Piper: Add a push to talk to copilot seat

mandm

mandm

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Michael
Anyone have a Piper, where the copilot seat does not have toe brakes, push to talk comms, and electronic trim knob?

I’ve only flown in the left seat and I would like to start practicing from the right seat.

Is it easy to add a push to talk to the yoke? And is that a job a pilot can reasonably do himself?

Have anyone flown solo from the right seat without toe brakes? I went with an instructor before and he said he would use the parking brake knob instead. Is that easy to get the hang of?
 
Only time I use the toe brakes is for tight turns. Lots of early Cherokees didn't have toe brakes on either side. I've heard of people getting the toe brakes installed which is a pain in the arse. Rarely use the electric trim. My 180 has the window crank style trim above your head, so it doesn't have electric trim.
 
The very first lesson I had was a Cherokee 140 with no toe brakes at all. Non-event really.

Regarding the PTT, you could add a button on the panel instead. My plane has one, and it's actually pretty nice.
 
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Hand brake.

Adding this:
Llewtrah has the right idea. I would recommend this one though, as I have used it for quite some time, and it works great. I believe better reviews than the other?

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/pa50tt.php

As a note, trying to hardwire in a PTT button on yoke or panel will likely require locating the correct wire to get to the button (or jack), if it's never been connected before. These add-ins are for already wired jacks, or the hand mic jack I believe.
 
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Adding a built in PTT is NOT preventive maintenance. So you will need at least an A&P to sign off the work
 
Pinecone said:
Adding a built in PTT is NOT preventive maintenance. So you will need at least an A&P to sign off the work
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The kind that plugs into the panel is no different than plugging in a headset. You get an A&P to sign that off every time you fly?
 
mandm said:
How do you slow the airplane to a stop then?
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Hand brake. I fly out of c81 and rarely need to use brakes to make even the taxiway. Full back on the yoke is usually enough
 
IF you are looking to add a fixed PTT switch, as mentioned, your A&P will need to likely connect a couple wires.

As a common older plane example, the below wiring is for a King KMA 24 and Sigtronics SCI-S intercom control.
(white\blue) to a switch, then from switch to Point A (ground)

YMMV, and no, I do not offer this as advice for a non A&P, only as a possible scope of the work involved.


upload_2022-10-17_9-34-25.png
 
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The first airplane I owned was a Cherokee with no toe brakes. I’ve also given primary training in several airplanes that have no toe brakes on either side. The hand brake is more than adequate. The mechanical trim, regardless of position is also just fine. A right side PTT can be nice, a portable one that plugs in on the panel might be okay, or adding one shouldn’t be too difficult for an electrical savvy mechanic.
 
flyingron said:
The kind that plugs into the panel is no different than plugging in a headset. You get an A&P to sign that off every time you fly?
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Read what I WROTE.

I stated BUILT IN.
 
You don't mention which radio you have, but there might be an easy solution. My Garmin GTR 200B has a couple of user-assignable soft keys, and I keep one assigned as a PTT. If my yoke button ever fails, I can just push the button on the radio to transmit. You might see if your radio has a similar option.

I used to rent a Cherokee 140 that had only the hand brake; no toe brakes. It worked but I hated it. On occasions when I needed to make a tight turn, like turning around on a runway, it was very tough without having differential braking to turn the plane sharply.

Manual trim is no big deal, and in some ways I prefer it. I can make small, precise adjustments with a manual trim wheel that are difficult with an electric switch.
 
ktup-flyer said:
Calm your tits, Karen.
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And who appointed you as hall monitor? :)

BTW, based on your map, how did you get to Nebraska and back without violating the airspace of Iowa or Kansas? Fly that little strip both ways????
 
I have a KMA24 radio, I got a portable push to talk and couldn’t get it to work on the copilot side. However the pilot side has 2 headset jacks. One I use for my headset and the other has a manual push button mic, you can use it with the overhead speaker if desired. I did get the push to talk to click in on the portable mic jack in the pilot side though, so I was wondering if the contacts are not lined up correctly for the push to talk to work on the copilot side. Next time I go flying I’m going to test the push to talk on the back seat headset jacks as well. Any suggestions?

70CA27F9-38D6-4CF9-95E5-9A59C68563F6.jpeg
 
Skyrys62 said:
IF you are looking to add a fixed PTT switch, as mentioned, your A&P will need to likely connect a couple wires.

As a common older plane example, the below wiring is for a King KMA 24 and Sigtronics SCI-S intercom control.
(white\blue) to a switch, then from switch to Point A (ground)

YMMV, and no, I do not offer this as advice for a non A&P, only as a possible scope of the work involved.


View attachment 111504
Click to expand...

I see that for a fixed PTT, but I have a portable button that I was hoping to use. I’ll see if I can get the fixed PTT completed during annual but wanted a solution before then so I could practice flying in the right seat.
 
mandm said:
I see that for a fixed PTT, but I have a portable button that I was hoping to use. I’ll see if I can get the fixed PTT completed during annual but wanted a solution before then so I could practice flying in the right seat.
Click to expand...
If you have a handheld mic jack you could use the ptt with that probably.
All depends on if the correct wiring is in place.
 
So nothing wrong with the input mic jack, must be a wiring issue and only certain jacks have PTT wiring capability even for a portable PTT inserted into the mic jack?
 
Skyrys62 said:
Read through that wiring diagram closely. It should help explain somewhat. **
Click to expand...

That would require “thought” lol

I get that for a hard wired PTT it needs to be wired but I guess I don’t get why a portable PTT needs to be wired since it is plugged into the mic jack.
 
In case anyone was interested, I found the plate on the yoke already has a space for a PTT, a hole to run the wire, then the wire hangs to another hole to go inside the yoke tube and out the back of the yoke tube. Now this is the easy part…

2924349D-FD29-4360-A503-BCB87979722C.jpeg EBE1393D-0749-4EE2-9436-AFD40D7F93C4.jpeg 96756D92-6B47-444F-A677-3D8A733D7EDF.jpeg 46DC51A1-F47D-4B5D-BD44-001B68B9ED10.jpeg DC26FAFC-20EA-4968-96C1-0C610653768D.jpeg
 
I also have some photos of the wiring, it seems both pilot + copilot have a white/blue wire, I could not find where the white/red wire is connected to, so I’m guessing that is to the working portable PTT switch.

Does anyone know if the system is limited to 2 or 3 PTT (I’m hoping 3: pilot + copilot + hand mic)
 
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