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What headsets do you prefer to wear when flying?

Started by GodAtum, Thu, 16 May 2019 21:50

John H Watson

We call these mic audio processing circuits "Compressor/VOX" circuits. On the 767 interphone system, any mic input below 40mV will not be passed.

Once a decent mic signal is received, you can then hear background noise in your headset. As an engineer, I didn't like not hearing anything if I keyed the microphone and heard nothing (prior to speaking).

Quote from: JonSome of our 767s have the control column locking mechanism.

Ah.. thanks.

turbodiddley

Flying with Hillbilly Hotmike is pretty much standard now. Use a rubber band on the comm panel to hold the switch in the INT position. Much safer to hear your other crew members clearly, and to have both earpieces on the ear to clearly hear ATC. This gives maximum passive noise suppression by having the earpieces on the ears, and if you have active noise suppression, then that is maximized as well.

The -8F and other more modern Boeing jets come from the factory with a locking hot mike switch on the yoke.

Shouting over the noise of the jet is becoming a thing of the past.

This was standard in the military, but only has been creeping into the industry for the last 10 years or so. Interesting that it took so long to take hold. I think it was with the advent of noise cancelling headsets that people started rethinking it.

John H Watson

QuoteFlying with Hillbilly Hotmike is pretty much standard now.

Note that doing this will mute (or reduce the volume of) one or both speakers. As mentioned, if you're flying with a 3rd pilot who is not wearing a headset, he/she may not be in the loop.

On the Classic 747, the aural warnings came through the regular speakers, but (fortunately) I think most of the aural warnings were unmuted. The Radio Altimeter DH tone was the exception.

emerydc8

#23
Quote from: John H Watson on Sun, 19 May 2019 02:37
QuoteBy "hot mic," I mean that the interphone between the two pilots is always on (hot), so you can talk and hear the other pilot over the headsets, 

I still can't see how this is possible on the 767. On the 744, the control column INT switch had a locking mechanism, but not the 767.

I finally got a good picture of the locking mechanism for the hot mic interphone system we discussed above. The first pic is in the locked interphone position. The second pic is with the rocker switch in the normal position. The third pic is the locking mechanism, which appears to be a small spring-loaded BB in the switch. Not many of our 767s have this feature. This particular aircraft (N739DH) was recently converted by Boeing, so maybe they installed it at the time. I just happened to discover this a few hours ago.

When both pilots have their rocker switches locked (just push in and the plastic retainer will hold it), the interphone is hot so the pilots can communicate with each other through the interphone instead of the normal way (yelling).

The rocker switch is located on the left side of the captain's yoke (picture) and the right side of the FOs yoke.







Jon

Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers

Oh yes 767... once spent 10 minutes searching for the volume knob of the speakers... being 744-biased I thought they were on the ACP... took a bit to find them in the middle of said speakers (visible on the photos)   :-)

emerydc8

I think it's more intuitive to have the volume control right on the speaker, but the engineers never asked my opinion when they were designing the 744.

Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers

It's one of those half-intuitive things. Once you know it you say "of course" and never forget, but it is not something you would come up with by yourself. Of course also because I have a bias of loud stage PA systems, where you do not put the final loudness knob on the stage speakers  :-)


Hoppie

never claiming I was an audio engineer. I was a LOUDNESS engineer.

IefCooreman

We changed from "personal Telex" to active Bose headsets (A20?) fixed on the aircraft to get active noise reduction. This was pushed by the company doctor to tackle hearing problems (our company arranges our medical check and the company doctor will be present to analyse company topics like possible hearing deterioration or fatigue problems).

It is forbidden to fly with a personal headset, after a dead battery on a personal unapproved headset, lead to an ASR on a very busy airport. Still, if you know the headset choice was a result of a survey among pilots and testing inflight, the pilots who have the personal Bose, will still use it. Coronavirus and the likes at their defense...

I never use the active noise reduction, I like silent, but silent in relation to the aircraft: silent but variable engine noise, silent but variable cockpit noise. I don't understand how people can fly with "dead noise" (not hearing engines changing, not hearing windnoise, ...).

As far as hot mics, 15 years ago, we used the rubber band on the ACP and put it on interphone on the pedestal. For some reason they've all changed and have the interphone lock standard now on the yoke while I was gone from the 73. The speaker thing is a widebody thing I guess, it was the standard on the 777, not on the 73 where it just creates more noise. Whoever is on the jumpseat is required to wear a headset. It is always a battle to get a microphone on the jumpseat when doing checks though...

emerydc8

QuoteI never use the active noise reduction, I like silent, but silent in relation to the aircraft: silent but variable engine noise, silent but variable cockpit noise. I don't understand how people can fly with "dead noise" (not hearing engines changing, not hearing windnoise, ...).

+1. I hate flying with guys who have these headsets. They rave about them but miss more calls and more commands than if they had just been wearing the ship's headsets, which aren't the greatest but at least if there's s weird noise you're more likely to hear it. I don't even like using the interphone but the guy I'm flying with was so happy to be on an airplane that had locking switches that he just had to use it. Plus he said his hearing was going and wanted to protect what's left. We're both the same age, but he's apparently got me beat in the loud rock concert category. Maybe he went to a show that Hoppie was in charge of.