David Clark one-x fail

[Joshua Blackh4t]

So when i bought my M20E last February, I gave her a set of lovely David Clark one-x heatsets. Which worked great until just before Christmas they didnt turn on.

D.c. made me send them sent back for warranty, and meanwhile I bought a 2nd pair to use while waiting. Now these died 6 hours later...... any idea why? Could it be a plane problem??

The intercom seems nice and clear so it shouldn't be faulty.

I'm not inclined to buy a 3rd set.... but they are a great headset. 

 

Thoughts? Similar experiences?

[M20F-1968]

Whatever the case, David Clark we fix any problem with their product.  They are an extremely reliable and responsive company.

I can not comment on any issues regarding the plane.  There are specific requirements as to how the ground is to be wired with headsets and audio panels.  It could very well be a loose connection in the plane somewhere.

John Breda

[Ragsf15e]

11 hours ago, Joshua Blackh4t said:

So when i bought my M20E last February, I gave her a set of lovely David Clark one-x heatsets. Which worked great until just before Christmas they didnt turn on.

D.c. made me send them sent back for warranty, and meanwhile I bought a 2nd pair to use while waiting. Now these died 6 hours later...... any idea why? Could it be a plane problem??

The intercom seems nice and clear so it shouldn't be faulty.

I'm not inclined to buy a 3rd set.... but they are a great headset. 

 

Thoughts? Similar experiences?

They have a solid reputation as great headsets and are well supported.  I’m interested in what was wrong with them?

[Joshua Blackh4t]

So far I have emailed DC and they said they'll try to look at my first set Asap and see what the problem is. 

The company has been great to deal with so far, and the headsets were amazing when they worked. They just stopped working. Maybe its a problem with the intercom, but there doesnt seem to be any sign of it. As in, no noise or anything.

I'll keep you in the loop. 

[LANCECASPER]

18 minutes ago, Joshua Blackh4t said:

So far I have emailed DC and they said they'll try to look at my first set Asap and see what the problem is. 

The company has been great to deal with so far, and the headsets were amazing when they worked. They just stopped working. Maybe its a problem with the intercom, but there doesnt seem to be any sign of it. As in, no noise or anything.

I'll keep you in the loop. 

Have you tried borrowing another headset to see if its the airplane or the headset?

[Joshua Blackh4t]

Yeah, it works fine with my old Telex Stratus 50D sets and theyre ANR. Also the passenger side has been working with Lightspeeds and passive DCs.

Also, when I say failed, they still work fine as passive sets, just when you push the button, nothing happens. The intercom comes through perfectly but no power. 

I'm not sure how this would be possible to be the plane, its only mic and phone leads, no power.

Also if it might have any bearing, I leave my sets in the plane plugged in (but switched off/auto off). The plane is kept outside and it has been rainy, but it has a really good cover so it could have been humid, but not wet. Can't think of anything else. 

 

[carusoam]

Something has got to power the noise cancelling…

Sounds like it has a battery that died… and is looking for a re-charge…

-a-

 

get a pair of AAs ready….  

https://www.davidclarkcompany.com/aviation/fixed-wing-enc.php

Remember to be nice to her… she’s gone quite a while without having power to the noise canceling….

Fortunately they work well as an ordinary pair of headsets…

 

[PeteMc]

I had some intermittent issues and sent mine in.  They changed the "inline case" (battery case and controls) and sent it back.  Has worked fine since then.

[Joshua Blackh4t]

5 minutes ago, carusoam said:

Something has to power the noise cancelling…

Sounds like it has a battery that died… and is looking for a re-charge…

 

-a-

 

get a pair of AAs ready….  

https://www.davidclarkcompany.com/aviation/fixed-wing-enc.php

Haha, that has been very much tried. Brand new batteries, freshly recharged etc etc. I have been through a few sets (50 hrs isnt anywhere near real) so i recognise the symptoms.

I use rechargeables, maybe thats why i dont get 50 hrs, but it doesn't worry me.

 

[Aerodon]

My DC story - I sent a ANR 'box' to DC for repairs and expected them to call me.  When I eventually got around to calling them they hadn't received it.  I had the tracking number and 'left at front door' receipt but they denied receiving it.  I went back to my UPS store to see if it came back and found out that they had somehow redressed it to a person in MA.  I had a name and address and managed to google it and found a usable address.  I sent an email asking if he had perhaps received a small package with an arbitrary 'battery pack' in it.  He replied, said yes, had no idea what it was and who it was from.  I had already seen he was only 2 miles from DC, and pretty much on his route to town.  I asked him to drop it off at the security gate and he kindly did.  And then DC didn't repair it, they sent me a brand new one with a $0.00 invoice.  

There is something to be said for companies that still have people that talk to the security guard at the gate, the customer and the back office and stand behind their product many years later.  We should reward them more with our purchases even if slightly more expensive than others.  And reward the companies that do their best to continue servicing their products long after they stop selling them, and not some arbitrary 'do not repair' date.

Aerodon

 

 

 

[carusoam]

On 1/21/2022 at 10:47 PM, Aerodon said:

My DC story - I sent a ANR 'box' to DC for repairs and expected them to call me.  When I eventually got around to calling them they hadn't received it.  I had the tracking number and 'left at front door' receipt but they denied receiving it.  I went back to my UPS store to see if it came back and found out that they had somehow redressed it to a person in MA.  I had a name and address and managed to google it and found a usable address.  I sent an email asking if he had perhaps received a small package with an arbitrary 'battery pack' in it.  He replied, said yes, had no idea what it was and who it was from.  I had already seen he was only 2 miles from DC, and pretty much on his route to town.  I asked him to drop it off at the security gate and he kindly did.  And then DC didn't repair it, they sent me a brand new one with a $0.00 invoice.  

There is something to be said for companies that still have people that talk to the security guard at the gate, the customer and the back office and stand behind their product many years later.  We should reward them more with our purchases even if slightly more expensive than others.  And reward the companies that do their best to continue servicing their products long after they stop selling them, and not some arbitrary 'do not repair' date.

Aerodon

 

 

 

This wins best Pirep of the day Don!

Good customers are an essential part of the solution!

Thanks for sharing the details!

Best regards,

-a-

[Joshua Blackh4t]

So latest update: they have finally got to the first set to repair them.

At first they sent me a quote to repair by replacing the controller. 

I asked about warranty and apparently my serial number was manufactured 1 month out of date of the 5 years and I didn't have the purchase invoice.

I replied that its unlikely to be sold within a month of manufacture, and they only have 100 hours or so on them. 

They agreed to repair them for free but asked me to be patient because of shortages. 

So still no DC headsets, no idea what was the problem and my old Stratus are not cutting it. Old intercoms dont like unmatched headsets.

 

I will give DC props for replying to emails and actually doing the repair. 

If the repaired ones work I'll be happy, but I'm still worried why I had 2 pairs fail. 

[Joshua Blackh4t]

Got my headsets back, all new control box, they even fixed up a cable protector (little flexy rubber thing at the end) that was damaged before, and I think even more that I didn't notice.

I only had a chance to test them for half an hour, but works good so far. 

Hopefully they stay that way. 

Thanks to David Clark and also Pacific Aviation here in Australia for helping even though there was no initial sale involved.