Lightspeed Thirty 3G headset repair?

[John Mininger]

I have always been partial to the Lightspeed Thirty 3G headsets. I know they’re big and bulky, but I’ve tried both the Zulu and the Bose A20, and I keep coming back to the 3G.

The problem is, Lightspeed discontinued the 3G in 2007 and they no longer support them. The 3G did seem to have problem in the beginning with a weak wire where it attaches to the battery box, the double cord section of where the two plugs are attached. I sent my original 3Gs back to Lightspeed a couple times and had that section replaced. The last time I returned them was many years ago, so I think they finally either got the manufacturing or the design correct.

I broke the yoke on the left earpiece of my original headsets, so I bought two more unused pairs of 3Gs on eBay. But they still seem to have that original flawed cable. After about 15 hours of use on one of the new pair, the mic no longer works unless I bend over the wire and hold it with my thumb.

So, does anyone know of anyone who services these legacy headsets?

Thanks.

John

 

[Tim Jodice]

Have you called lightspeed recently? Maybe they have some parts available. 

[John Mininger]

Hi Tim. I hope you're well.

I have talked to Lightspeed. I'm having some avionics upgrades done on the plane, including having a couple LEMO connectors installed. So, I sent my wife's Zulu's back to Lightspeed to have it converted to LEMO. In the process of setting up sending her Zulu back, I asked the woman on the phone about repairing my 3G. Her reply was: "We don't support that headset anymore". And that’s about all the information I could get. I did not specifically ask about parts, that's a good suggestion. I'll email them and ask that.

Worst case, I'll try and remove the new and improved cord section from my old 3G with the broken earpiece yoke, and use it to replace the one on the 3G with the broken wire. But although I do well soldering copper pipes, soldering miniscule wires is not really my forte.

[AH-1 Cobra Pilot]

I only use my XL-30 for back-seat passengers.  One of the yokes broke, but my bigger problem was the coating on the wires from the plugs to the battery box.  I used a really good 3M epoxy to fix the yoke, and lots of shrink tube on the wires.

[Igor_U]

John,

I am sorry I can't help you but it seems factory run out of parts hence they are not supporting them anymore. This lets me think other entities would not have parts as well.

I know, it sucks' but with all respect, it seems you had a lot of trouble with Lightspeeds so I would ask you is it worth it? I hear a lot about Lightspeed support and I it seems owners need that as they break often.

You might be able to find someone to 3D print a Broken part (depending what it is). A friend got his original Bose repaired that way.

Good luck.

[A64Pilot]

Years ago I bought a Maule, it came with the original Bose headset, that had a proprietary connection in the instrument panel.

‘One side stopped working so I called Bose to try to get it fixed and got the we don’t support that anymore, so I asked if I could get some kind of trade in allowance, answer was no. So I asked if the new headset used the same connector that was mounted in my panel, again no. Well does the new connector fit the same cut out as old one? No.

It's actually Garmin that’s the worst with the we don’t support that anymore, you have to buy new, if you buy Garmin you had better buy they new whatever that just came out, because if you buy something that’s been out a few years, they may discontinue support next year.

‘It’s why I like Bendix King, you can still get 50 year old radios repaired and while they don’t have pretty color displays, they are very reliable.

Edited April 2, 2021 by A64Pilot

[RobertGary1]

Yea I’ve got a 20 and same story. Just a nope. Soured me a bit. I’m not the guy who buys a new car every year. I like to fix things when they break. 

[Stan]

Look at:

KC Headsets

Terry Gerber

www.KCHeadsets.com

 

He repaired two  Lightspeed QFR XCc's, so old ones for me.

Quick, easy and reasonable.

[John Mininger]

Stan,

I just got off the phone with Terry. I'm packing the headsets up and will ship them to KC tomorrow.

Excellent suggestion! Thank you very much!

John

[Stan]

John,

My pleasure, glad it worked out.

[John Mininger]

Just of follow up of my experience with Terry Gerber at KC Headsets. www.KCHeadsets.com

Excellent service! Terry has the new and improved cable section with the jacks for the Lightspeed 3G. He also has replacement stirrups for the 3G. If you have "vintage" Lightspeed headsets that need service (and you're willing to invest in), I recommend him highly.

John

[spistora]

I purchased a refurbed DC headset from Terry and was very happy with his service and products.