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#11
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Glad to see someone from PS Engineering stop in. Just took a long cross
country with the family and have a PIREP on the PMA7000B, and one suggestion from the wife. My installation consisted of the PMA7000B, two inputs on the left side of the panel - one for UNSWITCHED audio (traffic device) and one for a PHONE. ENTERTAINMENT1 was put by the cigarette lighter, and also a HOOK toggle switch so Pilot or Copilot position can use the phone. In the back there is an ENTERTAINMENT2 jack along with two headphone/mic jacks. On the first couple short trips to check out the unit all was fine. At the beginning of the long cross country COM3 (phone) upper button was active and the mic button for COM3 was blinking. The intercom was not working properly in ALL/CREW mode. I tried to reset the unit repeatedly but there was no change. That's when I noticed that the HOOK switch was in the up position (usually down) and may have gotten moved by the wife's knee. I put it down, no change. I then, just luck and out of ideas, held in the COM3 button for a few seconds and it cleared up. I never really got an explanation of how the HOOK switch works and haven't used a phone with it yet. After that all was well. (After looking at the manual I see it was doing as it was supposed to do, it was in full duplex mode, in the Copilot position) The wife used the audio panel more than I did it seems. And she loved it. She often went back and forth between CREW and and ISO to talk (yell, hehe) to the kids. This is where I'll mention her suggestion: she'd like those little metal switches to have something rubber or plastic on the ends. Sort of like airliners have those little condom looking things on their landing light switches, etc. I guess the only thing I wasn't sure I liked was that whenever she'd go into the ISO position, ENT1 would cut out for me. I had a bunch of Phil Hendrie (www.philhendrieshow.com , best show on radio) MP3's in my Ipaq and was listening to them and would get interrupted. Being that I didn't read the manual much, if at all, I didn't know until messing around with the buttons that I could hear both ATC and ENT1 just by pushing in the ICS button. I did that during slow ATC times, and just made ATC louder but ENT1 lower but still listenable. Volume levels. This is hard to guage as I had an ANR headset, the wife had the same headset but the non-ANR/mono version, and the kids have a couple cheapos. To me the volume was plenty loud with the inner knob at about 10 to 11 o'clock (40% I'd guess) position. I had the outer knob way up, like 3 o'clock position. The wife couldn't hear ENT1 as well as I could, but everything else fine. ENT2 was the dvd player for the kids, and they were happy with the volume. I'd hear ENT2 bleeding through, along with the kids voices, but at a very very low level, the wife couldn't hear either. Also the sound coming through ENT1, while decent, had some noise coming through as well. A low buzzing sound that would repeat over and over to the beat of my tail rotating beacon, that kind of rhythm. But it had nothing to do with the beacon or any lights, or the DME, as I'd turn things off to try to figure out where it was coming from. This is a C182, so it wasn't some twin engine harmonic thing either. Along with that was a steady high pitch tone. This audio was coming through an Ipaq running Anywhere Map and Real Audio player playing the file. Also there is a Bluetooth GPS feeding the Ipaq, it's possible the noise was mostly coming from one or both of those units. Next time I'm at the avionics shop that installed this I'm going to have a couple things looked at: 1) the manual says in the ISO mode the pilot should hear ENT1 at a muted level, I wasn't hearing it at all. 2) the bleed through of ENT2 and back passengers to the pilot position, and 3) installing a remote switch for Karaoke mode for the back passengers. They didn't complain about it, but I assume anytime the kids spoke ENT2 would mute, just like us in the front and ENT1, but we have the ICS button to take care of that, they don't. I'd also put second ENT2 input on the other headset jack, don't ask, it's a kid thing. Otherwise we're very happy with this unit. The wife said it's the best money we've put into the airplane. After the fact we're glad we held off on the PS Engineering DVD player. I'm sure it's also a great product, but probably not functional for us. Why have the control of the DVD or CD in the front when the passengers in the back will be the only ones using it. On this trip we used a portable CD player and a laptop with DVD to keep em busy back there. We'll probably get one of those portable DVD players and a case that attaches it to the seat back. That way they have a screen, the controls, and even a remote control. Up front we just want audio, wife wouldn't mind video at times, but where to put it? Question for the PSE rep, I'd like the PXE7300, but now seeing how ENT1 and ENT2 work, would only the pilot/copilot be able to hear it? Same question for your DVD unit (cant find name online at avionics shops and your website is down). If it's wired for the back passengers, can the front still hear it? Thanks for a great product! Chris |
#12
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Hi Jay:
Sounds as though you have our PMA7000MS series (i.e. not the new PMA7000B). There are two (Left and Right) screwdriver volume adjustments you can make, you'll need to refer to the installation manual (located on our web site) to determine which holes and what direction to turn the potentiometer to increase/decrease the passengers volume. Our new PMA7000B has a concentric knob allowing individual volume control from the front panel of both the crew and the passengers. Hope this helps! Sincerely, Mark |
#13
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#14
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Dear Chris:
Thanks for your post. I'll try to be brief in my answers: "HOOK toggle switch so Pilot or Copilot position can use the phone." Actually, the hook switch, when installed, will allow the copilot to make a private phone call, or join in with the pilot. the pilot's "hook switch" actually is the Com 3 mic pushbutton "At the beginning of the long cross country COM3 (phone) upper button was active and the mic button for COM3 was blinking. The intercom was not working properly in ALL/CREW mode." It appears that the PMA7000B is working properly, when you are in the telephone mode, the intercom function between the pilot and copilot is deactivated. However, the passengers are free to continue to communicate. "The wife used the audio panel more than I did it seems. And she loved it. She often went back and forth between CREW and and ISO to talk (yell, hehe) to the kids. This is where I'll mention her suggestion: she'd like those little metal switches to have something rubber or plastic on the ends. Sort of like airliners have those little condom looking things on their landing light switches, etc." EXCELLENT suggestion! Let me see if I can get some slide on rubber covers. Do you have a preference in color? White seems to be a standard. "I guess the only thing I wasn't sure I liked was that whenever she'd go into the ISO position, ENT1 would cut out for me." Again, the PMA7000B is behaving correctly. We had more recommendations to have the entertainment turn off when in ISO mode for the pilot than the other way around. "Volume levels. I had the outer knob way up, like 3 o'clock position. The wife couldn't hear ENT1 as well as I could, but everything else fine." This is clear evidence that the Bose headset is more efficient in using the power from the intercom than your wife's headset. (Xmas is coming up, and I just know she would LOVE to have an equivalent headset as her husband, no?) "ENT1, while decent, had some noise coming through as well. A low buzzing sound that would repeat over and over to the beat of my tail rotating beacon, that kind of rhythm. But it had nothing to do with the beacon or any lights, or the DME, as I'd turn things off to try to figure out where it was coming from." The 182, if I'm not mistaken, has its battery in the rear of the aircraft. The engineers at Cessna felt that using the airframe for the ground return path saved weight (no copper cable) and certainly aluminum is an excellent conductor (ask all those home owners who wired their homes with aluminum in the '80's). Anyway, one strong possibility is that the noise is coming from your charging system, and that would be because the who airframe has the noise supperimposed on it from the return charging current. Are you using your cigarette ligther adapter to power your entertainment device? If you are, USE BATTERIES, otherwise you will have ground loop noise from the power source. "The manual says in the ISO mode the pilot should hear ENT1 at a muted level, I wasn't hearing it at all." Again, sounds like it is working the way it is designed, you'll notice our mute level is very low. Without the engine running sometime (preferably on the ground) get your entertainment running, speak into the mic, and listen to the mute level, it's way down. "The bleed through of ENT2 and back passengers to the pilot position" Now this is an anomoly, because the isolation of Ent 2 and passengers is even greater than the mute level of Ent 1. There may be some wiring issue here. I'll need to speak to your installer if this level is annoying. "Question for the PSE rep, I'd like the PXE7300, but now seeing how ENT1 and ENT2 work, would only the pilot/copilot be able to hear it?" Yes, but only if you didn't hook the PXE7300 output to Ent 2 input. "Same question for your DVD unit" Actually, the PAV80 is different, it has two seperate outputs and does working in a multifunction fashion. What I mean is that the crew could listen to say your external music device (through the PAV80) while the kids could what their favorite DVD. Or, maybe mom and dad want to play their favorite MP3 songs in the PAV80, and the kids could plug in their video game into the PAV80 and use the PAV80's display. The PAV80 is an awesome, and probably is one of our biggest achievement (the IntelliVox being another.) Thanks for taking the time and letting me know about your setup, it is most certainly one of the most high tech ones I have read about. Let me know if I can be of any service. Sincerely, Mark Scheuer PS Engineering, Inc. Chris |
#15
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Dear Sydney:
The reason we keep ADF and DME is that it's a requirement of our OEM's. While the use of ADF and DME are becoming more of a rarity with the advent of approved GPS approaches, they are still used extensively in the international market. However, PS Engineering is the only company that has dedicated a pushbutton for AUX, which can serve as a switched input of your choosing. And don't forget about our DRAWS option, it's the only one in the world, and ties into GPS quite nicely. So we like to think we are making a modern day audio panels, keeping the things we need to while bringing new capability to our after market customers. And I can promise you that you will continue to see innovation from us, it's what we do. Sincerely, Mark Scheuer PS Engineering, Inc. |
#16
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W9MV wrote: Hope this helps! Now that's great service. You can tell any of your management that questions the amount of time you spend here that, if my intercom bites the dust, one of yours will be replacing it. Hey, if I come into some money, I may not wait! George Patterson Some people think they hear a call to the priesthood when what they really hear is a tiny voice whispering "It's indoor work with no heavy lifting". |
#17
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Dear George:
Yes, that is why we employed key caps. We can label ($20 per key cap) the key caps with any three letters you desire. Mark |
#18
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W9MV wrote: The reason we keep ADF and DME is that it's a requirement of our OEM's. Would it be possible to market an optional faceplate? George Patterson Some people think they hear a call to the priesthood when what they really hear is a tiny voice whispering "It's indoor work with no heavy lifting". |
#19
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"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message ... W9MV wrote: Hope this helps! Now that's great service. You can tell any of your management that questions the amount of time you spend here that, if my intercom bites the dust, one of yours will be replacing it. Hey, if I come into some money, I may not wait! George, You just did. Mark IS management, president, owner, and all-around good guy, plus a few other things as well. Gerry |
#20
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Mark
7000B audio panel and the PXE 7300 is a great combination. I wanted the PAV80 but couldnt find any information on how the screen for the DVD player is installed or where it would be located. Radio stations are crystal clear, in the mountains of southern nevada, over 100 NM away from the radio station, my installer placed the antenna inside the airplane, not outside of it. My opinion is I like it alot better then the garmin GMA 340 I had in my old airplane. I dont have to turn down the radio when someone calls me or ask them to repeat anything like I did with the garmin GMA 340 and PMA7000CD (the cd player only version) Jeff W9MV wrote: I appreciate your comments, my questions are not intended as a brash sales intrusion, but rather a fact finding mission to further our quest for the altimate audio panel. (pilots have told us that the PMA7000B is it, but we won't rest on our laurels) Sincerely, Mark Scheuer PS Engineering, Inc. www.ps-engineering.com |
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