Headsets

[[email protected]]

Hi

I'm in the market for a headset and have seen new headsets on e-bay
bearing the "Feather Lite" brand.

Does anyone have any experience with these headsets? Any opions as to
quality of build, sound etc.etc. Any relevant info appreciated.

The price is right but I want to be sure they're just junk which will
bust in a couple months.

Given I'm a still student pilot I don't want to spend too much on my
first set and then decide I want something different down the track. I
also don't want to keep using the units provided by my school - damn
cooties...

Cheers
CT

[Thomas Borchert]

> Given I'm a still student pilot I don't want to spend too much on my
> first set and then decide I want something different down the track.
>

Not sure I can follow that logic. Why waste money now if you know now
that you'll want something better later? Why don't you deserve what you
want now?

I wouldn't buy anything that's not ANR. Entry level ANR can be bought
for 250 $.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Tyler Williams]

wrote:
> Hi
>
> I'm in the market for a headset and have seen new headsets on e-bay
> bearing the "Feather Lite" brand.
>
> Does anyone have any experience with these headsets? Any opions as to
> quality of build, sound etc.etc. Any relevant info appreciated.
>
> The price is right but I want to be sure they're just junk which will
> bust in a couple months.
>
> Given I'm a still student pilot I don't want to spend too much on my
> first set and then decide I want something different down the track. I
> also don't want to keep using the units provided by my school - damn
> cooties...
>
> Cheers
> CT
>
Buy David Clark. By far the best headsets made and exceptional warranty.

Tyler

[George Patterson]

wrote:
>
> Given I'm a still student pilot I don't want to spend too much on my
> first set and then decide I want something different down the track.

Your logic is flawed. If you buy a poor headset now, you won't be able to
concentrate on your lessons as well as you might, and you won't be able to sell
it very easily once you decide to upgrade.

While I agree that you probably don't want to spring for a Bose right now, you
should be looking into something like one of the low end Lightspeed sets.

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.

[[email protected]]

George Patterson wrote:
> wrote:
>
>
> Your logic is flawed.

Funny, I wasn't aware I'd asked for a critique of my logic.


> If you buy a poor headset now,

I do not know for a fact that it is a poor headset - do you? From the
specifications listed on E-bay it looks comparable to many of the more
popular headsets and from what I read it has a five year warranty. But
then you can't beleive everything you read now can you? Which brings
us back to the point of my original post which was to get information
*from anyone who has had direct experience with the headset* (Feather
Lite). After considering the information I'll make my decision.

If you have had any specific experience with the headset I'd be happy
to hear about it.



> you won't be able to concentrate on your lessons as well as you might,

Again, that's the point of my original post. To find out from anyone
who has actually used the headset if the headset is noisy,
uncomfortable or has any other drawbacks which I should be aware of.

If you have any direct experience please post away.

> and you won't be able to sell
> it very easily once you decide to upgrade.

I wouldn't sell it. I'd keep it for passengers.

>
> While I agree that you probably don't want to spring for a Bose right now, you
> should be looking into something like one of the low end Lightspeed sets.

Now, I thought you said my logic was flawed. Here you're saying "Don't
buy the most expensive set on the market buy one of the cheapest."
Funny, sounds like the logic I was using.

>
> 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.

[Chris Schmelzer]

In article m>,
wrote:

> George Patterson wrote:
> > wrote:
> >
> >
> > Your logic is flawed.
>
> Funny, I wasn't aware I'd asked for a critique of my logic.
>
>
> > If you buy a poor headset now,
>
> I do not know for a fact that it is a poor headset - do you? From the
> specifications listed on E-bay it looks comparable to many of the more
> popular headsets and from what I read it has a five year warranty. But
> then you can't beleive everything you read now can you? Which brings
> us back to the point of my original post which was to get information
> *from anyone who has had direct experience with the headset* (Feather
> Lite). After considering the information I'll make my decision.
>
> If you have had any specific experience with the headset I'd be happy
> to hear about it.
>
>
>
> > you won't be able to concentrate on your lessons as well as you might,
>
> Again, that's the point of my original post. To find out from anyone
> who has actually used the headset if the headset is noisy,
> uncomfortable or has any other drawbacks which I should be aware of.
>
> If you have any direct experience please post away.
>
> > and you won't be able to sell
> > it very easily once you decide to upgrade.
>
> I wouldn't sell it. I'd keep it for passengers.
>
> >
> > While I agree that you probably don't want to spring for a Bose right now,
> > you
> > should be looking into something like one of the low end Lightspeed sets.
>
> Now, I thought you said my logic was flawed. Here you're saying "Don't
> buy the most expensive set on the market buy one of the cheapest."
> Funny, sounds like the logic I was using.
>
> >
> > 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.


Yikes....

oh yeah and geez..

--
Chris Schmelzer, MD
University of Arizona, UPH Kino

[Victor J. Osborne, Jr.]

Testy are we?

FWIW, try to borrow a set from folks you hanger fly with at the FBO.
(grammar crash) I was always around the FBO during my training. I tried
different sets before setting for Lightspeed. Some may want to sell it to
you later, for reasons below.

I agree w/ the logic of ANR. I like Lightspeeds. I have 3. (2 w/ ANR, 1
w/o) I also have 2 Bose panel wired in the front. So you see. You can buy
on w/o ANR. Try it. If you want to upgrade to ANR (read: more $) you can
keep the old pair; you'll need it for when you want to fly w/ friends after
you get the ticket. Also, having a spare pair in the plane isn't a bad
idea.

--

Thx, {|;-)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.

> wrote in message >>

>> Your logic is flawed.
>
> Funny, I wasn't aware I'd asked for a critique of my logic.
>

[[email protected]]

A basic set of headsets will generally cost $125.00 or so.
Basic passive attenuation, 24-26db. Might even hold up for a few years.

Pacific coast avionics and Gulf coast avionics rebrands the Light speed
ANRs for 249.00 each.
Just bought a set and are worth every cent. Been flying for 25 years and
should have done it long ago.

Much less noise and makes it "mo-better" to concentrate. I'm really Mr.
Cheap with most other things.

Lightspeed will also sell refurbished headsets with a good warranty.
Might want to give them a call.

If $100 means one less hour to fly, then buy the less expensive ones, if
it doesn't, buy the ANRs.

Good Luck

Dave


Victor J. Osborne, Jr. wrote:
> Testy are we?
>
> FWIW, try to borrow a set from folks you hanger fly with at the FBO.
> (grammar crash) I was always around the FBO during my training. I tried
> different sets before setting for Lightspeed. Some may want to sell it to
> you later, for reasons below.
>
> I agree w/ the logic of ANR. I like Lightspeeds. I have 3. (2 w/ ANR, 1
> w/o) I also have 2 Bose panel wired in the front. So you see. You can buy
> on w/o ANR. Try it. If you want to upgrade to ANR (read: more $) you can
> keep the old pair; you'll need it for when you want to fly w/ friends after
> you get the ticket. Also, having a spare pair in the plane isn't a bad
> idea.
>

[[email protected]]

I believe that a friend of mine bought two of this brand for about
$50.00 each to use during Young Eagles flights. I placed them in the
back seat of my Cherokee for the kids to use. Within 2 or 3 flights
the boom for the mic fell out of one of the headsets. I spent the rest
of the day shoving it back in so the kids could you them. Also, one
set seemed to pick up a bunch of ambient noise, enough to break the
squelch on the intercom. Then again that could have been just because
they didn't put the mic close enough to their mouth.

I'm almost positive they are Feather Lite but won't know for sure
until I get out to the hangar this weekend.

If they are, I would steer clear of them.

Just my 2 cents.

Mark



On 14 Aug 2005 23:51:40 -0700, wrote:

>Hi
>
>I'm in the market for a headset and have seen new headsets on e-bay
>bearing the "Feather Lite" brand.
>
>Does anyone have any experience with these headsets? Any opions as to
>quality of build, sound etc.etc. Any relevant info appreciated.
>
>The price is right but I want to be sure they're just junk which will
>bust in a couple months.
>
>Given I'm a still student pilot I don't want to spend too much on my
>first set and then decide I want something different down the track. I
>also don't want to keep using the units provided by my school - damn
>cooties...
>
>Cheers
>CT

[[email protected]]

Victor J. Osborne, Jr. wrote:
> Testy are we?

Absolutely. Very.

>
> FWIW, try to borrow a set from folks you hanger fly with at the FBO.
> (grammar crash) I was always around the FBO during my training. I tried
> different sets before setting for Lightspeed. Some may want to sell it to
> you later, for reasons below.
>
> I agree w/ the logic of ANR. I like Lightspeeds. I have 3. (2 w/ ANR, 1
> w/o) I also have 2 Bose panel wired in the front. So you see. You can buy
> on w/o ANR. Try it. If you want to upgrade to ANR (read: more $) you can
> keep the old pair; you'll need it for when you want to fly w/ friends after
> you get the ticket. Also, having a spare pair in the plane isn't a bad
> idea.

I've heard students are often advised to steer clear of ANR since it is
advantageous for the student to hear more of the background aircraft
noise (wind, engine etc) during training.

Was this your experience?

>
> --
>
> Thx, {|;-)
>
> Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.
>

Thanks for the info.

CT.

[Sylvain]

wrote:
>
> I've heard students are often advised to steer clear of ANR since it is
> advantageous for the student to hear more of the background aircraft
> noise (wind, engine etc) during training.

you probably heard that from someone who does not understand what
an ANR headset is or does; on the contrary, you'll be able to
hear relevant noise -- things to which you should be paying
attention -- far better with an ANR.

by the way, I also bought the cheapest passive headset from
Lightspeed (for passengers) and they are real good (as far
as passive headsets go)

--Sylvain

[Thomas Borchert]

Tyler,

> Buy David Clark. By far the best headsets made and exceptional warranty.
>

I beg to differ. They ain't called David Clamps for nothing. In other
words: "best" has to be defined by the OP after getting the necessary
information to make that judgement.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Thomas Borchert]

> I've heard students are often advised to steer clear of ANR since it is
> advantageous for the student to hear more of the background aircraft
> noise (wind, engine etc) during training.
>
> Was this your experience?
>

Total BS. If anything, you can hear details better with ANR.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Paul kgyy]

I recently bought the bottom end lightspeeds for rear seat use. I
tried them in the pilot seat and found them amazingly good for non-ANR
headsets.

[Victor J. Osborne, Jr.]

My ANR use came after license but I find that I do hear more of the flight
noises (engine, etc.)

Also, not to be minimized is the fatigue from high noise levels. W/ ANR & a
good headset, I can listen for ATC, converse w/ pax, & yes, listen for
unusual noises w/o fatigue.

It's like flying a long cross country w/o an autopilot. Doable but why
would you, if you had a choice? A/P $10-15k. ANR $250+

Thx, {|;-)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
>
> I've heard students are often advised to steer clear of ANR since it is
> advantageous for the student to hear more of the background aircraft
> noise (wind, engine etc) during training.
>
> Was this your experience?
>

[Chuck]

Sure, I have two of them.

I bought them to serve the occasional back seaters in my Cherokee.
They have soft and comfortable ear seal muffs. There is a volume
control on each side -- nice feature. They seem to attenuate the
noise OK. But I have run into a small problem that I'm not sure is
the headset fault or not.

It seems that the person talking is having problems keeping the
squelch open. I'm not sure if its a cheap microphone in the headset
or just inexperienced users not placing the mic close enough to their
mouth. Hum..., have to test that one of these days by using the
headset myself.

But as one other person did mention, the microphone attaches with a
screwed nutcap. A 8 year old kept playing with the mic back and
forth. Luckily, I found it loose before the nutcap came off. Keep an
eye on that.

For occasional uses, they are good and cheap headsets. At sub $60
each, I was able to get these two for the same cost of anyone else's
single headset.


Chuck
PA28-180





On 14 Aug 2005 23:51:40 -0700, wrote:

>Hi
>
>I'm in the market for a headset and have seen new headsets on e-bay
>bearing the "Feather Lite" brand.
>
>Does anyone have any experience with these headsets? Any opions as to
>quality of build, sound etc.etc. Any relevant info appreciated.
>
>The price is right but I want to be sure they're just junk which will
>bust in a couple months.
>
>Given I'm a still student pilot I don't want to spend too much on my
>first set and then decide I want something different down the track. I
>also don't want to keep using the units provided by my school - damn
>cooties...
>
>Cheers
>CT

[[email protected]]

: It's like flying a long cross country w/o an autopilot. Doable but why
: would you, if you had a choice? A/P $10-15k. ANR $250+

I just got back from a 5500 nm cross-country in a Cherokee with no autopilot.
At $10-15K and probably 50 lbs, it's not worth installing in many-a-plane.

The ANR is definately worth it (as you're proposing). I like the good passive
performance and comfort of the Lightspeed QFR XC-2. ANR isn't as aggressive as in
some, but the high-end Lightspeeds are horrible in their high-frequency
*amplification* IMO.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

[Newps]

wrote:

> I just got back from a 5500 nm cross-country in a Cherokee with no autopilot.
> At $10-15K and probably 50 lbs, it's not worth installing in many-a-plane.

50 lbs? You installing small children in there?

[Victor J. Osborne, Jr.]

Agree that an AP may not be worth it in some planes. I tend to fly a lot of
3 hours legs, hard IFR. It's bad enough doing it in a single. I had a good
price on an AP for my Archer II and my A36 had one or it would have been an
immediate upgrade.

ps ditto the Lightspeed QFR XC-2. It's one of my non-ANR sets.
--

Thx, {|;-)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.

> wrote in message
...
>
> I just got back from a 5500 nm cross-country in a Cherokee with no
> autopilot.
> At $10-15K and probably 50 lbs, it's not worth installing in many-a-plane.
>
> The ANR is definately worth it (as you're proposing). I like the good
> passive
> performance and comfort of the Lightspeed QFR XC-2. ANR isn't as
> aggressive as in
> some, but the high-end Lightspeeds are horrible in their high-frequency
> *amplification* IMO.
>

[John Clonts]

"Victor J. Osborne, Jr." > wrote in message ...
> Agree that an AP may not be worth it in some planes. I tend to fly a lot of 3 hours legs, hard IFR. It's
> bad enough doing it in a single. I had a good price on an AP for my Archer II and my A36 had one or it would
> have been an immediate upgrade.
>
> ps ditto the Lightspeed QFR XC-2. It's one of my non-ANR sets.

IIRC QFR XC-2 *IS* ANR...well I guess unless you leave it turned off or the batteries dead...

Cheers,
John Clonts
Temple, Texas
N7NZ