iPhone follies

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Rich
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iPhone follies

Post by Rich »

There are good reasons for this but it gets complicated to explain. I desired to have my headset hooked to my iPad via Bluetooth and my iPhone simultaneously connected to the same headset via audio cable to be able to make/receive calls - at least while on the ground. In theory I can pull this off with my Tango, Zulu, Sierra, and Clarity Aloft (using Blu Link). (CA audio jack has a limitation but there is a workaround.)

The iPhone, of course, no longer has an audio jack, so one uses a audio/lightning adapter. I hook this up using one of these adapters and test it out by using the iOS recording app. Works perfectly. I can record my voice and listen to playback. Good to go, right? Not so fast, grasshopper. It doesn't work at all for cell calls :tap: !!! How can this be :scratch: ????. To skip to the end, it turned out to be adapter-specific. Somehow, the adapter I have that allows this connection and simultaneously providing charging power to the phone has this behavior. The single-function audio/lightning adapter I have works fine.

The moral here is that I had to do the exact test for the desired function to know that it works
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Steve
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Re: iPhone follies

Post by Steve »

I may be too old school, but I like my comms hard-wired. I've had too many Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drop outs in my experience. On the other hand, I do like the enhanced capability that wireless can provide. In my airplane. I switched out the BK KMA-28 for a PS Engineering PMA-7000B audio panel (which was a plug-and-play exchange), mostly because of the Bluetooth capability. I now have Foreflight and iTunes audio from my iPad via Bluetooth, ADSB-in to my iPad via WiFi from the Scout, and can make phone calls from my iPhone using my headset through the audio panel.
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Rich
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Re: iPhone follies

Post by Rich »

The goal I'm working on is to have easier connections to FF -> headset for alerts like traffic (and the nanny-ish "wrong airport" :D ) and iPhone for getting non-towered airport IFR clearance and release. The latter is also handy for when one arrives in Canada and you call customs to get your magic code. (FF on iPhone has a neat function for bringing up telephone numbers and initiating dialing by selecting it.)

I have several headsets that provide connection via BT but only one link at a time, though you can have executed multiple pairings. You generally needs to use an auxiliary wired connection to provide the other. Otherwise you have to jump through hoops in real time to switch. All of them will only connect BT to one at a time.

Switching to a different audio panel is definitely the more elegant approach.

I sometimes use an original BluLink with my original Clarity Aloft. This presents a unique challenge. The BL does not have an audio jack but the CA does. Using that combination requires using a connecting cable with its own microphone, as the CA jack is an input-only (like for music) connection. time has passed and the BL has gone a couple of generations past what I have and it now supports simultaneous connection to a cell phone and an input device (iPad/FF really only needs to feed to the headset). I just ordered the current one (not yet showing as available in the websites of the usual vendors) to give it a try.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Rich
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Re: iPhone follies

Post by Rich »

The new BluLink does solve the Clarity Aloft weakness and adds a couple of other features. A good solution for a single headphone that has limited or no interconnect capabilities such as a Bose X.

But the user manual was slapped together by a non-English speaker, unlike the manual for the previous ones. Clearly it was put out in a rush. I fed back this information to their customer support. It's got enough information that one can figure it out but does not present the product well.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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