What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Stereo Intercom Recommendations?

ArVeeNiner

ArVeeNiner

Well Known Member
With 108 days left until Christmas as I write this I figure it's not too early to put together a list for old Saint Nick.

I think it's about time to replace my DRE intercom that I literally bought off of eBay for $15. I really do like the features of the DRE (I had one in my old plane) but they have been out of business, or going out of business, for years and they just aren't available. The intercom has been doing some funky things since day one so it's time to put it out to pasture.

I see that Dynon has one and it can be used without a Skyview (I have a D-180) but there are offerings from PS Engineering, FlightCom, Sigtronics and so on.

So, does anybody have any PIREPS on an intercom for my RV?

Thanks.
 
Specifications? These days there is everything from hot mike (avoid) intercom and nothing else, to intercoms that can receive music and cell phones via bluetooth, you hear classical, passenger hears rock. That said, PS Engineering makes the best. They also cost a few dollars more. only you can decide if it's worth the cost to you.
While I am a big fan of PS, in fact I built my own. Not as good as a PS but it meets my needs. If you're handy with a soldering iron that's the real low cost option!
 
Sigtronics in my Piper Cherokee but going with Dynon for the RV-7A so I can get the smarts it comes with to tie in music and EFIS audio.
 
I upgraded a stereo Flightcom 403 to a PS-3000 and the improvement in sound quality was stunning. I have a background in audio engineering so I may be more discerning, but it really was night and day. So count that as -1 for the Flightcom and +1 for the PS Engineering.
 
Spare DRE

Kelly,

I have a spare DRE 244e sitting in a box. If you need a hot swap to tide you over please pm me. I'm at KDVO.

To replace mine (someday) I'm looking at the dynon as it has lots of bang for the buck. I have only one radio. If I had two radios I'd look at the PS eng one that has built in radio and panel in 6.25 wide format and swap out my SL40 with the combined unit.

I agree the old DRE is a great intercom. Just not enough unswitched inputs. Exactly zero.
 
AllThumbs said:
Kelly,

I have a spare DRE 244e sitting in a box. If you need a hot swap to tide you over please pm me. I'm at KDVO.

To replace mine (someday) I'm looking at the dynon as it has lots of bang for the buck. I have only one radio. If I had two radios I'd look at the PS eng one that has built in radio and panel in 6.25 wide format and swap out my SL40 with the combined unit.

I agree the old DRE is a great intercom. Just not enough unswitched inputs. Exactly zero.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer but mine works well enough to use for the time being. What happens is that sometimes when I key up, my side tone is horribly loud. Other times it's works just fine. When I turn off the intercom and use the radio without it, no issue ever.

So far the Dynon is looking good for me as well.

Thanks.
 
Any Experience with Dynon Intercom?

Can anyone tell me if their experience with Dynon intercom is good.
PS Engineering is the gold standard for sound quality. I am not happy with Icom A 210 internal intercom facility.
 
bardample said:
Can anyone tell me if their experience with Dynon intercom is good.
PS Engineering is the gold standard for sound quality. I am not happy with Icom A 210 internal intercom facility.
Click to expand...

Overall I have been fairly pleased with the quality of the Dynon intercom. It is not as good as PS Engineering, IMHO, but I like that it is designed to handle two COM radios by default with just a single basic switch to chose which to transmit on.
 
PM3000A

Jesse said:
Overall I have been fairly pleased with the quality of the Dynon intercom. It is not as good as PS Engineering, IMHO, but I like that it is designed to handle two COM radios by default with just a single basic switch to chose which to transmit on.
Click to expand...


Hi Jesse, thanks for the kind words. I would like to point out that the PM3000A has a unswitched-unmuted input. This is the same kind of input that the Dynon intercom has. While an intercom does not perform audio panel functions, if you wish to perform the same kind of external switching that is required to make the Dynon intercom work for switching radio audio, it can be accomplished equally as well.

Remember, the Dynon does not have a Pilot Isolate switch, a function that I think any pilot who is flying with a non-pilot, might consider to be almost a requirement. (Think Young Eagle Flights). ;)
 
PS Engineering

I removed a Sigtronics 200S for the PM3000 and never looked back. Their intercoms are very robust, easy to install and having TWO unswitched audio inputs can be very handy. Also, the squelch knob actually works like you would expect!
 
Over the years I've installed a dozen or so of several brands. I agree with several earlier posters. The best are PS intercoms along with their derivative audio panels.

I recently installed two Dynons. They have the nice feature of two com audio inputs along with three aux inputs (Skyview, muted and non muted). Makes it real easy to wire a very functional audio panel setup with only two or three inexpensive DP switches.
 
Two unswitched inputs

N282S said:
I removed a Sigtronics 200S for the PM3000 and never looked back. Their intercoms are very robust, easy to install and having TWO unswitched audio inputs can be very handy. Also, the squelch knob actually works like you would expect!
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve for correcting me!

There are two unswitched-unmuted inputs. Something to keep in mind is that unswitched-unmuted input 1 continues to be heard by the pilot while in Fail-safe mode so the pilot will continue to hear Com 1 and what ever audio source that is connected to unswitched-unmuted input 1 in failsafe.

The 2 unswitched-unmuted input, Pilot Isolate and the legendary "Set It and Forget It" VOX should give pilots a couple of reasons to look deeper into the PM3000A capability.

Thanks again Steve, I think I'm getting rusty!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top