Anyone using the Halo Headset from Quiet Tech? |
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roltman
Senior Member Joined: 04 Aug 2011 Status: Offline Points: 173 |
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Posted: 16 Oct 2015 at 9:19am |
Steve, let me know what comes of it. I'll swap headsets with my wife and try it next week as hers is a couple years newer than mine. It was too busy on the radio this last week to dork around with center. FWIW, mine is one of the very first units where the company switched microphone designs, so maybe it's just incompatible with the IFDs. I'll still throw out there it worked flawlessly for years with my previous 3 COMM radios (2x GNS430Ws and a KY196A). Also when I paid a shop to look at the AM & FM performance of the IFDs we didn't see it perform as described even when a cheap headsets were used. |
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MysticCobra
Senior Member Joined: 29 Jan 2013 Status: Offline Points: 649 |
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One more data point: I now have a "new" Halo (built within the last few months) as well as an "old" Halo (~5 years old). Both headsets work fine with my IFD.
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AviJake
Admin Group Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Location: Lincoln MA Status: Offline Points: 2815 |
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As a recap, we've heard from about 10-12 folks who use a Quiet Technologies headset who all say they are not experiencing any issue.
We are in the process of acquiring our own copy and we have been talking with the company so a low-level investigation continues.
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Steve Jacobson
sjacobson@avidyne.com |
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AviJake
Admin Group Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Location: Lincoln MA Status: Offline Points: 2815 |
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Avidyne's feedback:
That is interesting and not at all the result we were expecting. The IFD has an software ALC that adjusts the gain to try and maintain a 70% modulation depth. The filter has a attack rate so sudden changes in input amplitude will result in modulation being above or below that 70%. There are limits on the gain adjustment but this would not clip the audio signal. The only time you would run into issues would be when the modulation exceeds 100% since the receiver would need to detect the phase reversal of the carrier. |
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Steve Jacobson
sjacobson@avidyne.com |
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roltman
Senior Member Joined: 04 Aug 2011 Status: Offline Points: 173 |
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Picked my plane up today after getting my MLB100 and 10.1 upgrade done.
Shop did test my QuietTech along with a bunch of other headsets on a Frequency Modulation receiver. 1. Normal headsets did between 40-80% AM Modulation on IFD540 Carrier Signal. 2. My QtTech did a 90% AM Modulation which is apparently high. His concern was if the IFD540 would clip the AM wave above the normal 80% max? Avidyne can you confirm the performance with this high of modulation? Also he thought the QT microphone could simply be moved a couple inches from my mouth and that could fix it too as it's very very sensitive. Finally at no point could he get 100% modulation which could be very bad. Also the frequency never shifted from the tuned frequency. I'm going to contact Quiet Technologies, but would like Avidyne's feedback on very high modulation and it's affect on the unit as this same high modulation wasn't an issue with the GNS series. Edited by roltman - 06 Oct 2015 at 5:27pm |
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MysticCobra
Senior Member Joined: 29 Jan 2013 Status: Offline Points: 649 |
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Not sure how to determine that. I don't think my unit has a part number stamped anywhere I can easily see it (though I haven't looked under the sock).
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AviJake
Admin Group Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Location: Lincoln MA Status: Offline Points: 2815 |
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I'm told they offer 4 part numbers, both 'standard' and 'low
gain' configurations. Might be interesting to hear what variants you folks have too.
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Steve Jacobson
sjacobson@avidyne.com |
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roltman
Senior Member Joined: 04 Aug 2011 Status: Offline Points: 173 |
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Ken,
Thanks. I have two pair of halos, mine is from December 2009 and one of the very first where the company switched microphone types to get a different impedance. My wife's halo is a few years newer than. I have a Va to Co trip next week where I'll try all three headsets. Ryan |
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comancheguy
Senior Member Joined: 24 Aug 2011 Location: Maryland Status: Offline Points: 160 |
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Hmmm... I flew to Memphis with two 540s and used the halo. No issue, Center, approach, etc.
My wife usually claims the halo and I am stuck (!) with the lightspeeds. So, when I flew to KY and VA the past few weeks, she wore the halos. But, she did talk to center, now that I think about it, as she was running the radios. At least a few times to a center. Ken |
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brou0040
Senior Member Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Location: KIYK Status: Offline Points: 720 |
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I've got a lightspeed Zulu and my wife has a halo. I've had left earcup issues on my Zulu that lightspeed has been trying to resolve. Once in a while it puts out a very loud high pitched tone that doesn't go away even after recycling the unit. To the point, I was flying from CO to SoCal via WY a few weeks ago and this issue happened early in to the flight so I switched to her halos (she wasn't along). That was about 6 hours of various approaches and centers and I didn't notice any issues.
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MysticCobra
Senior Member Joined: 29 Jan 2013 Status: Offline Points: 649 |
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I have exclusively used a Halo headset since getting my 540 and have flown ~20 hrs, including an IFR trip from SE TX to FL and back with no comm issues at all. New AMX240 audio panel and jacks were installed at the same time as the 540.
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roltman
Senior Member Joined: 04 Aug 2011 Status: Offline Points: 173 |
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I definitely want to get to the bottom of this, so comancheguy do you talk regularly to ATC Center (Potomac Appr doesn't have an issue)? This issue is seen almost exclusively with ATC center radios. Other aircraft on freq or approach/regional controllers do not hear an issue.
The issue is described as a strong carrier with broken digital audio being transmitted with no static. My pseudo-scientific hypothesis -- The ATC Centers use receivers with a much tighter band filter on them and somehow my halo headset causes a small freq shift from the selected frequency in the IFD540. Again it's a hypothesis and I have really nothing to prove this. I definitely would like to know if anyone else experienced this type of transmission issue headset or not. I have nothing more than a lot of trial and error and the issue seems with good certainty to follow the headset as I have now swapped them in flight. I flew 40-50hrs trouble free hours with the old ANR headset. My first flight swapping back with the QtHalo it returned upon contacting center and swapping headsets immediately fixed it. |
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comancheguy
Senior Member Joined: 24 Aug 2011 Location: Maryland Status: Offline Points: 160 |
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I alternate between a halo and a lightspeed Zulu and have had no transmit or receive issues with either.
Ken
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AviJake
Admin Group Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Location: Lincoln MA Status: Offline Points: 2815 |
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We have one report of a customer who experienced some VHF transmission issues when using a Halo headset from Quiet Technologies. He apparently has narrowed down his VHF issues to the interaction between his IFD540 and this headset. As soon as he goes back to his old Bose ANR headset, the problem goes away.
We're wondering if any other IFD540 or IFD440 customer also uses the Quiet Halo headset, and if so, do you have any VHF anomalies? In his case, ATC has a very difficult time hearing his transmissions. As part of our investigation to the root cause, we're looking for any other people who use the same headset type and what your experience has been. Please either post here or send a direct email to Sergio Carlos (scarlos@avidyne.com). Thank you!
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Steve Jacobson
sjacobson@avidyne.com |
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