LEMO adapter cable

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Rich
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Re: LEMO adapter cable

Post by Rich »

It looks like it's conceivable to replace the dual-plug cable for the Zulu3 control module with a LEMO cable from Lightspeed. This may or may not be something Lightspeed would provide and it might take more than a simple cable-swap. LS does have a reputation of good after-sales support.
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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blsewardjr
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Re: LEMO adapter cable

Post by blsewardjr »

I didn't see any form of adapter on the LS website. In any case, since I added a BT audio panel and stopped BTing the headset, my headset batteries last a reasonable amount of time.
Bernie Seward, IR, AGI
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Rich
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Re: LEMO adapter cable

Post by Rich »

I started this exercise as an experiment to see if I could make it work without doing any mods to the airplane, given the useless Sennheiser-unique feature.

One can, of course, add LEMO capability as a permanent installation. Or, for that matter, convert one or more of the dual-plug stations to LEMO or one of the other types.

BTW, I notice that these Pilot-USA guys make all sorts of adapters. Not one with this capability, but so close.
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: LEMO adapter cable

Post by Rich »

After a lot of thrashing around I've wound up making three of these adapters, using different approaches. One's been tested, the other two I just finished today and expect to test this weekend. The first one tested successfully in flight a few days ago.

Here was the real challenge: The most straightforward technique is to simply modify the Pilot-USA adapter to get the #1 pin properly connected. Due to my lack of skill (and, to some extent, proper tools) this went horribly wrong. Dealing with those really small wires in the tight space was beyond me.
The challenge.jpg
But today I pulled that one off, also. 8-)

This is what retirement does to you. Taking on all sorts of projects with questionable value. :roll:
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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Re: LEMO adapter cable

Post by Colin »

Rich, I wish that I was in a hangar at an airpark with you and a few other retired pilots. That's the sort of project I love and do not have the talent for.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
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Rich
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Re: LEMO adapter cable

Post by Rich »

In the execution of this project I learned a couple of other things.

1. When turning on the Master switch, the Avionics bus gets momentarily energized. This is due to the contacts being NC in the Avionics relay and it takes a couple of hundred milliseconds for that relay to operate.This behavior can be seen in that the MB lights briefly flash on when turning on the Master.

2. Ship power is supplied to the microphone tip contacts with an intervening 100 ohm resistor. This is a good thing, as it limits the current to just under 1/4 amp should the power lead somehow get shorted to ground.

3. I've looked through AMMs for a number of Diamonds and it looks like they're almost all wired for this obsolete Sennheiser approach, the exceptions being possibly some KMA 28 setups. It does simplify the installation of the 6-pin LEM (or my adapter hack).
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: LEMO adapter cable

Post by Rich »

I have discovered Bose does supply parts so that a non-LEMO A20 can easily be converted to LEMO, with BT ($300) or without ($200). I got an A20 without BT, as 2-device BT is supplied by BluLink. One kind of neat thing is they both automatically power up when I turn on the avionics master, so ANR is immediately active. But the BluLink does require explicitly turning on BT.
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: LEMO adapter cable

Post by Rich »

Fickle me. After today’s flight I was really happy with the sound level and radio clarity in today’s flight. Here is the setup:

- Bose A20 with LEMO cable, without Bluetooth
- A20 connected to BluLink II via LEMO/BL cable
- BL connected to plane with BL/LEMO cable and my supercool Sennheiser/dual-plug/LEMO adapter

BL and A20 automatically power up to ship’s power when I turn on avionics power. Manually turn on BT on the BL and it connects to phone and iPad via BT. No interaction with A20 control unit. It is superfluous in this configuration.

The batteries in the control units normally not used. I’ve run this setup without them installed at all. I only have them in there for backup to provide ANR and BT in the event of loss of ship’s power.

So it looks like this’ll be my normal go-to setup. :thumbsup:
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: LEMO adapter cable

Post by Rich »

I happen to have an old Zulu headset. It works fine but I realized that all the Zulu’s had a LEMO option. So I checked with Lightspeed to see if I could get it modified to LEMO feed. It turned out they can no longer support these older ones as they don’t have parts for them. They many years out of production.

But this information was conveyed to me after it was indicated that they were receptive to the idea. I believe they would in fact do this mod for those with Zulu 3.

Meanwhile I’ve opened up my Zulu to see if I could modify it to take the power feed directly from the dual GA input as with the Sennheiser headsets. A definite maybe, but more investigation needed and challenging in any case.
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: LEMO adapter cable

Post by Rich »

In my fiddling around with all this stuff I find the BluLink II to be a great Swiss-Army-Knife gizmo to have in the mix. With the Pilot-USA cables you can easily mix and match LEMO or dual plug inputs/outputs combinations, maintaining solid BT connectivity in all cases. I've set mine up to readily change (primarily) between Bose A20 and Clarity Aloft. but really any LEMO or dual-plug headset can be used. Of course Panel Power and even ANR is not necessarily feasible with all these headsets, but with LEMO (or USB power in) input the BT function is always so powered.

The downside is potentially multiple control modules and annoying amounts of cabling to stuff hither and yon :scratch: .
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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