Dean_Dolph
11-28-2004, 03:46 AM
I didn't want to hijack Ron's thread on acquiring the capability to listen to music while flying but I did want to make people aware that there may be a way to make radio/intercom communication better and more comfortable. I have posted this info before but believe it was on Rotorcraft.Com.
The following link is to the web site of a manufacturer of in the ear hearing devices that are used in the entertainment industry and other places. It is a hearing aide type device in that it is self contained and worn in the ear. It gets its outside signal wirelessly from an induction loop that is worn around the neck. The loop is normally plugged into a receiver. http://www.comtek.com/
I was interested in it because of my severe hearing loss, which makes it almost impossible to train in a tandem machine because of the noise of the gyro and the poor quality of most intercoms. A former member of our chapter that has used these people in his business told me about them.
I talked to the people a couple of years ago and wish I had kept the guys name since he was most helpful, sympathetic to my problem and seemed willing to investigate the possibilities of making it work in an aviation environment. When I reported the results of that telcon to people in my PRA chapter a couple of them immediately saw the possibilities for normal hearing pilots. If the device could be mated with an intercom or radio with ANR (anti-noise reduction) capabilities then outside noise is no longer a problem. The induction loop that normally is worn around the neck looks like it could be molded into a helmet fairly easily.
I have further investigation on my 'to do' list but I'm not sure when I will get to it. This might be a worthwhile project for those of you that can see the possibilities and have an avionics background.
The following link is to the web site of a manufacturer of in the ear hearing devices that are used in the entertainment industry and other places. It is a hearing aide type device in that it is self contained and worn in the ear. It gets its outside signal wirelessly from an induction loop that is worn around the neck. The loop is normally plugged into a receiver. http://www.comtek.com/
I was interested in it because of my severe hearing loss, which makes it almost impossible to train in a tandem machine because of the noise of the gyro and the poor quality of most intercoms. A former member of our chapter that has used these people in his business told me about them.
I talked to the people a couple of years ago and wish I had kept the guys name since he was most helpful, sympathetic to my problem and seemed willing to investigate the possibilities of making it work in an aviation environment. When I reported the results of that telcon to people in my PRA chapter a couple of them immediately saw the possibilities for normal hearing pilots. If the device could be mated with an intercom or radio with ANR (anti-noise reduction) capabilities then outside noise is no longer a problem. The induction loop that normally is worn around the neck looks like it could be molded into a helmet fairly easily.
I have further investigation on my 'to do' list but I'm not sure when I will get to it. This might be a worthwhile project for those of you that can see the possibilities and have an avionics background.