Headset Feedback

[BigTex]

Guys,

I went out to do some flying today and when I flipped on my radios, I got a very severe squeel/feedback sound in the headset. Doing some troubleshooting, I found that it occurs on both radios and with or without the intercom turned on. It also occurs on two different headsets. I also just plugged in the headphones jack and it made do difference. One clue is that it occurs on all of the jacks in the plane with the exception of the co-pilot's jack which appear to function normally.

Any thoughts on how tor further troubleshoot this issue would be appreciated.

[aerobat95]

Hmmm.....could it be a short somewhere in the system? Maybe something wrong with the audio panel?

[Randy_B]

About a year ago I had a low level feed back in the head sets that oscillated about once every second. It matched up with a slight movement in the volt meter needle and very faint dimming of the panel lights. It wound up being a bad voltage regulator. Replace at annual and the symptoms went away.

Good luck locating the issue and let us know what you find.

[lahso]

Gary, I had something similar, and it turned out to be the audio-out jack on the back of my Garmin 496 (connected into the panel to listen to music).

[BigTex]

It actually has an oscilation but faster than once a second... But it happens without the engine running, I don't think it would be the voltage regulator. I had a new intercom installed but turning off the intermcom still doesn't cause it to stop... pretty strange. Might have to resort to having a "professional" look at it.

[mulro767]

I had the same thing happen to me. It turned out to be a loose terminal to my alternator. It was connected just enough to keep charging my battery but loose enough to cause the static. It took Brian from Willmar 30 seconds to diagnose the problem. Good luck with your troubleshootin'!

[Hank]

My wife often complains that she can hear the belly strobe whining in her headset. When conditions are right, I can hear it softly in the background too. Before my old Whelen quit and I put in the new Whelen LED, I don't remember this happening, but I also didn't notice it until she pointed it out to me.

Check grounding, tight connections and proper EMI shielding/filters.

[BigTex]

Thanks for all the comments... sounds like the concensus is that we're likely talking about some sort of loose connection/grounding issue.