What intercom are you using?

[142YX]

I have my entire panel planned out with one exception.. still torn over what to use for an intercom. The SL-30 radio that i am using has a built in intercom feature, but i have not read one review of it that claims it to be anything other than lousy. The feature really is the Achilles Heal of an otherwise outstanding radio.

Intercom sound quality is something of importance to me, mostly because it contributes greatly to an enjoyable experience for my passengers (some of which it may be their first experience in a small airplane).

I like the reviews that i have read of PS Engineering intercoms, and the RV builders seem to swear by them, but they are pricey.. what are you guys using?

[MichaelFarley56]

I went with the FlightCom 403 LSA model from Aircraft spruce. For $189 I would do the same thing again in a heartbeat...it's very small and takes almost no panel space, works great and as an added bonus do yourself a favor and add a 1/8" music input to plug in music. You'll be thankful you did!!

[N111YX]

I thought I would use the intercom "integrated" in my Becker COMM. Well, it does not have voice activation and the background noise get's old after about 60 seconds. Now I use a portable. It's the one thing that I would change if doing it over again...a panel mounted intercom.

[142YX]

The FlightCom 403 looks like a really good option.. i have one question for you. From your experience with it, do you ever feel like you wish you had individual volume and squelch for pilot/copilot? or is the single adjustment good enough?

I think i would go with the 403 in a heartbeat if it had one more feature.. an un-muted audio input. I love the idea of the music system with auto muting.. but in the latest rev of the Dynon software they introduced audible alarms and audible AOA tone, which they recommend attaching to an un-muted audio input so that radio coms dont cause the alarms to be muted. Still on the fence as to if this is important to me or not.

[MichaelFarley56]

Good question. To be honest, out of the 75 hours on the airplane, 73 of them have been me by myself so I've never had to consider individual volumes and squelches, but on the few times I've had people with me I've been completely happy with the intercom the way it is. Most headsets have their own volume controls anyway, and the squelch has never been an issue.

Interesting thought on the auto-mute issue. To be honest, I would almost rather have the auto-mute on the alarms so I don't miss a radio call. I'm assuming the Dynon also has some sort of visual light or indication if something goes wrong, correct? On the planes I fly for a living, they have audible alarms that get muted once the issue has been identified. In the end I guess that will be your own preference.

Good luck with whichever one you decide on!

[142YX]

Yea its a tough call.. sometimes the radio calls will be more important than some minor warning.. but it would be annoying to have an important notification muted because some guy is broadcasting about the pancakes he just eat as he taxies to the runway. I think that personally, i would rather default to hearing what my engine monitor is trying to tell me and have to call for a "say again" to ATC rather than miss something important.

But the Dynon does have a pinout for an external warning lamp in addition.