Intercom Question

We just joined a flying club with a 1976 Piper Warrior. The airplane has a
two-place intercom. I own four headsets and plan to occasionally take
friends up in the back seats. Is there such a thing as an adapter I could
plug into one of the existing headset jacks that I could then plug three
headsets into?
Scott Wilson

It would help if you would post the make and model of intercom.

Jim



wrote in message ...
We just joined a flying club with a 1976 Piper Warrior. The airplane has
a
two-place intercom. I own four headsets and plan to occasionally take
friends up in the back seats. Is there such a thing as an adapter I could
plug into one of the existing headset jacks that I could then plug three
headsets into?
Scott Wilson

Dang, I posted my request just before going out to fly the plane and I just
got back to see your reply. I'll go by there and get the make/model as
soon as I can, maybe tomorrow.
Scott Wilson

On 6-Aug-2005, "RST Engineering" wrote:

It would help if you would post the make and model of intercom.

Jim

That would be a Sigtronics SPA-400 STO, mounted in a 1976 PA28-161 Warrior.
The instructor that checked me out in the airplane had a nifty adapter he
said he picked up at Radio Shack that allowed my wife riding in back to plug
in the headphone portion of her headset in a "Y" adapter and so share his
intercom audio jack. It didn't have anything for the microphone plug
though, so she couldn't talk to us, she could just listen in on our
conversation. That very nearly became a problem as she got queasy while I
was flying steep turns, stalls and slow flight and she couldn't tell us.
She made it without tossing her cookies until we landed, and on the
taxi-back to take off again (very short runway) she got my attention and let
me know she needed to get out of the plane, NOW!!!! This concerns me as I
have some friends who have never been in an airplane of any sort and want me
to give them a ride. I am worried if the one who will be riding in back
gets ill I won't know until too late.
Soctt Wilson

Y adapters for the headphones are easy. Y adapters for the microphones are
well nigh impossible.

What does Sigtronics have to say about extending the intercom to the back
seats?

Jim




wrote in message ...

On 6-Aug-2005, "RST Engineering" wrote:

It would help if you would post the make and model of intercom.

Jim

That would be a Sigtronics SPA-400 STO, mounted in a 1976 PA28-161
Warrior.
The instructor that checked me out in the airplane had a nifty adapter he
said he picked up at Radio Shack that allowed my wife riding in back to
plug
in the headphone portion of her headset in a "Y" adapter and so share his
intercom audio jack. It didn't have anything for the microphone plug
though, so she couldn't talk to us, she could just listen in on our
conversation.

"RST Engineering" wrote

Y adapters for the headphones are easy. Y adapters for the microphones
are
well nigh impossible.

How about a true Rube Goldberg solution?

Use the Y for the headsets, and make up two boxes (and wires to go from the
front to the back) that has a cord to plug into the intercom and a jack
receptacle and a momentary switch(with a normally open and normally closed)
in each one. Press the button, and you get to talk, and cut out the
possibility of the other mic being hot at the same instant. Make two; one
for each side.

I know, Jim; try not to cringe! (I can see you doing it, right now!) g
--
Jim in NC

The Y adapters we've got have both mic and headphones. I'm trying to find
where we got them. I know it was off the web, and I think the place was in
Arizona. They weren't cheap, but they do the trick. I'll keep digging.
Jim B

http://www.pilotproduct.com/page2.htm

Has several options. Not what we have, but similar.
Jim B

"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
The Y adapters we've got have both mic and headphones. I'm trying to find
where we got them. I know it was off the web, and I think the place was
in
Arizona. They weren't cheap, but they do the trick. I'll keep digging.
Jim B

wrote:
On 6-Aug-2005, "RST Engineering" wrote:


It would help if you would post the make and model of intercom.

Jim


That would be a Sigtronics SPA-400 STO, mounted in a 1976 PA28-161 Warrior.

http://www.sigtronics.com/air/spa.html

This intercom is likey a 4 place intercom. The additional two ports can
be added and signed off by a knowledgeable A&P as a minor alteration
with a logbook entry. A few dollars in parts and I cant see how it would
be more than a few hours in labor. The owner or his designee could even
do it if they have the skills, and have it signed off by their regular
mechanic.

The instructions and schematics are at:
http://www.sigtronics.com/air/pdf/spa-400.pdf


....so she couldn't talk to us, she could just listen in on our
conversation. That very nearly became a problem as she got queasy while I
was flying steep turns, stalls and slow flight and she couldn't tell us. ...
I am worried if the one who will be riding in back
gets ill I won't know until too late.
Soctt Wilson

Scott, I would be concerned that you took a non-pilot (ok, I am ASSUMING
the wife is a non-pilot) up on a flight where you were going to be doing
stalls, steep turns and slow flight. These can be quite uncomfortable
for a non-pilot, and they "feel" much different from the back seat
(different sight picture, different position relative to the "fulcrum
point" for the control surfaces).

I am just a low time guy with about 450 hrs or so, but the few times I
have been near airsickness have been in the BACK while someone up front
was doing maneuvers (or was a bad stick in general).


Whenever you take folks up, especially if its a rough day or poor
visibility day, check on them early and often for discomfort, and modify
the flight to the point of aborting if you have to. It sure beats
scrubbing puke out of carpets or washing it out of a flight bag.

Dave

On 8/7/05 5:31 PM, in article
et, "Dave S"
wrote:

Whenever you take folks up, especially if its a rough day or poor
visibility day, check on them early and often for discomfort, and modify
the flight to the point of aborting if you have to. It sure beats
scrubbing puke out of carpets or washing it out of a flight bag.

Dave


I have a plastic bag as a permanent item in my flight bag for use as an
airsickness bag. I never know when I'm gonna make myself or my passengers
sick from my lousy flying.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
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