Throat mics

Mike, the Comtronics helmets I have for my trike had the same issue with the passenger being so close to the engine. Noise was much greater in the rear position. Comtronics has a small switch built into the left earcup that allows the user to switch off the microphone at any time (completely eliminating any noise) yet still being able to hear everything going on including the radio. I always advised my passengers to turn off this switch when entering the landing pattern so I could hear the tower better. If I needed a response from them, I would tell them to tap me on the shoulder.
 
Bill
My mic seems to work OK, the sidetone is is loud and clear, my problem is with the passenger in the back (it's a tandem Magni). I have tried all adjustments of the voice activation system on my softcom intercom and no setting seems to be good....

Mike, do you have two identical helmets for pilot and pax? If not, it could very well be different mic sensitivities and/or speaker impedances.

The first tests I would do to localize the problem would be to make sure both helmets have the same mic and speakers. I would also check the manual of the radio to see if there's a way to adjust the mic input sensitivity. Sometimes they are preset by the factory for one value when indeed you need them set differently.

I fly with a helmet without visor from the front, and the windscreen is sufficient to protect against too much wind noise. My mic is a noise cancelling electret microphone (the one with openings on both sides) and cancels out engine noise very well. I can say that with some authority because I've switched just the mic on my setup from a normal electret to a noise cancelling one. And the improvement was noticable! I only have the standard foam wind protector over the mic. Never had a problem with being unreadable. Others have the same kind of helmet and radio (a Filser AT500) and I can hear them clear as a bell. Intercom with my pax also works great. Sometimes I just have to switch the VOX setting one or two notches higher during flight than on the ground.

-- Chris.
 
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