Aviation Headset/USB Adapter

[tezaa]

Hi all,

For all those who wish to connect their 'real-world' G/A headsets to their computer ... I wish to make you all aware of a new Aviation Headset/USB Adapter on the market.

Checkout "Flight Sounds" at www.flightsounds.com and their "Flight Sound X" adapter.

Personally, I can vouch for the devices quality. Up and running in 30 seconds. It's the kind of technology I love because it JUST WORKS.

I have been communicating with JimNZ from www.jimspage.co.nz who writes the following:

“A great unit ,, great audio ,, easy to get running and works perfectly. My online buddys all comment on the audio quality. Great piece of gear."


Enough said ... "Resuming own navigation"

Cheers,
Tezaa

[Naki]

Welcome tezaa to NZFF - and thanks for the pointers - that is some set up Jim has!

[HardCorePawn]

are these the ones I have seen popping up on TradeMe for around $100??

[pilotgallagher01]

Awesome!!!
Firstly I need my own Headset which I will get when the exchange rate is better

[pilot.masman]

got a head set and they are well worth it... increases the simming experience 10-fold.

[tezaa]

Affirm - these devices are also selling on TradeMe for around $110NZ.

I only know of one other Aviation Headset/USB Adapter on the market [from simheadset.com]. Their price is $150US (plus shipping I guess?). At the the present US-NZ exchange rate this could equate to around $350 NZ dollars.

Hence, a competitive price from Flight Sounds ...

I have purchased simple Aviation/Headset adapters before but have been disappointed with the requirement for a 9V battery and also the 'low' volume. The 'Flight Sound X' adapter runs off USB power and has amplifiers to boost the volume (needed to drive the 'high-impedance' aviation headsets).

Looks good too ...

and yes ... I agree with 'pilot.masman' - undoubtedly increases your sim experience

Cheers,
Tezaa

[HardCorePawn]

I made my own

Originally with the 9V battery... and then modded it to take the power from a USB port

[tezaa]

Hmmm ... good work! You have done a fantastic review on making your own!

A while ago (actually about the same time as you) I wired up my own adapter as well - didn't get as far as mounting it in a box. The device worked but had a few 'downers':

1) It needed a 9V battery which I got annoyed with. I looked into using USB power but I found that most headsets (including mine) required at least 8 Volts and USB is only 5 Volts - I wasn't going to risk damaging my $600 headset. Perhaps yours can run on a lower voltage??

2) The computer headphone output was not powerful enough to drive my high-impedance pilot headset. Headset impedances do vary - perhaps your headset is lower?

3) My adapter was just an extension of the computers audio output - not a separate sound card. Sooooo ... I couldn't take advantage of the full potential of FSX to direct voice-comms only on my headset - and other aircraft noises to my stereo (I know ... sounds geeky ... but hey it's *really* cool - very realistic

Hence sometime later, I purchased an adapter (no names) and to my great disappointment - it was just an expensive version of exactly what I had already made! It did not solve any of these problems

This USB Adapter does solve all theses problems - very very happy ... but hey that's just my opinion. I keep it in my headset bag because it's small.

Cheers.

[NightFlight]

The Flight Sound adapter looks a pretty nice device but after reading their website it appears that it has the same problems as a USB headset. The side tone doesn’t work right. If you can get it to turn on in the windows settings the side tone is on all the time. If you are a real pilot like me that will drive you crazy. It’s like being in hot mic all the time. Or you turn it off and it seems like your mic is broken.
That’s why I chose a SimHeadsets device. It comes with SimPTT, software that maps a key board key, USB yoke button or in-line PTT button to a side tone trigger. Now I only get side tone when I’m hitting the PTT, just like in my Piper. Now I can actually use the radio in FSX without being annoyed the whole time. It’s a much better experience.

[Kelvinr]

QUOTE (tezaa @ Feb 17 2009, 10:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi all,

For all those who wish to connect their 'real-world' G/A headsets to their computer ... I wish to make you all aware of a new Aviation Headset/USB Adapter on the market.

Checkout "Flight Sounds" at www.flightsounds.com and their "Flight Sound X" adapter.

Personally, I can vouch for the devices quality. Up and running in 30 seconds. It's the kind of technology I love because it JUST WORKS.

I have been communicating with JimNZ from www.jimspage.co.nz who writes the following:

“A great unit ,, great audio ,, easy to get running and works perfectly. My online buddys all comment on the audio quality. Great piece of gear."


Enough said ... "Resuming own navigation"

Cheers,
Tezaa

....Great to hear these comments because I have just purchased this piece of equipment, now I can utilise my real headset and hopefully allow me to reminisce on my training flights at Ardmore. will post feedback upon arrival and setup.