Intercom

Me too... I need 5 places... I am looking at all the choices... So I am
interested in opinions..
Currently I have an portable 2 place, that I then pulg a 4 place box into,
but it is a kludge with cables running 'everywhere', including around
peoples ankles, etc.... It works, but annoying...

Denny

"Rochat" <drochat@gv-leman.ch> wrote in message
news:3f0e79d4$1@epflnews.epfl.ch...
> We have an old Sigtronics SPA-400 intercom in our Cessna 210 and would
like
> to replace it with a new 6 places intercom.
>
> We have studied different solutions replacing it with a NAT or a PS
> Engineering, but the simplest and easiest
> solution would be to replace it with a "new generation" SCI-6 or SCI-S6
> Sigtronics intercom.
>
> Does the SCI-6 intercom solves the problems of the old SPA-400 (outputs in
> parallel, etc) ?
> Is the SCI-6 good enough or should we forget it ? (we have an alternate,
but
> more complex
> solution with a ps engineering model)
>
> Thanks for any info, comment
>
> Denis
>
> maito:denis.rochat@epfl.ch
>
>

"Rochat" <drochat@gv-leman.ch> wrote in message news:3f0e79d4$1@epflnews.epfl.ch...
> We have an old Sigtronics SPA-400 intercom in our Cessna 210 and would like
> to replace it with a new 6 places intercom.
>
> We have studied different solutions replacing it with a NAT or a PS
> Engineering, but the simplest and easiest
> solution would be to replace it with a "new generation" SCI-6 or SCI-S6
> Sigtronics intercom.

I too hate the SPA-400 for the same reason. If one person plugs in a set of
Dave Clarks, you can't hear anything (even when cranking the volume all the way up).
Oddly the SPO's don't have this problem (I've never figured that out).

I can tell you that I've used the NAT and the PS engineering units and both are
fine intercoms. I've got a PS 1000-II in my plane. The 170 I used to fly had
the NAT. Can't complain about eihter. The reason I went with the PS was that
it had crew isolate were as the NAT only had Pilot Isolate (important with kids in
the back seat).

"JimC" <jim_32766_opt_@m> wrote in message
news:x2%Pa.746$R8.16@fe04.atl2.webusenet.com...
> I recently replaced a SPA-400 with a SCI-4S. My -400 was only wired for
the
> front seats and I thought I should upgrade when going to the trouble of
> wiring the back seats. The -4S has performed very well and is liked by
the
> whole family. It is a stereo unit, has two music inputs (one for the back
> seats and another for the front seats - and I added a 3PDT switch so the
> front input could supply all seats if desired ), separate voice/squelch
> controls for front and back seats, and pilot/crew/all selection. I've not
> tried the -6 or -6S but imagine they would perform equally as well.
>
I have heard that Signtronics hat not a not a lot of audio power and
you have to push the levels to compensate + the Vox circuit is not
very precise, what is your opinion on those two points, did you
notice any differences form the SPA-400 ?


> As for plugging in an old DC headset - that I can't answer. I typically
use
> one DRE6000 and two Lightspeed Solos in my plane. All are stereo/mono
> selectable and work well in combination with no noticeable difference in
ICS
> operation as the headsets are plugged in/out.
>
> One nice feature of the Sigtronics unit as compared to PS Eng is that you
> can install the Sigtronics unit yourself and not void the warranty.
Having
> worked for more than 20 years as an electronic engineer I thought it was a
> bit silly for PS to require I hire someone to install the intercom or have
> the warranty voided! The Sigtronics unit also comes with the harness set,
> making it a better buy for me.
>
> As always, your mileage may vary, but I have no complaints with the
> Sigtronics unit.
>
> JimC
>
> "Rochat" <drochat@gv-leman.ch> wrote in message
> news:3f0e79d4$1@epflnews.epfl.ch...
> > We have an old Sigtronics SPA-400 intercom in our Cessna 210 and would
> like
> > to replace it with a new 6 places intercom.
> >
> > We have studied different solutions replacing it with a NAT or a PS
> > Engineering, but the simplest and easiest
> > solution would be to replace it with a "new generation" SCI-6 or SCI-S6
> > Sigtronics intercom.
> >
> > Does the SCI-6 intercom solves the problems of the old SPA-400 (outputs
in
> > parallel, etc) ?
> > Is the SCI-6 good enough or should we forget it ? (we have an alternate,
> but
> > more complex
> > solution with a ps engineering model)
> >
> > Thanks for any info, comment
> >
> > Denis
> >
> > maito:denis.rochat@epfl.ch
> >
> >
>
>
>

Rochat,

I would definitely go with something that has separate mic
amps/circuitry for each station. That's much better for mixing headsets
of different brands. Also, when squelch breaks, it should only do so at
the one mic that's spoken into. If not (as with the SPA-400), all the
other mics pipe noise into the system. AFAIK, Sigtronics doesn't do
that. PSE does, for sure. Don't know about NAT, but I think they have
it.

If music is at all of interest to you, you'll want a stereo intercom
with the music input wired. Also, if you have kids, you want a second
music input for the back, so you don't have to listen to their kid's
story cassettes or teenager music. Crew and Pilot isolate are nice,
too. If your com antennas are on separate sides of the fuselage (one
topside, one belly), you might look into the split com feature some
offer (PSE, for one), where the pilot uses one radio while the co uses
the other. All that requires some wiring, which you might be able to do
yourself under supervision.

I really love PSE's autosquelch, but that's only available in their
audio panels (and the portable intercom), not in their panel intercoms.
--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

"Rochat" <drochat@gv-leman.ch> wrote in message
news:3f12a30a$1@epflnews.epfl.ch...

> I have heard that Signtronics hat not a not a lot of audio power and
> you have to push the levels to compensate + the Vox circuit is not
> very precise, what is your opinion on those two points, did you
> notice any differences form the SPA-400 ?
>

The SCI-4S has no problem driving my headsets. I actually keep the volume
turned down fairly low to keep the sound from getting too loud. The music
input devices control their own volume, driven through an amplifier in the
ICS, and also have no problem generating plenty of volume to the headsets.
I find that the volume settings for the portable MP3 players my wife and
daughter have are about the same whether using the factory supplied headsets
or when plugged into the SCI-4S driving the aviation headsets (maybe a
slightly higher setting due to the extra background noise in the plane).

As for the Vox, it performs quite well. I'd expect some difference between
the PS Eng and the Sigtronics unit on Vox as the PS Eng unit dynamically
adjusts to account for changes in background noise. There are probably some
situations where that's a benefit, but in a 30 hour 10-leg xcountry I just
finished I don't think I ever re-adjusted the Vox settings.

As for Vox operation and active mikes, I think only the mike that has broken
the Vox is active and the others are not "live". A quick check of the
information on the Sigtronics website should confirm this.

I am really quite pleased with the ICS and believe it is a great value.

JimC

Thomas Borchert wrote:
>
> G.R.,
>
> > Individual *volume controls*, yes,
> >
> those are on the headsets. Good ones, at least.

I've never seen a headset with a volume control for the microphone. *That's*
what I want.

George Patterson
The optimist feels that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The
pessimist is afraid that he's correct.
James Branch Cavel

"G.R. Patterson III" <grpphoto@> wrote in message news:3F1454C4.9E46B5D4@...
>
>
> Thomas Borchert wrote:
> >
> > G.R.,
> >
> > > Individual *volume controls*, yes,
> > >
> > those are on the headsets. Good ones, at least.
>
> I've never seen a headset with a volume control for the microphone. *That's*
> what I want.

Look more carefully at the microphone. You may have to pull off that little
foam jobbie.

Ron Natalie wrote:
>
> Look more carefully at the microphone. You may have to pull off that little
> foam jobbie.

Nothing on the Bose. There are two small screws on the Peltor and Sigtronics
mics, but they appear to simply be what holds it to the boom. Nothing else.

George Patterson
The optimist feels that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The
pessimist is afraid that he's correct.
James Branch Cavel