Portable intercom

This is a silly question but I really would like to figure it out. I sometimes make aviation videos and upload them to my youtube channel. I've made a few with go pros and recorded my audio with a cable. The trouble is my panel mounted intercom is horrible. It's a flight com 403c. I do get "Loud and clear" with radio checks so apparently it & my SL 40 radio is ok that way but inside the sidetone when transmitting is awful. That's what is picked up on the audio when recording. Not as bad when not transmitting but still there. Soooo.... Here's the question.

If I get a portable intercom will that take the panel mount out of the loop? With a panel mounted intercom installed, can I even use a portable??? I've tried to think this through but end up more confused.

Also, not interested in replacing the flight com at this time. That's a future project.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Your radio is wired directly to the flightcom 403. So, taking it out of the picture will be a (tiny) amount of work, but will require a little wiring. I agree, it is not very good at all, and I feel for those that have it installed. I have it in one of our headset test fixtures as almost the worst case scenario .

You might find a PS Engineering intercom (PM1000II for mono or PM3000 stereo) a pretty easy swap. They can usually be had for very little used and would be a remarkable step up. Just have someone make up a connector whip to convert and plug-n-play.

You said "sidetone", that is the transmitted audio modulated back to your headset and is a normal good thing. Are you saying there is additional "noise" in your audio system? I assume you know that the sidetone gain can be adjusted within the menu setup in the SL40? If it is too "hot", just turn it down (read the manual).

From the SL40 installation manual:

Thanks Scott. Yes, I've played with all the settings and adjustments. When I push the PTT the noise is much higher. Apparently none of the excess is getting out during transmissions.

So let me ask. Are you saying I can't install a temporary portable intercom with out redoing some wiring? In other words, it won't work???

I use a portable "Intellivox" as the sole intercom in my RV9. My A210 com does have a built in intercom but I never was able to get the vox to work very good in the noisy cockpit. The Intellivox does a very good job and is basicly jacked into the mic and HS panel plugs.
It has a 9 v battery or optional 12 v power wire which i use. I didnt completely understand where you were headed on the portable intercom but do know that the Intellivox is far superior to the 403 that i have used in other aircraft. I believe the Intellivox portable is made by PS Engineering or at least was.

Paul 5r4 said:

Thanks Scott. Yes, I've played with all the settings and adjustments. When I push the PTT the noise is much higher. Apparently none of the excess is getting out during transmissions.

So let me ask. Are you saying I can't install a temporary portable intercom with out redoing some wiring? In other words, it won't work???

Click to expand...

If you have equipment, and it's associated wiring (suspect?) inserting noise, mostly during transmit, and you insert another piece of equipment downstream... I'm not sure how much you can accomplish.

Heck, even if I handed you a headset control that you could directly record audio from, you would still have the offending equipment noise.

Get someone to make you a quick connector whip if you aren't equipped to do so, find a PMA1000II on ebay for $200 if cost is the major driver, and zip-tie that sucker to something You'll have done a few notches better than a portable. When you're really ready to solve the problem and improve you're youtube recordings with an excellent intercom (and headset of course), clip the zip-ties and sell it on e-bay for $185. Who cares if it has knobs or a face plate. They don't matter for the problem you're trying to solve. This sounds like a 45min effort to me.

Just beware, if the mic and headset wiring from the jack to the intercom aren't excellent, you'll just be rolling the same problem forward. Jack isolation washers? Shields connected properly? Power grounds are excellent? Both from jacks to the intercom, and from intercom to SL40? That is just the other stuff that it sounds like you're trying to avoid for now.

Never discount the value of an excellent intercom in the cockpit. This is 2021 and we have amazing Digital Signal Processor capabilities when we have effectively infinite power in the panel (when we're talking uA).