Headset: Unexpected safety bonus

Bought myself a new headset for Christmas. I expected it to just be a new
toy, but I was amazed at the increase in understandability. Lets face it, like
many pilots looking retirement age in the eye, my hearing ain't what it used to
be. Previously, when I got into a plane, I would automatically turn the volume
well north of 50% just so I could hear above the din. I had come to assume
that the mush-mouth barely-understandable audio I was getting was just part of
the normal deal for those AM aviation radios.

For the budget I had in mind (between .3 and .4 AMU) I could get a pretty
fair conventional headset or a bottom-of-the-line ANR unit. For better or
worse, I went for the ANR, (the Lightspeed R20XL). To my surprise, and for the
first time in ages, I could suddenly hear and (more importantly) understand
every word that was being spoken. Further, I noticed that I was running my
volume control in a more normal position, (perhaps 10 db lower than before)
because there was so much less background noise to overcome.

If you find yourself saying "say again?" often, perhaps it is time to open
up the wallet and invest. There is no longer any valid reason to be flying
without ANR.

Vaughn



--
Will poofread for food.

On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 18:14:27 GMT, "Vaughn"
wrote:

Bought myself a new headset for Christmas. I expected it to just be a new
toy, but I was amazed at the increase in understandability. Lets face it, like
many pilots looking retirement age in the eye, my hearing ain't what it used to
be. Previously, when I got into a plane, I would automatically turn the volume
well north of 50% just so I could hear above the din. I had come to assume
that the mush-mouth barely-understandable audio I was getting was just part of
the normal deal for those AM aviation radios.


That a good angle to justify a new headset to the wife. Congrats on
the equipment.

Scott D.

Vaughn, what were you using before you got the new headset?

In addition to the ANR, I still use foam earplugs and then turn up the
radio. That makes it even clearer.

In addition to the ANR, I still use foam earplugs and then turn up the
radio. That makes it even clearer.

You put earplugs in your ears, and then turn up the volume?

Isn't that sorta like holding the brakes whilst flooring the accelerator?
What, exactly, are you trying to accomplish?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

You put earplugs in your ears, and then turn up the volume?

Isn't that sorta like holding the brakes whilst flooring the accelerator?
What, exactly, are you trying to accomplish?

Well, the earplugs shut out the ambient noise. Increasing the volume of the
radio cancels the effects of the earplugs, as far as the radio is concerned. Now
all he hears is radio.

The main problem with this is that many radios have poorer signals at high
volume. You may be introducing electronic noise.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.

"Jay Honeck" writes:

In addition to the ANR, I still use foam earplugs and then turn up the
radio. That makes it even clearer.

You put earplugs in your ears, and then turn up the volume?

Isn't that sorta like holding the brakes whilst flooring the accelerator?
What, exactly, are you trying to accomplish?

Greater isolation from sounds *other than* the ones coming through the
amplifier. I use this same trick at the shooting range using
electronic muffs.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, , http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/
RKBA: http://noguns-nomoney.com/ http://www.dd-b.net/carry/
Pics: http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/ http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/
Dragaera/Steven Brust: http://dragaera.info/

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 03:20:46 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

In addition to the ANR, I still use foam earplugs and then turn up the
radio. That makes it even clearer.

You put earplugs in your ears, and then turn up the volume?

Isn't that sorta like holding the brakes whilst flooring the accelerator?
What, exactly, are you trying to accomplish?

George and David answered the acoustical part (BTW, years ago, before
there were headsets, I used earplugs just to listen to the speaker,
for the reasons they give.), but as a newly-returned-to -the-activity
motorcycle rider, I note that what you describe is pretty much what is
necessary to pass the m'cycle driving test in most states today.

(Unless you pass the MSF course, which I did today, without using that
Jerry Paladino technique.)

Don

Vaughn wrote:

If you find yourself saying "say again?" often, perhaps it is time to open
up the wallet and invest. There is no longer any valid reason to be flying
without ANR.

I have to agree. I've been using the Bose for almost a year now and not only are
they more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time (than brandX) but the
radio and interfcom communications is more readble at a lower volume level than
before.

You won't hear dead silence with ANR headsets, its just a different noise "pitch"
and at a slightly lower level than passive.... and the radio is clearer to understand.

I sometimes fly an Aztec with a Bose headset. It makes a world of
difference with the ANR compared to a regular H10-13.4 David Clark.
The only fault I find with the Bose is the need to keep an extra 9 volt
battery handy. If you leave them on, the battery will run down. Not a
big deal to change out during flight. You can still hear ATC but you
will be getting the noise which would be normally filtered.