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Icom A210 Auxiliary input and Intercom

J

jump4way

Well Known Member
I am considering getting rid of my mono flightcom intercom system and just using the Icom A210 to handle both intercom and auxiliary input for my mp3 player. Does anyone have any feedback on this type of setup? Pro's and Con's?

I currently have an auxiliary input wired in to my flightcom intercom but the audio level is extremely low. It seems as if it needs amplification or something. Any ideas?
 
I am currently using the A-210 intercom and aux input for the EFIS. The Aux input is less than ideal as there is background noise and I don't think that it would be a very good music input source. Also the intercom is Okay, however you have to go into the internal settings of the Radio to change squelch settings, which is a little awkward, if you are using different headsets. Other than that it does work, but in my opinion a good intercom would be a better choice. Also have you tried a good anr headset for your audio input, as they have their own audio in. I am using a Lightspeed 20-3g and my new one is the ZUlu. The music is absolutely incredible out of those headsets, however the Zulu is even better. it has the Front Row Center option, and when that is on, it is just tremendous. The bluetooth works real well with your bluetooth cellphone as well. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for the information. I currently have a lightspeed Zulu headset and it works great for music as long as I have my intercom in the isolate position. In the all position, the music auto mutes if I have that function selected. This would limit my music listening to only solo flights for the most part as I would want the headset to auto mute when a passenger speaks or radio calls come in. My older 30/3G headset did not have this trouble. Lightspeed does not seem to have the answer as much as they have tried. The other problem is my passenger headset does not have a music input option so I was hoping to come up with something that would work for both seats.
 
I havent experienced that problem yet in either the Mooney, C172 or RV that I fly. It sounds like your intercom squelch is to high, or do you have an 'open mic' intercom system that is causing your headset to automute because it is sensing an open mic. And just something to try if you haven't is switch your dip switch from stereo to mono and see if that helps as stereo won't work if any of your other headsets are mono. Also there is that black button on the control of your Zulu headset that will change it from muting to no muting. I would say if that problem persists that your headset may in fact be faulty. Did you ask lightspeed about this. Why would your 30-3g work fine and this one won't. Good luck in getting everything to work.
 
I don't believe the Icom intercom is stereo, thus you won't get the fedelity you are looking for. To get this, you will need a stereo intercom and feed the output from the A210 and your iPod to the intercom.

This is what I have done and it works very well.
 
I've tried adjusting the squelch and can't seem to find the answer there. There is currently no headset plugged in to the other set of jacks so it can't be an open mic problem. Lightspeed asked me to try adjusting the mic gain which yielded no results. The mentioned that the Zulu headset is a ground up redesign over the 30/3G headset and the electronics that mute out white noise from the intercom is a completely different system from the 30/3G. They feel like the headset is fine and the problem most likely lies in my intercom. The did offer an RMA to check out the headset though which I have declined so far because I would rather not be without the headset for the time being. I have not tried checking any of the dip switches though. I'll give that a look tomorrow and see if that helps solve my problem. Thanks again for the advice. Maybe a good stereo intercom is in my future, any recommendations?
 
Give Stein a call. He will help you out, and point you in the right direction for your intercom. He also makes real nice harnesses for what you need. 1-877-282-8996 or www.steinair.com
 
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