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Mic Jack Issue??

dmat

Well Known Member
Advertiser
Ok... so finally got my mic jacks in place and noticed the following:

When I mic out to get ATIS, it come up no problem. I can ear it and all the folks talking on the radio but when I call for a mic check, they can't hear me.

Grounding issue?
 
Ok... so finally got my mic jacks in place and noticed the following:

When I mic out to get ATIS, it come up no problem. I can ear it and all the folks talking on the radio but when I call for a mic check, they can't hear me.

Grounding issue?

Does your radio or intercom have a Tx status light to validate that it's transmitting?

You most likely have one of two issues. The first is a bad mic on your headset. The more likely issue is a wiring problem.

Has it ever worked? If so, it's probably an open circuit. If not, you will need to validate all your headset wiring.

When you are listing to the ATIS, your mic isn't used. Or are you implying that you attempt to talk on the ATIS frequency?
 
Hi Bob,

Yes, my radio shows a Tx when I push the PTT. I am not trying to speak to ATIS, im just stating that there is a Tx when I push the button.

But when I ask for a mic check when my headset it plugged into the pilot side, I don't get anyone to respond. but when I plug my headset into the copilot side and request a mic check, I get a response from someone on the field.
 
Not sure what set up you have but I had a similar issue a while back. I found that there was one strand of wire that didn't get soldered into the core in the 90 degree BNC connecter that came with about 1.5 feet of cable brand new in the box with the radio. So that one strand would ground out on the BNC housing. Got it fixed then everything has worked great since. I had checked "everything" but because that cable assembly was "brand new" from the factory I didn't consider it as first.
 
Hi Bob,

Yes, my radio shows a Tx when I push the PTT. I am not trying to speak to ATIS, im just stating that there is a Tx when I push the button.

But when I ask for a mic check when my headset it plugged into the pilot side, I don't get anyone to respond. but when I plug my headset into the copilot side and request a mic check, I get a response from someone on the field.

What radio do you have? does it have separate PTT for pilot and co-pilot sides? If I recall correctly my MGL radio has this, so when pilot's PTT is enabled only the pilot mic transmits, even if co-pilot would make a noise and vise-versa. To test you could do a mic check with headset in pilot's side and co-pilots PTT pressed.

If this is the case you would need to swap either the mic jacks or PTT switches.
 
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Hi Bob,

Yes, my radio shows a Tx when I push the PTT. I am not trying to speak to ATIS, im just stating that there is a Tx when I push the button.

But when I ask for a mic check when my headset it plugged into the pilot side, I don't get anyone to respond. but when I plug my headset into the copilot side and request a mic check, I get a response from someone on the field.

When you move to the copilot jacks and it works, which PTT are you pushing? The pilot or copilot side?

I ran into a situation a few weeks ago in which a builder wired the pilot headset and the copilot mic on the pilot side jacks. This would be the case if you're pushing the pilot ppt and you're plug into the copilot jacks.

The other option is that you simply have an open circuit for the pilot mic. You'll need to check for a unattached wire.
 
I have a garmin GTR200.

When I put the headset into the co-pilot side, I still use the pilot PTT.

The when the headsets in the co-pilot side, I have no issues. When the headset is in the pilot side, that is when no one can hear me.

I checked the wires on the jacks and they all looked and felt attached.
 
I have a garmin GTR200.

When I put the headset into the co-pilot side, I still use the pilot PTT.

The when the headsets in the co-pilot side, I have no issues. When the headset is in the pilot side, that is when no one can hear me.

I checked the wires on the jacks and they all looked and felt attached.

How do you have the PPTs wired to the GTR200? There are separate inputs for the Pilot and Copliot PTT's into the GTR.
 
I have a garmin GTR200.

When I put the headset into the co-pilot side, I still use the pilot PTT.

The when the headsets in the co-pilot side, I have no issues. When the headset is in the pilot side, that is when no one can hear me.

I checked the wires on the jacks and they all looked and felt attached.
Right, I understand that.
Have you tried to use the co-pilot PTT while plugged into the pilot's jacks?

A quick look at the user manual says the GTR200 does have separate PTT for the pilot and co-pilot. So, if you accidentally swapped the jacks or the PTT leads, it would behave as you are indicating.
 
I have a garmin GTR200.

When I put the headset into the co-pilot side, I still use the pilot PTT.

The when the headsets in the co-pilot side, I have no issues. When the headset is in the pilot side, that is when no one can hear me.

I checked the wires on the jacks and they all looked and felt attached.

don't know much about the garmin, but the PSE intercom that I installed, had separate PTT inputs for pilot & co-pilot, presumably only opening up the appropriate mic channel for transmission on the radio. Possibly you have the co-pilot PTT wired to the pilot stick, which could explain your current situation.

Also, activating an ATIS or PCL requires no audio from the MIC to work. When you press the PTT, the radio immediately sends a carrier frequency even if there is no audio to impose upon that carrier. The equip on the ground just looks for the presence of that carrier.

I would check to be sure you PTT and MIC circuits are sorted and appropriate according to the Garmin manual, in addition to the other suggestions regarding wiring issues.

Larry
 
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The jack is either wired wrong, or the jack tab that connects to the mic audio is bent such that it does not connect to the headset plug (not an uncommon issue). Careful bending of the tab solves the problem

Carl
 
One thing to check is if the mic is audible through the intercom. In my aircraft, the jacks are on centerline, so I can plug the mic into the pilot side while the other plug is in the copilot side. But you can do the same thing with two headsets; wear the copilot headset with the mic out of the way and talk into the pilot mic. You'll know if you're hearing it through the headset. If you can, then your jack is fine, it's a problem with the wiring from intercom to radio. If you can't then re-check the jack wiring. Be sure the jack body is not grounded to the airframe; I chased this problem for a short while on my first install before I caught on. There should be a non-conducting shoulder washer that isolates the jack and keeps it centered in the mounting hole; the cheap jacks I bought didn't have it, apparently assuming you'd mount them in a plastic panel.
 
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