Noise canceling on helmet

[Ross85]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about adding noise canceling to a helmet. I have an sph 4. Who makes them? How hard are they to hook up? Where do you mount the battery? Any info would help thanks. I know my uncle bought a kit kind of a thing and installed it in his DC's. I would assume I can do the same thing with my helmet.

[Timbersprayer]

Hey Ross 85 take a look at Joyceteletronics.com they have a kit or send them your helmet.

have used some of their equipment.

 

Mike.

[67november]

you may also check with oregonaero.com

[Ross85]

thanks i'll check those out.

[Gomer Pylot]

Headsets, Inc in Amarillo makes a drop-in kit. You may also want to take a look at CEP. It's not ANR, but it cancels noise, and works as well if not better.

[Ross85]

Yah I think my uncle uses the one from headsets inc. in his DC's. He says they are pretty good, Anyone use this kit in a helmet?

[Falko]

I use earplugs and they do a fantastic job. Sure you have to turn up our radio / intercom but other then that is a great cheap solution.

 

I have tried my friends Boss headset but at the my earplugs almost cancel as much as the boss headset.

 

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun05/imag...1earplugs.l.jpg

 

think about this....couple dollars for some good sound caneling earplugs or couple hundered dollars for the noise canceling equipment plus the intallation cost and extra weight in your helemt.

 

The down side is, that i have lost my earplugs twice so far, because they are so small.......

 

Have a great weekend guy's

 

 

Falko

[Gomer Pylot]

CEPs aren't really cheap, but they combine earplugs and speakers, so you don't have to turn up the radios. In fact, earplugs provide more noise cancellation than do ANR equipment, at all frequencies. This is shown by the higher NRR and by the attenuation graphs required to be provided. This always assumes properly fitted equipment, regardless of the type.

[Justin DBC]

I was actually just about to post on this subject when i stumbled on this thread... wierd.

 

Anyways, the CEPs work great in a noisy environment. I crew on a UH-60 and the difference is like night and day.

 

The problem I'm having is that my ears have never really liked earplugs. The inserts that come with the CEP are crappy.... at best. They always end up falling out of place when I put my helmet on leaving me with either an extremely uncomfortable poking in my ear throughout the entire flight or the embarassment of having to tell everyone to hold up because I can't get my ear plugs to fit. My unit got fitted for the custom ear plugs while I was in school back east and no one remembers who came out and did it. Anyone know where to get custom ear plugs for the CEP?

 

Thanks!

J-

[Gomer Pylot]

I use regular foam plugs. I use the insert from the provided plugs, remove the foam, and put the insert into a standard foam earplug. I usually cut the earplug about 3/8" or so, so that it fits better and stays in easier. Any audiologist can make the custom molds for you.

[Justin DBC]

thanks... ill look around for someone. everyone thats been using the customs say they don't even notice them in, even during long flights.

[Hedge36]

I ride BMW motorcycles, and it seems as though pretty much every dealer these days is certified and kitted to do the molds for custom ear speakers and custom plugs. The plugs tend to be made on-site for about $70, speakers usually have some turnaround time and run toward $300. If you get the plugs, all you need to do is patiently hog out a space for your CEP speakers, poke a hole for sound to get through, hot glue the speakers in place, and voila!

 

My girlfriend wanted me to put in a plug for this guy, says he's the bidness: http://www.earplugco.com/

[Ross85]

the only thing about those foam earplugs is that they get uncomfortable after a while. I can't imagine wearing them for 6-8 hours at a time. I think I want to get the ANR, but I want to know what one would be the best for the helicopter frequencies. My grandfather has the one from headsets inc. and he said that they were good for the lower sounds, but at full power they were worse than the passive noise reduction because you have to remove some of the foam from the headset. Seems like this wouldn't be good for the helicopter because it is pretty much at full power the whole time.

[Gomer Pylot]

Why would you have to remove foam? I put a set in my headset (years ago, admittedly, but I doubt the design has changed) and it just dropped in, and I had lots of foam behind them. They didn't work well for me, because there wasn't enough room for my ears, but beyond that they worked fine. In a helmet, there is plenty of space for foam behind the kit.

[Ross85]

Why would you have to remove foam? I put a set in my headset (years ago, admittedly, but I doubt the design has changed) and it just dropped in, and I had lots of foam behind them. They didn't work well for me, because there wasn't enough room for my ears, but beyond that they worked fine. In a helmet, there is plenty of space for foam behind the kit.

 

Would the speakers sit farther back if you took some of the foam out? or is that just the way they are? Because I would probably have the same problem with not enough room for my ears. The ones in my helmet already touch my ears a little. Other than the bigger unit on the inside of the ear cups, you thought they did a good job with the noise canceling?

[Gomer Pylot]

No, there is no way to change the inside dimensions. It's a kit that drops into the domes, all in one piece. The geometry is important, and can't be changed. The room is about what is already in a standard DC headset.

 

Yes, other than the lack of room they worked fine. I can't use any standard headset because there isn't enough room, so I've always built my own from large hearing protectors, up until I discovered lightweight in-the-ear headsets, which I prefer by a wide margin, because of the comfort and superior noise suppression, which is more than you get with ANR.

[Ross85]

Well, I am seriously considering the CEP now that I did some research. I do a lot of flying with the doors off and from what I have read the ANR doesn't work very good with the doors off. The ANR doesn't cancel wind noise very good I guess. That plus replacing the batteries all the time would get annoying. So I got some of those foam earplugs and I'm going to see how long I can keep them in before they get annoying. I am also going to borrow my grandfathers ANR headset and see how it works. I think I will be able to make a good decision then.

 

Also where do you buy the replacement earplugs? and how much do they cost? I think I saw some but they were like $25.

 

Thanks

Edited December 8, 2008 by Ross85

[Hedge36]

Custom moulds real neat, don't even know I have them in, if you fee them they are not fitting correctly (or so the man who fitted them told me and he altered made another set because I said one made my ear itch\sore) With the CEP in them should have the best of all worlds

 

Exactly.

 

One doesn't have to fork out for CEPs. You can solder a standard 1/8" jack into your helmet wiring and use custom earmolds combined with a decent set of headphone speakers. You end up with more flexibility (you can wear them elsewhere, too!) for less money at a higher comfort level.

[Witch]

the only thing about those foam earplugs is that they get uncomfortable after a while. I can't imagine wearing them for 6-8 hours at a time.

They're really not uncomfortable after 8 hours. I used to drive truck, and after 10 hours, you really don't notice them. It's only the first half hour or so that it gets annoying. Same with the CEP, but it's not annoying as much and you don't notice it after a few minutes. The noise made from the wires rubbing on your collar is loud, but after plugging it into your headset, it goes away. Take off your headset without unplugging the CEP, and the CEP just pops outta your ear, no problem.

 

They really are worth the money. If the replacement plugs are too much, use the yellow foam plugs. They're easy to modify.

 

Later

[Ross85]

They're really not uncomfortable after 8 hours. I used to drive truck, and after 10 hours, you really don't notice them. It's only the first half hour or so that it gets annoying. Same with the CEP, but it's not annoying as much and you don't notice it after a few minutes. The noise made from the wires rubbing on your collar is loud, but after plugging it into your headset, it goes away. Take off your headset without unplugging the CEP, and the CEP just pops outta your ear, no problem.

 

They really are worth the money. If the replacement plugs are too much, use the yellow foam plugs. They're easy to modify.

 

Later

 

I'm definitely leaning toward the CEP now. I know Hedge made his own kind of setup, has anyone else made one with custom fit earplugs? I'm not sure how I would wire the speakers up if I made my own. I don't think it is too complicated though.

[Gomer Pylot]

The CEPs come as a kit. You connect a cable to one of the existing speakers, and that goes to a jack you install in the helmet or headset shell. The CEPs connect to the jack, a quick disconnect connection. The CEP speakers are tiny, and have a tube with an external thread, which you can screw into the custom ear mold, or to foam earplugs. If you take a look at the website, you can get an idea of how they work from the pictures. A set of their plugs is fairly expensive, but they last a long time, and when a set is worn out, you can take the foam off and keep the plastic center portion which screws onto the speakers. Insert that into a disposable foam earplug, and use it over and over.

[Ross85]

I just came across something else the may work pretty good. They are earplugs made for musicians. The are "flat response attenuation" so they still let you hear stuff, but at a safe level. Has anyone used these with a helmet or headset? It seem like it would still let you hear the speakers in the helmet and also maybe let you hear if something is wrong with the engine, while giving some added noise reduction. Then you also wouldn't have the wires to deal with.

[CROOK]

Check these out. They did my headset for me. I could not have been more pleased.

 

http://www.cep-usa.com/id38.htm

 

Ayan

[Gomer Pylot]

The musicians' earplugs are the same thing as the CEPs, with different connectors. The CEPs are optimized for harder use, and being connected/disconnected repeatedly. The speakers are the same.

[Ross85]

The musicians' earplugs are the same thing as the CEPs, with different connectors. The CEPs are optimized for harder use, and being connected/disconnected repeatedly. The speakers are the same.

 

The musicians earplugs I have been looking at have no speakers. They have filters. It is supposed to let you hear normally, but like someone turned down the volume. http://homerecording.about.com/od/hearingc...ic_Earplugs.htm

 

This way there are no wires to worry about and no installing in the helmet. I'm going to get a cheap pair and try them out. If they work I will get the custom ones. If they don't I will get the CEP.