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GMA 245 volume

togaflyer

Well Known Member
On my GMA 245 the co-pilot com volume is operates lower than the pilot side. Is there a way to balance the pilot and co pilot sides so the com volume is equal. The issue comes from the com radios 1 & 2. Not the VOX.
 
On my GMA 245 the co-pilot com volume is operates lower than the pilot side. Is there a way to balance the pilot and co pilot sides so the com volume is equal. The issue comes from the com radios 1 & 2. Not the VOX.

The pilot, copilot, and up to 4 passengers hear the COM1, COM2, NAV1, Aux1, Aux2, Aux3, Alert1, Alert2, Alert3, and Alert4 audio sources at the same volume level.

Any individual volume adjustment needed is done at the user's headset.

The aux and alert audio volume is adjustable (for all, not individually) in configuration mode. The COM1, COM2, NAV1 audio volume is adjusted (for all) at the radio.

The intercom and music volumes have front panel controls and may be different for pilot and copilot/passengers.

It would be a configuration nightmare if all of these audio volume levels were individually adjustable for up to 6 users.

What method did you use to determine that the COM1/COM2 audio signal being provided to the copilot audio jack is lower in magnitude that the same signal being provided to the pilot audio jack?

Steve
 
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Steve, my wife is normally my co (non) pilot. She has never mentioned that the com volume was low. Each time another pilot has flown co pilot I had to turn my com volume (i.e. GTN com one) from 43 percent to 52 percent. I thought my hearing was just better but not so. Things finally added up and I realized pilot side level was higher. Stein did the panel, head phone plugs were wired by me. If by chance the schematic had wires reversed could this cause the issue.
 
Steve, my wife is normally my co (non) pilot. She has never mentioned that the com volume was low. Each time another pilot has flown co pilot I had to turn my com volume (i.e. GTN com one) from 43 percent to 52 percent. I thought my hearing was just better but not so. Things finally added up and I realized pilot side level was higher. Stein did the panel, head phone plugs were wired by me. If by chance the schematic had wires reversed could this cause the issue.

Please note, the audio jack schematic on Steinair's website is different than the Garmin schematic in the G3X manual. If I remember correctly, SteinAir and Garmin have the audio low wired to different terminals on the jacks. I followed Garmin's schematic for my audio wiring and when I tested it by talking to the tower, everything came out great. I am not sure if the difference that Steinair's website shows will make a difference because I never tried it that way. YMMV. JMHO
 
Steve, my wife is normally my co (non) pilot. She has never mentioned that the com volume was low. Each time another pilot has flown co pilot I had to turn my com volume (i.e. GTN com one) from 43 percent to 52 percent. I thought my hearing was just better but not so. Things finally added up and I realized pilot side level was higher. Stein did the panel, head phone plugs were wired by me. If by chance the schematic had wires reversed could this cause the issue.
Rich,

I also have a GMA 245 (great audio panel!). If I put my Zulu headset on, and plug it into either the pilot or copilot headset jack without changing anything on the headset, including the way it sits on my head, the COM radio volume sounds the same.

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If you change the person, or the headset, using the copilot position, chances are good that things will be a little different for that user. Even the way the same headset fits a different person can make a difference.

I will also occasionally (but not often) have a passenger (typically a pilot) who says they can't hear the COM radio even though I can hear it just fine, and I know that I could hear it just fine in the copilot position. No problem, it is easy to accommodate this request to turn up the COM radio volume.

99.9% of the time, I have the volume controls on my headset set to max. The audio in my plane is setup that way, and when I want to return to the audio configuration (including alert audio) that works the best for me, it always starts with making sure my headset volumes controls are at max setting to remove that variable.

Step one to accommodate a passenger requesting more COM volume is to make sure that their headset volume controls are set to max. If not, their request may be met by doing just that and turning down the intercom volume with the copilot dedicated volume knob if needed.

If that doesn't address the issue, turn up the COM volume until it meets the passenger needs, and adjust your headset volume down until you are comfortable with the new COM volume level. Adjust your intercom volume to your liking with your dedicated knob to match your new headset volume level setting. All done.

Steve
 
Thanks for the recommendations. Definitely there is a slight volume difference but just as mentioned above, just a little tweaking of the com volume and then the headset volume does the trick. Back in the day the Bendix audio panels had independent com adjustment for both sides. Just wanted to confirm there wasn’t some form of internal or configuration adjustment I did not know about. I definitely like the panel and very pleased with my whole Garmin set up.
 
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