zippiesdrainage Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 Hi everyone, I recently bought a Bose X headset off Amazon that has been rebuilt by the manufacturer so I figured it would work. I plugged it in and the mic isn't responding. I can't hear myself and I can't make radio calls with it. The other features work (the speakers and sound dampening). I checked the switches inside the battery pack which none of them pertain to the mic and tried multiple aircraft (AS350). I'm going to contact Bose when I get a chance, but I'm curious if anyone here has any tips, advice or troubleshooting ideas before I contact them or ship it off. Thanks 1 Quote
zippiesdrainage Posted June 20, 2015 Author Posted June 20, 2015 Also I made sure I was using the correct side of the mic. I placed the entire mic inside my mouth and screamed profanities. Still didn't work Quote
avbug Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 Have you tried another comparable headset in the same station? Quote
zippiesdrainage Posted June 20, 2015 Author Posted June 20, 2015 I tried my old David Clarks and they work fine in the ship and I tried the Bose in a second ship with the same results. And yes there were batteries inside lol. Quote
eagle5 Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 I remember in an old thread someone mentioning something about mic impedance or what? Where it works just not with your setup? My old DC has a high/low switch and if its on low the mic does not work in Robbie! Quote
zippiesdrainage Posted June 20, 2015 Author Posted June 20, 2015 I'm not familiar with impedance, I did a quick google search and I guess it's the conversion for dual plugs to the singular for use in helicopters but my Bose is already configured for helicopters and only has the single plug standard with helicopter headsets Quote
eagle5 Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 My DC is also a single plug helicopter headset. Quote
Jaybee Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 basically without being technical - impedance is the internal resistance of the headset/mike usually that's only an issue when your impedance doesn't match everyone else's in the cockpit Quote
avbug Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 ICS and radio systems are adjustable, and it's not uncommon to see a Bose introduced that creates a problem, but if you've determined that presently it's not an intercom issue and simply a transmitting issue, you've already eliminated most of the concerns. It's possible that you have an impedance issue, but that can easily be eliminated by testing a different Bose headset in the same station in the aircraft. Your Bose should have silver, chrome colored bayonets for the plug in end; is yours a bronze color, by chance? Sometimes, often, in headsets that still have a bronze end, you can polish the bayonet plug with scotchbright and you'll get an instant improvement. It's also not that uncommon with the Bose cords to have a failure in the cord itself, especially those with the inline battery pack. It's important to ensure that those have the battery supported so it doesn't pull down on the jack of make a tight bend or put a load on the cord. Otherwise, eventually, there's going to be a break in the wire, even if it looks intact with the cord. Do you have a pigtail (curly cord)? Those seem to fail at a considerably higher rate than standard straight cords do. Quote
ridethisbike Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 (edited) Just to clarify, are you able to hear other people talking in the aircraft with this headset? If memory serves, it's the impedance issue. Pretty sure the mic is what needs to get swapped out. I'm waiting on a reply from my friend who had to deal with this issue when he bought his Bose X headset a few years ago. It was a low impedance headset. He needed a high impedance one. Another option is to buy an impedance adapter. mypilotstore.com has them Towards the bottom mentions that military plugs resemble helicopter, but might not work due to impedance issues. http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/Aviation-Headsets/headset-plugs.asp Edited June 21, 2015 by ridethisbike Quote
rotornut67 Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 Send it back to Bose with a note explaining the problem. They will fix it and usually for free or a small fee. Quote
ridethisbike Posted June 22, 2015 Posted June 22, 2015 My buddy got back to me. His problem was exactly as you described. Could hear everyone else just fine, but the mic didn't work. It was the impedance problem that did it. Mic will need to be swapped out or adapter will need to be used. During his research, however, he found that the adapters weren't all that reliable. If the adapter fails on you in flight... well... there goes your radios, basically. I've read that some manufacturers used the low impedance com systems in their civil aircraft, so it might be worth it to buy the new mic and hold on to the current one for future use, just in case you run into one of those aircraft in the future. All this, of course, assumes that it is in fact an impedance problem. I'd call Bose and find out if there is a way to discern which version you have. Quote
zippiesdrainage Posted June 23, 2015 Author Posted June 23, 2015 I finally had a free moment to contact Bose about my headset and they confirmed that it was the impedance issue and the headset I bought was for military helicopters and wouldn't work for civilian helicopters. They offered to sell me a correct mic for an additional 200 bucks which will completly negate the savings I got by buying it used from the seller vs buying a new one. Can't really blame anyone, wish that Bose would have thrown me a bit of a bone somewhere though. It's pretty much a paperweight until I decide what to do. Thanks for your help guys Quote
ridethisbike Posted June 23, 2015 Posted June 23, 2015 Your other option is this.. http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/sep/7153 Quote
eagle5 Posted June 23, 2015 Posted June 23, 2015 I finally had a free moment to contact Bose about my headset and they confirmed that it was the impedance issue and the headset I bought was for military helicopters and wouldn't work for civilian helicopters. They offered to sell me a correct mic for an additional 200 bucks which will completly negate the savings I got by buying it used from the seller vs buying a new one. Can't really blame anyone, wish that Bose would have thrown me a bit of a bone somewhere though. It's pretty much a paperweight until I decide what to do. Thanks for your help guysI might blame the seller on Amazon for not stating that is was for military helicopters only! Quote
Azhigher Posted June 24, 2015 Posted June 24, 2015 Hey, my X is on Ebay right now if you need another one =) You'll have to guess which one it is though... Quote
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