Intercom question

[Tri-Pacer]

Hi All:

Is there an actual requirement that a set of jacks be installed separate
from the intercom jacks that go directly to the radio?

I had thought this was needed so that in case of a catastrophic intercom
failure the radio would still be available.

This has been present in past planes that I have owned and flown. However I
just purchased a plane without any jacks going directly to the radio.

Before I ruin my back wiring a direct of jacks in place I ask Are direct
inputs to the radio required? If so what requires them?

Thanks

Paul
N1431A

[RST Engineering]

No.

Jim


>
> Before I ruin my back wiring a direct of jacks in place I ask Are direct
> inputs to the radio required? If so what requires them?
>

[[email protected]]

Hello Jim!

It's been a while! I didn't get a chance to see you at Oshkosh this
year, it was a short visit for me.

Hope you are doing well and that the intercom business is treating you
well.

I would like to let you know that the answer to the question of the
original poster would actually be yes, if he was installing one of our
FAA TSO'd intercoms. The reason? Because these Auxillary Mic and
Headphone jacks are listed as a requirement in our approved data,
(Install Manual) when installed in a certified aircraft.

Home built, you are correct, but installations in certified aircraft,
our approved intercoms must be installed in accordance with our
approved data. Remember, manuals are part of the TSO'd approved data.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.

Take care Jim.
Mark

RST Engineering wrote:
> No.
>
> Jim
>
>
> >
> > Before I ruin my back wiring a direct of jacks in place I ask Are direct
> > inputs to the radio required? If so what requires them?
> >

[Dave S]

You can install one of jim's intercoms in a factory built airplane.

Certain conditions apply, but it doesn't jeopardize the "standard
airworthiness certificate" the aircraft.

And, given that situation, Jim's Audio Panel/intercom has a built in
"bypass feature" that directly shunts the pilot's jacks directly to com 1.

Dave

wrote:

> Hello Jim!
>
> It's been a while! I didn't get a chance to see you at Oshkosh this
> year, it was a short visit for me.
>
> Hope you are doing well and that the intercom business is treating you
> well.
>
> I would like to let you know that the answer to the question of the
> original poster would actually be yes, if he was installing one of our
> FAA TSO'd intercoms. The reason? Because these Auxillary Mic and
> Headphone jacks are listed as a requirement in our approved data,
> (Install Manual) when installed in a certified aircraft.
>
> Home built, you are correct, but installations in certified aircraft,
> our approved intercoms must be installed in accordance with our
> approved data. Remember, manuals are part of the TSO'd approved data.
>
> Anyway, just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.
>
> Take care Jim.
> Mark
>
> RST Engineering wrote:
>
>>No.
>>
>>Jim
>>
>>
>>
>>>Before I ruin my back wiring a direct of jacks in place I ask Are direct
>>>inputs to the radio required? If so what requires them?
>>>
>
>

[RST Engineering]

Mark...

Sorry to miss you at Oshkosh this year. It is always a pleasure to see you
again. The intercom business has never been better, thanks for asking.

My advice stands. TSO is not required for part 91 aircraft, and
notwithstanding your requirement for auxiliary (sp correct) jacks, your
"approved data" is not required.

Again, TSO for part 91 aircraft is NOT required, nor are hardwired jacks.

If you have made your manufacturer's data required for all certificated (sp
correct) aircraft, then you have placed an additional burden on those part
91 aircraft owners that is not required by the regulations.

A bypass switch really is the clever way to provide redundancy rather than
requiring the aircraft owner to drill, install, and wire jacks that they may
or may not have room for on the aircraft panel. I'd much rather depend on a
single switch than extra jacks and wire.

Jim



> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello Jim!
>
> It's been a while! I didn't get a chance to see you at Oshkosh this
> year, it was a short visit for me.
>
> Hope you are doing well and that the intercom business is treating you
> well.
>
> I would like to let you know that the answer to the question of the
> original poster would actually be yes, if he was installing one of our
> FAA TSO'd intercoms. The reason? Because these Auxillary Mic and
> Headphone jacks are listed as a requirement in our approved data,
> (Install Manual) when installed in a certified aircraft.
>
> Home built, you are correct, but installations in certified aircraft,
> our approved intercoms must be installed in accordance with our
> approved data. Remember, manuals are part of the TSO'd approved data.
>
> Anyway, just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.
>
> Take care Jim.
> Mark

[[email protected]]

Hey Jim, AOPA is coming up, are you heading over to FL? If so, my treat
at Starbuck (my favorite place).

OK, you have a great point, no argument from me.

Please know that our intercoms do have an automatic failsafe system, so
this is not the reason we have required the aux mic and h/p jacks in
certificated aircraft. It's for long and short term customer
satisfaction. Look at it this way, lets say after a few years of use,
as with all electronics, there's a failure. Without those auxillary mic
and headphone jacks, when the guy removes the intercom to return for
service, he no longer has access to his radios. Now there are lots of
pilots that don't feel they need to use radios to be safe, and in these
cases, these jacks are, as you said, an additional burden (heck, so are
those radios, they problem should pull those too). But, if they want to
use the radios while flying, he can't because the link between the
pilot's headset and radio has been removed. He can builds up a pass
through cable using a set of male and female sub-d connectors, but that
would be a big pain (in my opinion). With these auxillary jack, he just
plugs his heaset in and flys away.

The other point is that we get calls all the time with the complaint
that the intercom doesn't work through the aircraft radio. The vast
majority of the time, when asked, we find out that these jacks haven't
been installed. So, trouble shooting becomes difficult at best. We
explain to them the benefits of having these jacks (makes the interface
from intercom to radio fool proof, continue to have access to the radio
when the intercom is removed, and provides a SECOND failsafe connection
to the radio in the unlikely event that the intercom goes really
haywire.)
We don't want to put additional burden on anyone, but we believe that
these jacks are worth the effort. We never hear from them again (they
are either really mad at us, or, through the process of installing
these jacks, they find some sort of wiring mistake.

In any event, thanks for being so available to everyone Jim, you really
do provide a wonderful service to pilots, I'm sure they appreciate it
too!

Sincerely,
Mark

[John]

Jim's intercoms are the best that I have ever had in our
Glasair. I built a beta kit of the 564 and it has been perfect. Good
volume, good squelch, failsafe direct wiring to COM1 if the intercom goes
belly up, which it hasn't. Nice product at a great price for the person who
likes to solder.
"Tri-Pacer" > wrote in message
...
> Hi All:
>
> Is there an actual requirement that a set of jacks be installed separate
> from the intercom jacks that go directly to the radio?
>
> I had thought this was needed so that in case of a catastrophic intercom
> failure the radio would still be available.
>
> This has been present in past planes that I have owned and flown. However
I
> just purchased a plane without any jacks going directly to the radio.
>
> Before I ruin my back wiring a direct of jacks in place I ask Are direct
> inputs to the radio required? If so what requires them?
>
> Thanks
>
> Paul
> N1431A
>
>