Lightspeed 3G headsets?

Greetings,

Years ago, I had a perfectly good set of 15XL, and 25XL Lightspeeds in my old RV-8. I let the 15XL's go with the plane, and later traded in the 25XL for the (new at the time) Thirty-3G.

When I started flying my next plane, a Mazda rotary powered RV-3B, I had lots of popping and crackling in the Thirty-3G headsets. I sent them back several times, and each time, Lightspeed was great to work with. Unfortuntately, the problem was never quite resolved. The assumption was that the Mazda engine was making noises it didn't understand

Fast forward to now- I have an O-360 powered RV-8 flying, and from the first flight, my Thirty-3G's have popped and crackled. I just sent them in again, and Lightspeed replaced them with a new set, but unfortunately, that didn't help at all.

As a test, and since I needed another pair for the backseat victim (make that passenger ), I bought a set of 25XL's off Ebay, and gave them a try. Just like my old "XL" series, there's no popping or crackling. I've also tried a friend's 15XL's, and they have no problem either. Ditto for a set of Bose that my (good) friend loaned me to try.

Has anyone else had this problem using 3G headsets in an RV? I can't be the only one.

I've thought about sending the used 25XL's in for the aux input upgrade, but I'm afraid they'll pop and crackle when I get them back.

Thanks,
Rusty (round, and round I go on my 25 mile leash)

13brv3 said:

Has anyone else had this problem using 3G headsets in an RV? I can't be the only one.

Click to expand...

Yep, sure did. My brand new Thirty 3G headset crackled on the takeoff roll. That's definitely the loudest phase of flight in my airplane. I spoke to Lightspeed about it and sent 'em in for "adjustment." They came back and worked fine since. I'm not sure exactly what the adjustment entailed, but it resolved the crackling.

However...I no longer use my Thirty 3G headset myself. It's now my passenger's set. I use the Quiet Technologies QT Halo and you couldn't pay me to switch back!

dan said:

Yep, sure did. My brand new Thirty 3G headset crackled on the takeoff roll. That's definitely the loudest phase of flight in my airplane. I spoke to Lightspeed about it and sent 'em in for "adjustment." They came back and worked fine since. I'm not sure exactly what the adjustment entailed, but it resolved the crackling.

Click to expand...

Ditto for me. I did the same thing.
Best,

Yep, I traded my 25XLs in for a set of 30 3Gs and wish I had my old ones back. I don't have a popping noise but I just liked the old headsets better. I really needed the aux music input because it was the only way for me to solve my iPod problem with my intercom system.

Thanks for the comments. At least it's nice to see I'm not the only one. FWIW, I took a DB meter up with me, and recorded a max of 114 DB in climb, which is pretty darn loud. For some reason, it just appears that the XL series electronics can handle this, but maybe the 3G (at least the Thirty-3G) electronics can't.

For music input, Lightspeed has an upgrade available for $75 to replace the battery box on an XL, giving the same cell/music input as the 3G. I'm going to ask about this, but won't consider doing it if there's a chance that it will make my 25XL pop and crackle like the 3G's does.

BTW, does anyone know why they stopped making the 25XL?

Cheers,
Rusty (tried the Halo, returned it for refund)

Had the same problem with a pair of 3G's in my Citabria. My backup set of 15XL's didn't have the problem. I got rid of the 3Gs.

I've got a pair of almost new 25xl I'm not using.

I don't know if they make them anymore, but... I bought mine refurbished from the company (15 miles from home) about 3 and a half years ago. They worked great for the 10 hours of my student piloting. Then I stopped. They've been in the garage since (with the batteries out).
I just tried em and they still work (the anr anyway). I don't have an airplane to plug em into.

If anybody wants em, lemme know. They are just sitting here.

Wade

Wade,
Check your email .

Crackling in 20-3G

I've got a set of 20-3G's that I have occasionally had a popping noise in and found that fresh batteries has always fixed it. Probably not your problem but it's worth a shot.