Intercom Jack Plates

[plongson]

We're wanting to extend the intercom to the rear of our older Cherokee and I'm looking for plates and jacks to mount on the side panels...with little luck. We're going to install a second radio (it only has one now) and a GMA345 audio panel

What have you used and what can you recommend for these plates and jacks? Your choice for wire is helpful too.

THANKS!!

 

[Huckster79]

I bought some from spruce and painted them, worked great

 

[Dan Thomas]

Avionics shops often just make the plates. They're not rocket science. Use insulating washers on the jacks. You don't want them grounded to the airframe. They get a separate ground wire that goes back to the audio panel.

 

[wilkersk]

I seem to recall ash trays on either side of the back seat of older PA-28s. I converted a couple of those into intercom jacks. Just pulled the ash tray insert out and used some scrap aluminum off the shop floor to make a mounting base that is fastened to the ash tray 'case'. I used the rubber washers on all the jacks, then routed all the audio commons back to the common ground point up front. All the wiring was routed down from the interior side panels, through the back of the spar box, along an existing wire bundle, then forward along the door sill with some anti-chafe material.

 

[plongson]

Good idea about the plates. I have some scrap .062 aluminum that would work fine. Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

[biplanebob]

Jack plates from Aircraft Spruce, p/n 11-01140

 

[Dan Thomas]

Jack plates from Aircraft Spruce, p/n 11-01140View attachment 106085

There ya go. Self-insulated, too.

One should use shielded cable for the wiring, with separate cables for the mic and audio. And put a Molex connector in the wiring just behind the interior panel so it can be taken out of the airplane.

 

[Timbeck2]

I have the above pictured jack plates in my Cherokee. Word of advise, you can mount them as an outie or an inie. If you mount them as an outie, make sure they don't interfere with raising the back seat platform. Mine are installed as an inie because I like the look. One thing you have to do for an inie is bend the area for the plugs themselves up just a little bit or you can't get your headsets plugged in as most plugs are too long. Hard to explain it here, but test fit before you install the jack plate in the side panel.