Lightspeed Oddity

midlifeflyer

midlifeflyer

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I have a Zulu 3. I have come across something strange, and am wondering whether anyone else here has come across it.

About two years ago I was doing some avionics transition training for an Arrow owner who recently upgraded their panel. I plugged in my Lightspeed and heard nothing. Mic is working - my client can hear me - but I hear zip. Not even a side tone. The owner had an extra headset (Bose), which worked fine. I also happened to have my cheapo UFQ in-ear backup with me and it worked fine too.

I contacted Lightspeed. Their explanation: Bose plugs are slightly thicker in diameter than the standard, which "stretches" the jacks. The result is a loose fit and lack of connection. This leaves some other headsets with a loose fit because the jacks get stretched out. They mentioned David Clark as well as Lightspeed. Anyway, they sent me some spacers which fit over the plug at the bottom of the sleeve to (supposedly) fix the issue.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Same airplane. Although I'm mostly using an Axis in-ear now, I figured I'd try the Lightspeed with the spacer. Same result. Nothing coming through. The Axis was just fine.

Since then, I've been using the Lightspeed just to see if the problem can be reproduced in another airplane. Diamond, Mooney, Cessna, even another Arrow. Worked perfectly. And, while I have checked, I'm pretty sure I've flown in other Bose cockpits with it before.

Just seems weird and was wondering whether anyone else has had this experience.

(I'm out-of-warranty at this point. Lightspeed offered a "permanent solution" as part of a $200 servicing. I'd go for it if I were using the Lightspeed more regularly but for only one airplane, it doesn't seem worth it; maybe I'll wait until something else happens and do it then.)
 
Doesn't sound like your issue. But my old Cherokee I gave a pax my old Zulu pfx. They could only hear out of one ear. It was a stereo/mono issue with the Zulu pfx.

I'd try different jacks in the offending plane to see if it's a jack specific issue.

Edit: quick Google search I found a thread on the COPA forum. They couldn't hear anything. Other pilot heard them fine. Headset worked in other planes. Dip switches resolved the issue. When it was mine it was one hear dropped out. Worth a shot. Switches are inside the battery cover

forum.cirruspilots.org

Headset issue in new SR20 G6

Hello all, My FBO recently got a brand new SR20 G6. Yesterday, I went for a check-out flight in it and my Lightspeed Zulu was not working properly. Specifically, I could not hear anything, but my CFI heard me just fine. We further confirmed it was not the headset as we tried a Bose A10 and it...
forum.cirruspilots.org forum.cirruspilots.org
 
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Thanks @Racerx. Yeah, set for stereo in a mono audio panel is expected to result in only one ear active. But I'm pretty sure it's not the stereo/mono dip switch thing. I recall thinking of that possibility when it first happened and toggled the stereo/mono dip switch. But I will try that again next time around (this is a recurrent client).

Checking the other jacks sounds like a good idea, but practically speaking I'm not sure it doesn't just narrow it down from "why only this headset in this airplane" to "why only this headset in this jack in this airplane."

BTW, I've flown with this headset in the Cirrus owned by one of the people who contributed to that thread. No problem.
 
This last month I returnted a Lightspeed Sierra with a terribly scratch Mike. The problem travelled with the headset, not through any particular Jack (I have six).

Returned it. Still waiting for the disposition....it's only $800+'s worth.

B
 
bbchien said:
This last month I returnted a Lightspeed Sierra with a terribly scratch Mike. The problem travelled with the headset, not through any particular Jack (I have six).

Returned it. Still waiting for the disposition....it's only $800+'s worth.

B
Click to expand...
Yeah, this is much more limited. I'd do the $200 refurb if there was more but the Zulu is absolutely perfect when not coupled to that jack.
 
Another jack in that plane would tell me something is a little wonky with that jack the lightspeed might be more sensitive to that other headsets arent? Being it's so plane specific is peculiar.

Didn't think it would be stereo/mono until I read the cirrus thing. It's funny although not surprising youve flown in the offending plane in that thread.
 
Racerx said:
Another jack in that plane would tell me something is a little wonky with that jack the lightspeed might be more sensitive to that other headsets arent? Being it's so plane specific is peculiar.

Didn't think it would be stereo/mono until I read the cirrus thing. It's funny although not surprising youve flown in the offending plane in that thread.
Click to expand...
Not the offending plane. The plane of one of the commenters.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I have a Zulu 3. I have come across something strange, and am wondering whether anyone else here has come across it.

About two years ago I was doing some avionics transition training for an Arrow owner who recently upgraded their panel. I plugged in my Lightspeed and heard nothing. Mic is working - my client can hear me - but I hear zip. Not even a side tone. The owner had an extra headset (Bose), which worked fine. I also happened to have my cheapo UFQ in-ear backup with me and it worked fine too.

I contacted Lightspeed. Their explanation: Bose plugs are slightly thicker in diameter than the standard, which "stretches" the jacks. The result is a loose fit and lack of connection. This leaves some other headsets with a loose fit because the jacks get stretched out. They mentioned David Clark as well as Lightspeed. Anyway, they sent me some spacers which fit over the plug at the bottom of the sleeve to (supposedly) fix the issue.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Same airplane. Although I'm mostly using an Axis in-ear now, I figured I'd try the Lightspeed with the spacer. Same result. Nothing coming through. The Axis was just fine.

Since then, I've been using the Lightspeed just to see if the problem can be reproduced in another airplane. Diamond, Mooney, Cessna, even another Arrow. Worked perfectly. And, while I have checked, I'm pretty sure I've flown in other Bose cockpits with it before.

Just seems weird and was wondering whether anyone else has had this experience.

(I'm out-of-warranty at this point. Lightspeed offered a "permanent solution" as part of a $200 servicing. I'd go for it if I were using the Lightspeed more regularly but for only one airplane, it doesn't seem worth it; maybe I'll wait until something else happens and do it then.)
Click to expand...

I'll tell you one thing, for that $200 you're going to get a brand new headset back.

I think I'm probably just going to send my headset in with $200 every few years. I sent one in and had all kinds of problems because one of the wires was frayed when I got it back it looked like an absolutely brand new headset. Everything had been replaced.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I'll tell you one thing, for that $200 you're going to get a brand new headset back.
Click to expand...
yes, I know that. I’ve been a beneficiary of Lightspeed’s great customer service several times. That’s why I would go for it if I used it more regularly. I’ll probably do it if something goes wrong.
 
We had this same issue. We replaced all the wiring and the mic and headphone jacks, and it still didn't resolve the issue. No idea to this day but they only didn't work in the pilot side of this specific airplane. WILD
 
@midlifeflyer What audio panel did this plane use? Does your Zulu work with the same audio panel in other planes ?
 
WDD said:
@midlifeflyer What audio panel did this plane use? Does your Zulu work with the same audio panel in other planes ?
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The instance we had was a PS Engineering Audio panel and we took it out of the original plane, put it in another plane and everything worked fine. Zulu 3s just did not work in the original plane. We were baffled. Still baffled actually and it's been over a year.

We changed all the wiring and the jacks, and it fixed nothing.
 
That…..is a puzzle they makes one’s head hurt.
 
Every single time this thread gets a new comment and resurfaces on the "latest" feed I read the title and momentarily think Lightspeed has come out with a new headset called "Oddity".
 
Jim K said:
Hey @NealRomeoGolf ... did you see this?
Click to expand...
Ah - the world of digital. Yeah, I could see how a firmware driven system could have a quirk and shut it off stop, processing if it got confused.
 
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NealRomeoGolf said:
Dip switch toggled. Will try it out today hopefully.
Click to expand...
Might also be a setting in the audio panel? DK - tossing darts blindly, spaghetti on the wall to see if it sticks.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I contacted Lightspeed. Their explanation: Bose plugs are slightly thicker in diameter than the standard, which "stretches" the jacks. The result is a loose fit and lack of connection. This leaves some other headsets with a loose fit because the jacks get stretched out. They mentioned David Clark as well as Lightspeed. Anyway, they sent me some spacers which fit over the plug at the bottom of the sleeve to (supposedly) fix the issue.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Same airplane. Although I'm mostly using an Axis in-ear now, I figured I'd try the Lightspeed with the spacer. Same result. Nothing coming through. The Axis was just fine.
Click to expand...
Regarding the spacers, I had a similar thing happen. On the pilot side, my Zulu 3's worked but DC One-X's wouldn't. I ultimately attributed it to differences in how deep the plug would engage, likely due to the nut that holds the jack in the panel.
 
WDD said:
Might also be a setting in the audio panel? DK - tossing darts blindly, spaghetti on the wall to see if it sticks.
Click to expand...
Flipping the switch now allows me to talk through the panel but it has also created a constant static hiss in the background. Neither way is doable.
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
Flipping the switch now allows me to talk through the panel but it has also created a constant static hiss in the background. Neither way is doable.
Click to expand...
The obvious answer is to give me a ride and see if my LS headsets do the same thing.
 
Jim K said:
I've got honey AND eggs.

Okay, that's a lie. But hopefully by mid summer.
Click to expand...
I've got eggs too. And goats. I hear you can fit livestock in the Seneca. Who doesn't want a cute dwarf goat?
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
Flipping the switch now allows me to talk through the panel but it has also created a constant static hiss in the background. Neither way is doable.
Click to expand...
Making progress. Now to fix the hiss.
 
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