that I had.
I also bought the QT Halo headset, and I liked it for the most part. I had no problem hearing the radio, in fact I had to turn it down quite a bit, and the best part is that I could listen to my music while flying. Not very satisfying with a normal headset. I however was not a fan of the mic. I put an Oregon Areo mic cover on it and it helped a lot, but the "boom for the mic was as limp as 30 day old celery. I finally taped it to some alum wire to give it a bit of a spine. Other wise I had to hold it in front of my mouth if I wanted to talk to some one. My cockpit is just a cover (factory wrap around) over the area that I sit. If I turned my head it would crack the squelch and I would get a shot of full motor noise. So it was necessary to turn up the squelch a lot to keep it from cracking.
You asked about seal, and I did have a good seal, but you also pick up ambient noise through the bones that surround your ear as well. While I could hear great, I felt that the noise of that HKS was still too loud. I was considering using a set of ear muffs to help with the noise. To be clear- I never had any problem with hearing the radio or my music. My wife however often mentioned the motor noise was quite loud, and there was occasional static. ( I think that there are better mic's out there than the one that they use.)
I have a base station here at the house so I can talk with the wife to get her input on clarity on her end of the conversation.
I decided to try adding the ear buds to my Sig S45's. I have found them to be the best option for me even over ANR headsets. ( The ANR is set for GA and works best on the 2400 RPM's of those engines. Ours turning 6000 RPM, are out of the range that they generally work best at.)
However wearing glasses I was not happy with the noise even with gel ear seals on the S 45's. I felt that I had to turn the sounds that I wanted to hear up to the point that my old experienced ears would be still getting damaging noise levels. I could not hear my music very well and if I played it as loud as I needed to hear it at all in the plane, it would cause me to wince at that level out of the plane.
After completing the modification I rolled the plane out for some touch and go's. I plugged the ear buds in, covered my ears with the headset, and found that I had to turn the volume down on both the headset and the music radio for the first time. The noise level was substantially reduced from both the Halo set and the S45 before modification, with the ear buds. Upon landing my wife also confirmed that on her end the transmissions were a lot clearer, louder and without static.
I will be using my Halo set as a backup. There was that much improvement.
Thanks Malcom.
Larry
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If you forward this email, or any part of it, please remove my email address before sending.
| Quote: | | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â - The Kolb-List Email Forum - |
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[quote][b]
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John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama |
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ceengland7(at)gmail.com
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:41 pm Post subject: Headset Modification |
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Larry,
Might be worth a call to QT. He's 'local' for me, and I bought mine by walking into his office. Nice guy & would probably work with you on the issues. I haven't used mine in an open cockpit, so don't know about whether wind would affect boom position (but suspect that it should remove it from your head before it actually bends the boom, assuming that it isn't defective). No experience with open cockpit wind noise on the mic either (except getting it in the flow of the cockpit vent, which triggers *any* mic), but I have heard of some people getting the boom on backward & talking into the noise cancelling port instead of the front of the mic. Might be worth a check. Also, if the port gets clogged with debris it will kill the noise cancelling function of the mic.
Agree that active noise cancelling doesn't do that much in open cockpit; most of the problem is wind noise, which is *much* higher frequency than even a 2 stroke. That's where good physical seal and a bit of mass really help.
John,
Are you talking about iphone/mp3 player type buds that basically hang in your ear? If so, be aware that using those inside a set of regular headphones will not reduce noise much if any over the headphones alone. Yes, you will likely be able to hear better than with headphones alone (for a short time), but all you're doing is making the volume of the radio reception louder, which is *adding* to the ear's total noise exposure. Any of us who have flown for a number of years, and/or abused our ears in other ways (I did concert sound work in one of my previous lives) need to not just hear today's radio comm, but keep whatever hearing we have left.  There are in-ear models that actually 'plug' your ear just like industrial earplugs (not as cheap), or you can have custom molded inserts made, (not cheap at all). What's your remaining hearing worth?
As to noise levels in RVs vs Kolbs, I can't compare. But I have flown in the back seat of an Aircam with two 912s. Didn't seem that bad at the time, but maybe the 912s were cancelling each other. Or I was having too much fun to notice the noise...
Charlie
On 3/10/2015 5:11 PM, John Hauck wrote:
[quote] 1024x768 <![endif]--> Clean false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--> <![endif]--> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} <![endif]--> <![endif]--> <![endif]-->
Larry C:
Sounds great. Got to get me some "cheap" ear buds and go to work. I have several DC and Sigtronic headsets to play with.
My hearing has gotten so bad and the noise level is so great in the MKIII it takes the fun out of flying. Biggest complaint I have trying to knock out 8 hour flight days. Noise is extremely fatiguing.
BTW: No cockpit noise comparison between a Kolb and an RV4. Kolb is much, much louder and of a much higher frequency, engine and prop. Pushers are normally much louder inside as well as outside the cockpit. Irritates me how quiet my friends RANS S7 is with the same engine and prop I am flying.
john h
mkIII
Titus, Alabama
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com) [mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com)] On Behalf Of Larry Cottrell
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 4:14 PM
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com (kolb-list(at)matronics.com)
Subject: Re: Headset Modification
On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:34 PM, Charlie England <ceengland7(at)gmail.com (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
I fly an RV-4 using a QT Halo earplug style headset, and it is quite a bit quieter than the old Lightspeed 15's (active noise cancelling) I used to use. The Halo actually has the speaker elements mounted on the headband, with small tubing connecting to the ear plugs. I would have thought that the Clarity Aloft would be even quieter. Are you sure you had a good seal between the ear plugs and your ear canal?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished modifying my Sig S45 headset with a set of "ear buds". Using a "pencil solder gun" I had no problem at all with soldering the wires? to the speaker. Perhaps it was the type of flux core solder that I had.
I also bought the QT Halo headset, and I liked it for the most part. I had no problem hearing the radio, in fact I had to turn it down quite a bit, and the best part is that I could listen to my music while flying. Not very satisfying with a normal headset. I however was not a fan of the mic. I put an Oregon Areo mic cover on it and it helped a lot, but the "boom for the mic was as limp as 30 day old celery. I finally taped it to some alum wire to give it a bit of a spine. Other wise I had to hold it in front of my mouth if I wanted to talk to some one. My cockpit is just a cover (factory wrap around) over the area that I sit. If I turned my head it would crack the squelch and I would get a shot of full motor noise. So it was necessary to turn up the squelch a lot to keep it from cracking.
You asked about seal, and I did have a good seal, but you also pick up ambient noise through the bones that surround your ear as well. While I could hear great, I felt that the noise of that HKS was still too loud. I was considering using a set of ear muffs to help with the noise. To be clear- I never had any problem with hearing the radio or my music. My wife however often mentioned the motor noise was quite loud, and there was occasional static. ( I think that there are better mic's out there than the one that they use.)
I have a base station here at the house so I can talk with the wife to get her input on clarity on her end of the conversation.
I decided to try adding the ear buds to my Sig S45's. I have found them to be the best option for me even over ANR headsets. ( The ANR is set for GA and works best on the 2400 RPM's of those engines. Ours turning 6000 RPM, are out of the range that they generally work best at.)
However wearing glasses I was not happy with the noise even with gel ear seals on the S 45's. I felt that I had to turn the sounds that I wanted to hear up to the point that my old experienced ears would be still getting damaging noise levels. I could not hear my music very well and if I played it as loud as I needed to hear it at all in the plane, it would cause me to wince at that level out of the plane.
After completing the modification I rolled the plane out for some touch and go's. I plugged the ear buds in, covered my ears with the headset, and found that I had to turn the volume down on both the headset and the music radio for the first time. The noise level was substantially reduced from both the Halo set and the S45 before modification, with the ear buds. Upon landing my wife also confirmed that on her end the transmissions were a lot clearer, louder and without static.
I will be using my Halo set as a backup. There was that much improvement.
Thanks Malcom.
Larry
[b]
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mojavjoe
Joined: 23 Dec 2013
Posts: 64
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:47 pm Post subject: Headset Modification |
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To make ear buds more like Clarity Aloft ear pieces I found a set of ear buds that had the rubber ear pieces that slipped over a small knob. Removed the rubber and found a small straw that would fit snugly over the knob. Purchased some of the hearing protectors that mash down and using a small heated drill bit burnt a small hole through the length of them. Cut the straw about 1/4 to 3/8" long and slide the base of the protector over it and the whole thing over the knob. The straw keeps the hole open and will still allow the ear piece to be mashed enough to fit into the ear cavity.
From: "John Hauck" <jhauck(at)elmore.rr.com>
To: "kolb-list" <kolb-list(at)matronics.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 6:11:23 PM
Subject: RE: Headset Modification
Larry C:
Sounds great. Got to get me some "cheap" ear buds and go to work. I have several DC and Sigtronic headsets to play with.
My hearing has gotten so bad and the noise level is so great in the MKIII it takes the fun out of flying. Biggest complaint I have trying to knock out 8 hour flight days. Noise is extremely fatiguing.
BTW: No cockpit noise comparison between a Kolb and an RV4. Kolb is much, much louder and of a much higher frequency, engine and prop. Pushers are normally much louder inside as well as outside the cockpit. Irritates me how quiet my friends RANS S7 is with the same engine and prop I am flying.
john h
mkIII
Titus, Alabama
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Larry Cottrell
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 4:14 PM
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
Subject: Re: Headset Modification
On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:34 PM, Charlie England <ceengland7(at)gmail.com (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
I fly an RV-4 using a QT Halo earplug style headset, and it is quite a bit quieter than the old Lightspeed 15's (active noise cancelling) I used to use. The Halo actually has the speaker elements mounted on the headband, with small tubing connecting to the ear plugs. I would have thought that the Clarity Aloft would be even quieter. Are you sure you had a good seal between the ear plugs and your ear canal?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished modifying my Sig S45 headset with a set of "ear buds". Using a "pencil solder gun" I had no problem at all with soldering the wires? to the speaker. Perhaps it was the type of flux core solder that I had.
I also bought the QT Halo headset, and I liked it for the most part. I had no problem hearing the radio, in fact I had to turn it down quite a bit, and the best part is that I could listen to my music while flying. Not very satisfying with a normal headset. I however was not a fan of the mic. I put an Oregon Areo mic cover on it and it helped a lot, but the "boom for the mic was as limp as 30 day old celery. I finally taped it to some alum wire to give it a bit of a spine. Other wise I had to hold it in front of my mouth if I wanted to talk to some one. My cockpit is just a cover (factory wrap around) over the area that I sit. If I turned my head it would crack the squelch and I would get a shot of full motor noise. So it was necessary to turn up the squelch a lot to keep it from cracking.
You asked about seal, and I did have a good seal, but you also pick up ambient noise through the bones that surround your ear as well. While I could hear great, I felt that the noise of that HKS was still too loud. I was considering using a set of ear muffs to help with the noise. To be clear- I never had any problem with hearing the radio or my music. My wife however often mentioned the motor noise was quite loud, and there was occasional static. ( I think that there are better mic's out there than the one that they use.)
I have a base station here at the house so I can talk with the wife to get her input on clarity on her end of the conversation.
I decided to try adding the ear buds to my Sig S45's. I have found them to be the best option for me even over ANR headsets. ( The ANR is set for GA and works best on the 2400 RPM's of those engines. Ours turning 6000 RPM, are out of the range that they generally work best at.)
However wearing glasses I was not happy with the noise even with gel ear seals on the S 45's. I felt that I had to turn the sounds that I wanted to hear up to the point that my old experienced ears would be still getting damaging noise levels. I could not hear my music very well and if I played it as loud as I needed to hear it at all in the plane, it would cause me to wince at that level out of the plane.
After completing the modification I rolled the plane out for some touch and go's. I plugged the ear buds in, covered my ears with the headset, and found that I had to turn the volume down on both the headset and the music radio for the first time. The noise level was substantially reduced from both the Halo set and the S45 before modification, with the ear buds. Upon landing my wife also confirmed that on her end the transmissions were a lot clearer, louder and without static.
I will be using my Halo set as a backup. There was that much improvement.
Thanks Malcom.
Larry
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John Hauck
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:55 pm Post subject: Headset Modification |
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The MKIII suffers from the drum effect. Prop and engine noise is magnified and confined to the enclosed cockpit. Open cockpit is not as loud.
Wouldn't do me much good to hand an ear bud on my ear. I've been wearing hearing aids since 1978, while still on active duty and drawing flight pay.
Larry shot me a bc to get good ear buds that actually seal the ear canal. The DC H-13.4 do about as good a job as any passively. The additional passive noise reduction of the ear buds should allow for me to hear with lower radio/intercom volume.
john h
mkIII
Titus, Alabama
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Charlie England
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 7:36 PM
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
Subject: Re: Headset Modification
Larry,
Might be worth a call to QT. He's 'local' for me, and I bought mine by walking into his office. Nice guy & would probably work with you on the issues. I haven't used mine in an open cockpit, so don't know about whether wind would affect boom position (but suspect that it should remove it from your head before it actually bends the boom, assuming that it isn't defective). No experience with open cockpit wind noise on the mic either (except getting it in the flow of the cockpit vent, which triggers *any* mic), but I have heard of some people getting the boom on backward & talking into the noise cancelling port instead of the front of the mic. Might be worth a check. Also, if the port gets clogged with debris it will kill the noise cancelling function of the mic.
Agree that active noise cancelling doesn't do that much in open cockpit; most of the problem is wind noise, which is *much* higher frequency than even a 2 stroke. That's where good physical seal and a bit of mass really help.
John,
Are you talking about iphone/mp3 player type buds that basically hang in your ear? If so, be aware that using those inside a set of regular headphones will not reduce noise much if any over the headphones alone. Yes, you will likely be able to hear better than with headphones alone (for a short time), but all you're doing is making the volume of the radio reception louder, which is *adding* to the ear's total noise exposure. Any of us who have flown for a number of years, and/or abused our ears in other ways (I did concert sound work in one of my previous lives) need to not just hear today's radio comm, but keep whatever hearing we have left. There are in-ear models that actually 'plug' your ear just like industrial earplugs (not as cheap), or you can have custom molded inserts made, (not cheap at all). What's your remaining hearing worth?
As to noise levels in RVs vs Kolbs, I can't compare. But I have flown in the back seat of an Aircam with two 912s. Didn't seem that bad at the time, but maybe the 912s were cancelling each other. Or I was having too much fun to notice the noise...
Charlie
On 3/10/2015 5:11 PM, John Hauck wrote:
| Quote: |
Larry C:
Sounds great. Got to get me some "cheap" ear buds and go to work. I have several DC and Sigtronic headsets to play with.
My hearing has gotten so bad and the noise level is so great in the MKIII it takes the fun out of flying. Biggest complaint I have trying to knock out 8 hour flight days. Noise is extremely fatiguing.
BTW: No cockpit noise comparison between a Kolb and an RV4. Kolb is much, much louder and of a much higher frequency, engine and prop. Pushers are normally much louder inside as well as outside the cockpit. Irritates me how quiet my friends RANS S7 is with the same engine and prop I am flying.
john h
mkIII
Titus, Alabama
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com) [mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com)] On Behalf Of Larry Cottrell
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 4:14 PM
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com (kolb-list(at)matronics.com)
Subject: Re: Headset Modification
On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:34 PM, Charlie England <ceengland7(at)gmail.com (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
I fly an RV-4 using a QT Halo earplug style headset, and it is quite a bit quieter than the old Lightspeed 15's (active noise cancelling) I used to use. The Halo actually has the speaker elements mounted on the headband, with small tubing connecting to the ear plugs. I would have thought that the Clarity Aloft would be even quieter. Are you sure you had a good seal between the ear plugs and your ear canal?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished modifying my Sig S45 headset with a set of "ear buds". Using a "pencil solder gun" I had no problem at all with soldering the wires? to the speaker. Perhaps it was the type of flux core solder that I had.
I also bought the QT Halo headset, and I liked it for the most part. I had no problem hearing the radio, in fact I had to turn it down quite a bit, and the best part is that I could listen to my music while flying. Not very satisfying with a normal headset. I however was not a fan of the mic. I put an Oregon Areo mic cover on it and it helped a lot, but the "boom for the mic was as limp as 30 day old celery. I finally taped it to some alum wire to give it a bit of a spine. Other wise I had to hold it in front of my mouth if I wanted to talk to some one. My cockpit is just a cover (factory wrap around) over the area that I sit. If I turned my head it would crack the squelch and I would get a shot of full motor noise. So it was necessary to turn up the squelch a lot to keep it from cracking.
You asked about seal, and I did have a good seal, but you also pick up ambient noise through the bones that surround your ear as well. While I could hear great, I felt that the noise of that HKS was still too loud. I was considering using a set of ear muffs to help with the noise. To be clear- I never had any problem with hearing the radio or my music. My wife however often mentioned the motor noise was quite loud, and there was occasional static. ( I think that there are better mic's out there than the one that they use.)
I have a base station here at the house so I can talk with the wife to get her input on clarity on her end of the conversation.
I decided to try adding the ear buds to my Sig S45's. I have found them to be the best option for me even over ANR headsets. ( The ANR is set for GA and works best on the 2400 RPM's of those engines. Ours turning 6000 RPM, are out of the range that they generally work best at.)
However wearing glasses I was not happy with the noise even with gel ear seals on the S 45's. I felt that I had to turn the sounds that I wanted to hear up to the point that my old experienced ears would be still getting damaging noise levels. I could not hear my music very well and if I played it as loud as I needed to hear it at all in the plane, it would cause me to wince at that level out of the plane.
After completing the modification I rolled the plane out for some touch and go's. I plugged the ear buds in, covered my ears with the headset, and found that I had to turn the volume down on both the headset and the music radio for the first time. The noise level was substantially reduced from both the Halo set and the S45 before modification, with the ear buds. Upon landing my wife also confirmed that on her end the transmissions were a lot clearer, louder and without static.
I will be using my Halo set as a backup. There was that much improvement.
Thanks Malcom.
Larry
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John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama |
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lcottrell
Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 1494
Location: Jordan Valley, Or
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 5:33 pm Post subject: Headset Modification |
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|
"Charlie wrote"Might be worth a call to QT. He's 'local' for me, and I bought mine by walking into his office. Nice guy & would probably work with you on the issues.
Charlie,
 I really do not have any substantial complaint about the Halo headset. Yeah the wimpy mike boom is a bother, but not a real complaint. I feel that in the normal course of things it is something that the manufacturer would clean up in due time, but not enough of a problem to be a deal breaker. The reason that I am using the S45 with ear buds is just that it is better, and quieter. If I was flying a C150, I would use the Halo. In my operation however, it just isn't the best one.
Larry
On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 6:35 PM, Charlie England <ceengland7(at)gmail.com (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
| Quote: | Larry,
Might be worth a call to QT. He's 'local' for me, and I bought mine by walking into his office. Nice guy & would probably work with you on the issues. I haven't used mine in an open cockpit, so don't know about whether wind would affect boom position (but suspect that it should remove it from your head before it actually bends the boom, assuming that it isn't defective). No experience with open cockpit wind noise on the mic either (except getting it in the flow of the cockpit vent, which triggers *any* mic), but I have heard of some people getting the boom on backward & talking into the noise cancelling port instead of the front of the mic. Might be worth a check. Also, if the port gets clogged with debris it will kill the noise cancelling function of the mic.
Agree that active noise cancelling doesn't do that much in open cockpit; most of the problem is wind noise, which is *much* higher frequency than even a 2 stroke. That's where good physical seal and a bit of mass really help.
John,
Are you talking about iphone/mp3 player type buds that basically hang in your ear? If so, be aware that using those inside a set of regular headphones will not reduce noise much if any over the headphones alone. Yes, you will likely be able to hear better than with headphones alone (for a short time), but all you're doing is making the volume of the radio reception louder, which is *adding* to the ear's total noise exposure. Any of us who have flown for a number of years, and/or abused our ears in other ways (I did concert sound work in one of my previous lives) need to not just hear today's radio comm, but keep whatever hearing we have left. There are in-ear models that actually 'plug' your ear just like industrial earplugs (not as cheap), or you can have custom molded inserts made, (not cheap at all). What's your remaining hearing worth?
As to noise levels in RVs vs Kolbs, I can't compare. But I have flown in the back seat of an Aircam with two 912s. Didn't seem that bad at the time, but maybe the 912s were cancelling each other. Or I was having too much fun to notice the noise...
Charlie
On 3/10/2015 5:11 PM, John Hauck wrote:
| Quote: |
Larry C:
Â
Sounds great. Got to get me some "cheap" ear buds and go to work. I have several DC and Sigtronic headsets to play with.
Â
My hearing has gotten so bad and the noise level is so great in the MKIII it takes the fun out of flying. Biggest complaint I have trying to knock out 8 hour flight days. Noise is extremely fatiguing.
Â
BTW: No cockpit noise comparison between a Kolb and an RV4. Kolb is much, much louder and of a much higher frequency, engine and prop. Pushers are normally much louder inside as well as outside the cockpit. Irritates me how quiet my friends RANS S7 is with the same engine and prop I am flying.Â
Â
john h
mkIII
Titus, Alabama
Â
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com) [mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com)] On Behalf Of Larry Cottrell
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 4:14 PM
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com (kolb-list(at)matronics.com)
Subject: Re: Headset Modification
Â
Â
Â
On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:34 PM, Charlie England <ceengland7(at)gmail.com (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
I fly an RV-4 using a QT Halo earplug style headset, and it is quite a bit quieter than the old Lightspeed 15's (active noise cancelling) I used to use. The Halo actually has the speaker elements mounted on the headband, with small tubing connecting to the ear plugs. I would have thought that the Clarity Aloft would be even quieter. Are you sure you had a good seal between the ear plugs and your ear canal?Â
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished modifying my Sig S45 headset with a set of "ear buds". Using a "pencil solder gun" I had no problem at all with soldering the wires? to the speaker. Perhaps it was the type of flux core solder that I had.
Â
I also bought the QT Halo headset, and I liked it for the most part. I had no problem hearing the radio, in fact I had to turn it down quite a bit, and the best part is that I could listen to my music while flying. Not very satisfying with a normal headset. I however was not a fan of the mic. I put an Oregon Areo mic cover on it and it helped a lot, but the "boom for the mic was as limp as 30 day old celery. I finally taped it to some alum wire to give it a bit of a spine. Other wise I had to hold it in front of my mouth if I wanted to talk to some one. My cockpit is just a cover (factory wrap around) over the area that I sit. If I turned my head it would crack the squelch and I would get a shot of full motor noise. So it was necessary to turn up the squelch a lot to keep it from cracking.
Â
You asked about seal, and I did have a good seal, but you also pick up ambient noise through the bones that surround your ear as well. While I could hear great, I felt that the noise of that HKS was still too loud. I was considering  using a set of ear muffs to help with the noise. To be clear- I never had any problem with hearing the radio or my music. My wife however often mentioned the motor noise was quite loud, and there was occasional static. ( I think that there are better mic's out there than the one that they use.)
Â
I have a base station here at the house so I can talk with the wife to get her input on clarity on her end of the conversation. Â
Â
I decided to try adding the ear buds to my Sig S45's. I have found them to be the best option for me even over ANR headsets. ( The ANR is set for GA and works best on the 2400 RPM's of those engines. Ours turning 6000 RPM, are out of the range that they generally work best at.)
Â
However wearing glasses I was not happy with the noise even with gel ear seals on the S 45's. I felt that I had to turn the sounds that I wanted to hear up to the point that my old experienced ears would be still getting damaging noise levels. I could not hear my music very well and if I played it as loud as I needed to hear it at all in the plane, it would cause me to wince at that level out of the plane.Â
Â
After completing the modification I rolled the plane out for some touch and go's. I plugged the ear buds in, covered my ears with the headset, and found that I had to turn the volume down on both the headset and the music radio for the first time. The noise level was substantially reduced from both the Halo set and the S45 before modification, with the ear buds. Upon landing my wife also confirmed that on her end the transmissions were a lot clearer, louder and without static.Â
Â
I will be using my Halo set as a backup. There was that much improvement.
Â
Thanks Malcom.
Â
Larry
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gliderx5
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 203
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| Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:34 am Post subject: Headset Modification |
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Charlie
The earbuds that I reference in the video are the in ear canal, rubber type that cost $10 at Walmart. Perhaps I used the wrong term but I assumed that all the "thingys" that you put in your ear were called earbuds. Sorry for the confusion. Whatever they are called, they work better for me than expensive headsets.
Malcolm
From: "Charlie England" <ceengland7(at)gmail.com>
To: "kolb-list" <kolb-list(at)matronics.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 8:35:52 PM
Subject: Re: Headset Modification
Larry,
Might be worth a call to QT. He's 'local' for me, and I bought mine by walking into his office. Nice guy & would probably work with you on the issues. I haven't used mine in an open cockpit, so don't know about whether wind would affect boom position (but suspect that it should remove it from your head before it actually bends the boom, assuming that it isn't defective). No experience with open cockpit wind noise on the mic either (except getting it in the flow of the cockpit vent, which triggers *any* mic), but I have heard of some people getting the boom on backward & talking into the noise cancelling port instead of the front of the mic. Might be worth a check. Also, if the port gets clogged with debris it will kill the noise cancelling function of the mic.
Agree that active noise cancelling doesn't do that much in open cockpit; most of the problem is wind noise, which is *much* higher frequency than even a 2 stroke. That's where good physical seal and a bit of mass really help.
John,
Are you talking about iphone/mp3 player type buds that basically hang in your ear? If so, be aware that using those inside a set of regular headphones will not reduce noise much if any over the headphones alone. Yes, you will likely be able to hear better than with headphones alone (for a short time), but all you're doing is making the volume of the radio reception louder, which is *adding* to the ear's total noise exposure. Any of us who have flown for a number of years, and/or abused our ears in other ways (I did concert sound work in one of my previous lives) need to not just hear today's radio comm, but keep whatever hearing we have left. There are in-ear models that actually 'plug' your ear just like industrial earplugs (not as cheap), or you can have custom molded inserts made, (not cheap at all). What's your remaining hearing worth?
As to noise levels in RVs vs Kolbs, I can't compare. But I have flown in the back seat of an Aircam with two 912s. Didn't seem that bad at the time, but maybe the 912s were cancelling each other. Or I was having too much fun to notice the noise...
Charlie
On 3/10/2015 5:11 PM, John Hauck wrote:
| Quote: |
Larry C:
Sounds great. Got to get me some "cheap" ear buds and go to work. I have several DC and Sigtronic headsets to play with.
My hearing has gotten so bad and the noise level is so great in the MKIII it takes the fun out of flying. Biggest complaint I have trying to knock out 8 hour flight days. Noise is extremely fatiguing.
BTW: No cockpit noise comparison between a Kolb and an RV4. Kolb is much, much louder and of a much higher frequency, engine and prop. Pushers are normally much louder inside as well as outside the cockpit. Irritates me how quiet my friends RANS S7 is with the same engine and prop I am flying.
john h
mkIII
Titus, Alabama
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com) [mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com)] On Behalf Of Larry Cottrell
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 4:14 PM
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com (kolb-list(at)matronics.com)
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Headset Modification
On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:34 PM, Charlie England <ceengland7(at)gmail.com (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
I fly an RV-4 using a QT Halo earplug style headset, and it is quite a bit quieter than the old Lightspeed 15's (active noise cancelling) I used to use. The Halo actually has the speaker elements mounted on the headband, with small tubing connecting to the ear plugs. I would have thought that the Clarity Aloft would be even quieter. Are you sure you had a good seal between the ear plugs and your ear canal?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished modifying my Sig S45 headset with a set of "ear buds". Using a "pencil solder gun" I had no problem at all with soldering the wires? to the speaker. Perhaps it was the type of flux core solder that I had.
I also bought the QT Halo headset, and I liked it for the most part. I had no problem hearing the radio, in fact I had to turn it down quite a bit, and the best part is that I could listen to my music while flying. Not very satisfying with a normal headset. I however was not a fan of the mic. I put an Oregon Areo mic cover on it and it helped a lot, but the "boom for the mic was as limp as 30 day old celery. I finally taped it to some alum wire to give it a bit of a spine. Other wise I had to hold it in front of my mouth if I wanted to talk to some one. My cockpit is just a cover (factory wrap around) over the area that I sit. If I turned my head it would crack the squelch and I would get a shot of full motor noise. So it was necessary to turn up the squelch a lot to keep it from cracking.
You asked about seal, and I did have a good seal, but you also pick up ambient noise through the bones that surround your ear as well. While I could hear great, I felt that the noise of that HKS was still too loud. I was considering using a set of ear muffs to help with the noise. To be clear- I never had any problem with hearing the radio or my music. My wife however often mentioned the motor noise was quite loud, and there was occasional static. ( I think that there are better mic's out there than the one that they use.)
I have a base station here at the house so I can talk with the wife to get her input on clarity on her end of the conversation.
I decided to try adding the ear buds to my Sig S45's. I have found them to be the best option for me even over ANR headsets. ( The ANR is set for GA and works best on the 2400 RPM's of those engines. Ours turning 6000 RPM, are out of the range that they generally work best at.)
However wearing glasses I was not happy with the noise even with gel ear seals on the S 45's. I felt that I had to turn the sounds that I wanted to hear up to the point that my old experienced ears would be still getting damaging noise levels. I could not hear my music very well and if I played it as loud as I needed to hear it at all in the plane, it would cause me to wince at that level out of the plane.
After completing the modification I rolled the plane out for some touch and go's. I plugged the ear buds in, covered my ears with the headset, and found that I had to turn the volume down on both the headset and the music radio for the first time. The noise level was substantially reduced from both the Halo set and the S45 before modification, with the ear buds. Upon landing my wife also confirmed that on her end the transmissions were a lot clearer, louder and without static.
I will be using my Halo set as a backup. There was that much improvement.
Thanks Malcom.
Larry
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ceengland7(at)gmail.com
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 7:56 am Post subject: Headset Modification |
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Hi Malcolm,
I don't think you used the wrong term; it's just that there probably isn't a universally accepted convention of terms and I was trying to be sure that any late adopters understood the difference between typical hang-in-the-ear style buds that come with iphones, etc, and 'plug' style devices that actually seal into the ear canal.
Charlie
On 3/11/2015 9:34 AM, gliderx5(at)comcast.net (gliderx5(at)comcast.net) wrote:
[quote] Charlie
Â
The earbuds that I reference in the video are the in ear canal, rubber type that cost $10 at Walmart. Perhaps I used the wrong term but I assumed that all the "thingys" that you put in your ear were called earbuds. Sorry for the confusion. Whatever they are called, they work better for me than expensive headsets.
Â
Malcolm
From: "Charlie England" <ceengland7(at)gmail.com> (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)
To: "kolb-list" <kolb-list(at)matronics.com> (kolb-list(at)matronics.com)
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 8:35:52 PM
Subject: Re: Headset Modification
Larry,
Might be worth a call to QT. He's 'local' for me, and I bought mine by walking into his office. Nice guy & would probably work with you on the issues. I haven't used mine in an open cockpit, so don't know about whether wind would affect boom position (but suspect that it should remove it from your head before it actually bends the boom, assuming that it isn't defective). No experience with open cockpit wind noise on the mic either (except getting it in the flow of the cockpit vent, which triggers *any* mic), but I have heard of some people getting the boom on backward & talking into the noise cancelling port instead of the front of the mic. Might be worth a check. Also, if the port gets clogged with debris it will kill the noise cancelling function of the mic.
Agree that active noise cancelling doesn't do that much in open cockpit; most of the problem is wind noise, which is *much* higher frequency than even a 2 stroke. That's where good physical seal and a bit of mass really help.
John,
Are you talking about iphone/mp3 player type buds that basically hang in your ear? If so, be aware that using those inside a set of regular headphones will not reduce noise much if any over the headphones alone. Yes, you will likely be able to hear better than with headphones alone (for a short time), but all you're doing is making the volume of the radio reception louder, which is *adding* to the ear's total noise exposure. Any of us who have flown for a number of years, and/or abused our ears in other ways (I did concert sound work in one of my previous lives) need to not just hear today's radio comm, but keep whatever hearing we have left. There are in-ear models that actually 'plug' your ear just like industrial earplugs (not as cheap), or you can have custom molded inserts made, (not cheap at all). What's your remaining hearing worth?
As to noise levels in RVs vs Kolbs, I can't compare. But I have flown in the back seat of an Aircam with two 912s. Didn't seem that bad at the time, but maybe the 912s were cancelling each other. Or I was having too much fun to notice the noise...
Charlie
On 3/10/2015 5:11 PM, John Hauck wrote:
| Quote: |
Larry C:
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Sounds great. Got to get me some "cheap" ear buds and go to work. I have several DC and Sigtronic headsets to play with.
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My hearing has gotten so bad and the noise level is so great in the MKIII it takes the fun out of flying. Biggest complaint I have trying to knock out 8 hour flight days. Noise is extremely fatiguing.
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BTW: No cockpit noise comparison between a Kolb and an RV4. Kolb is much, much louder and of a much higher frequency, engine and prop. Pushers are normally much louder inside as well as outside the cockpit. Irritates me how quiet my friends RANS S7 is with the same engine and prop I am flying.Â
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john h
mkIII
Titus, Alabama
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From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com) [mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com)] On Behalf Of Larry Cottrell
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 4:14 PM
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com (kolb-list(at)matronics.com)
Subject: Re: Headset Modification
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On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:34 PM, Charlie England <ceengland7(at)gmail.com (ceengland7(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
I fly an RV-4 using a QT Halo earplug style headset, and it is quite a bit quieter than the old Lightspeed 15's (active noise cancelling) I used to use. The Halo actually has the speaker elements mounted on the headband, with small tubing connecting to the ear plugs. I would have thought that the Clarity Aloft would be even quieter. Are you sure you had a good seal between the ear plugs and your ear canal?Â
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished modifying my Sig S45 headset with a set of "ear buds". Using a "pencil solder gun" I had no problem at all with soldering the wires? to the speaker. Perhaps it was the type of flux core solder that I had.
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I also bought the QT Halo headset, and I liked it for the most part. I had no problem hearing the radio, in fact I had to turn it down quite a bit, and the best part is that I could listen to my music while flying. Not very satisfying with a normal headset. I however was not a fan of the mic. I put an Oregon Areo mic cover on it and it helped a lot, but the "boom for the mic was as limp as 30 day old celery. I finally taped it to some alum wire to give it a bit of a spine. Other wise I had to hold it in front of my mouth if I wanted to talk to some one. My cockpit is just a cover (factory wrap around) over the area that I sit. If I turned my head it would crack the squelch and I would get a shot of full motor noise. So it was necessary to turn up the squelch a lot to keep it from cracking.
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You asked about seal, and I did have a good seal, but you also pick up ambient noise through the bones that surround your ear as well. While I could hear great, I felt that the noise of that HKS was still too loud. I was considering  using a set of ear muffs to help with the noise. To be clear- I never had any problem with hearing the radio or my music. My wife however often mentioned the motor noise was quite loud, and there was occasional static. ( I think that there are better mic's out there than the one that they use.)
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I have a base station here at the house so I can talk with the wife to get her input on clarity on her end of the conversation. Â
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I decided to try adding the ear buds to my Sig S45's. I have found them to be the best option for me even over ANR headsets. ( The ANR is set for GA and works best on the 2400 RPM's of those engines. Ours turning 6000 RPM, are out of the range that they generally work best at.)
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However wearing glasses I was not happy with the noise even with gel ear seals on the S 45's. I felt that I had to turn the sounds that I wanted to hear up to the point that my old experienced ears would be still getting damaging noise levels. I could not hear my music very well and if I played it as loud as I needed to hear it at all in the plane, it would cause me to wince at that level out of the plane.Â
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After completing the modification I rolled the plane out for some touch and go's. I plugged the ear buds in, covered my ears with the headset, and found that I had to turn the volume down on both the headset and the music radio for the first time. The noise level was substantially reduced from both the Halo set and the S45 before modification, with the ear buds. Upon landing my wife also confirmed that on her end the transmissions were a lot clearer, louder and without static.Â
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I will be using my Halo set as a backup. There was that much improvement.
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Thanks Malcom.
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Larry
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