 Communications Troubleshooting
How to get radios to work with PPG gear, Thanks to Robin Rumbolt,
Nick Scholtes and others
It's rarely plug and play, especially when mixing
and matching radios and helmets. Robin Rumbolt is an electronics engineer
who has done extensive helmet mods and created a noise reduction kit that
many pilots have added with success. He's also been kind enough to
contribute to our efforts at informing pilots of solutions that us
communicate.
See also reviews on
various radio types used for PPG
communications.
See also Robin's article on
mating various aviation radio
types with helmets. |
Problem
|
Possible solution or link.
|
Plug Problems
|
| My helmet has a
two prong plug and my radio has a one prong hole. |
Buy an adaptor that goes from
the two prong to one prong plug. Oh if it were that easy. The most
standard two prong helmet plugs have a 3.5mm plug for audio and a 2.5 mm
plug for mic. But most radios now use a single vary |
| My helmet has a
one prong plug and my radio has a two prong hole. |
This could be more of a problem
than a mere adapter can solve. See the problem below about prong lengths. |
| My helmet has a
small plug (2.5mm) and it fits into my radio but I can't transmit. |
If your radio is a single hole
motorola, these require slightly longer plugs. Carve away 1/32" inch of
the radio body around the hole and it should work fine. |
Noise
|
| I hear a lot of
noise and other static when people transmit. |
The engine's ignition system,
from coil to spark, creates a lot of energy in the radio frequency band (RF).
Braided shielded cable can be used where the braided portion acts to
redirect this energy away from the wires inside.
1. Get a Resister spark plug.
This puts a resistor across the spark plug and reduces the RF noise
generated. You can also get a resistor spark plug cap but never combine
the two--it robs too much power from the spark. |
