Volume

[skeptic36]

Hi all,

 

I have recently started taking passengers in my trike, this has highlighted a problem with the radio setup.

 

When we have the volume set comfortably for intercom communications in coming transmissions are much louder, they are still O.K for the pilot but the pax can't hear for five minutes after receiving a call thumb_down.

 

Is there something I can do about this ?

 

The radio is an ICOM IC-A20MKII

 

Unfortunately I don,t have any info on the box that has the ptt pilot and pax outlets ( will check for identification markings when at the airstrip next if required)

 

If I wear the pax headset for testing purposes will it still transmit through that mike when the ptt button is pressed ?

 

Thanks

 

Regards Bill

 

 

[Knighty]

Radio glitches

 

Hi

 

I have had similar problems in the past with a couple of planes so I learnt about avionics as I went along. I have designed and fitted an interface to my VHF/UHF radio after a few grey hairs and head scratching (Xcom 760 VHF coupled with a Uniden 40 channel UHF all with music input and mobile phone Flightcom).

 

May I suggest you have an mike isolation switch when you need to transmit if you do not want the pax to join in coupled with a 200ohm trimpot that can be accessable on the radio out (speaker) wire going into your headset (or the Pax if you are happy with the volume!). Anyhow thats how I would do it, there are some professional radio people out there who may disagree, bring it on so we can ALL LEARN!

 

Bloody radios can be a nightmare to tweak and get right. I would rather walk 50 miles with an outlanding to town rather than pulling out the multimeter and soldering iron Ha Ha!!!

 

Slip me a PM if you are still in trouble, I am happy to assist as I wish someone was out there at the time to guide me with the complexities of radios.

 

Good luck.

 

Knighty

 

 

[skeptic36]

May I suggest you have an mike isolation switch when you need to transmit if you do not want the pax to join in

Hi Knighty

Thanks for your response, it sounds like you have a great set up.

 

If I understand you correctly I don't think you get my problem. Communications between pilot and pax are fine even if I transmit it is still the same volume for the pax, it is when we recieve a transmission from another aircraft that the volume is increased for the pilot and is absolutely deafening for the pax :yuk:.

 

Sounds like I'm going to have to do some serious book learnin' myself, words like trimpot etc. don't mean a lot to me. I was kinda hoping there would be a little screw under a cover somewhere that I would just need to turn a 1/4 clockwise or something Yeah I could probably do that :thumb_up:

 

Regards Bill

 

 

[Knighty]

Hi Bill

 

I understood your problem but didnt really explain myself by the looks of things. I am not aware of that magic screw in the radio to turn down (apart from the normal volume/squelch switches) that you mentioned however if you need that quick fix have you a volume switch on the side of your headsets? Get your Pax to adjust it in flight when the radio is blasting (I am sure I am preaching to the converted here as it was possibly the first thing you did anyway! The problem with that is that you loose your intercom volume as well.). A trimpot is an adjustable resistor which is exactly the same as your volume switch on the headsets and possibly fairly close to the resistance in ohm's you are looking for anyway if you go with the suggestion I made earlier. If you dont really know what a trimpot is (underpinning knowledge in electrical mumbo jumbo, I am not having a dig at you as I was once there myself!!) can I please suggest you contact Rod from Aerial Pursuits at Aerial Pursuits - Sports Aviation Specialists! and let him know your problem & what you want to do about it; if he cant help you out here in Oz nobody can. Raptor design has assisted me with advice and parts and has been a tower of knowledge, they are my first contact if in doubt or trouble.

 

Also you may need to look into that live mike with the Pax when you transmit, sometimes the Pax will say just about anything at the worst time when you need to have that one on one with the radio! Also this can transmit more background noise and may make it harder for other aircraft/groundcrew to understand your transmission. I hope I helped this time around.

 

Good luck

 

Knighty