UltraFlight Radio - What to Know About Radios and Patch Cords

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What to know about Radios and Patch Cords

This web page was put together specifically to talk about a segment on the UltraFlight Radio Show regarding patch cords.

If you want to be able to broadcast Air-to-Air or Air-to-Ground you will need a radio and the patch cords to connect them. Often times a customer will find a good deal on a transceiver only to find out later that the parts needed to connect to your intercom box or helmet is either not available or requires long lead times to get it specially made. There are literally hundreds of Airband transceivers and CB radios on the market. Not all are documented as to the jacks and circuitry needed to connect to your system. Be sure to check the Comtronics Patchcord master listing in the CPS Catalog to see if your radio is listed. Many radio models are not available while many others may require 6-8 week lead time. CPS makes an effort to have in stock patchcords for ICOM Radios in either older or newer models.
	Why are Patch cords so expensive? Besides an in-line Push-to Talk Switch, Patch Cords usually have a pre-amp circuit built-in to the line. While it looks like just a small in-line cylinder, it contains a PC board with over 10 separate components. See above photo. Note the cylinder in the background. The patch cord also must have matching jacks to plug into the radio. The photo at the left shows an ICOM A-4 will two jacks accessed by a custom patch cord. As you can see each patch cord is very unique.
Electric or Dynamic M-87 Microphones Several years ago Comtronics switched from a M-87 Dynamic mic to an Electric mic due to supply problems. The new Electric mics require a different circuitry. They can be identified by the connection boom. The older M/87 Dynamic Mic has a two wire connector (see photo on right)
The newer Electric mics have a single flex cable (see photo on right).
Switching the Circuitry: Intercom boxes have an internal switching circuit that allows you to use either mic. Simply set the internal switches to either “E” for the Electric Mic or “D” for the Dynamic mic. Be aware that if you are connecting a single helmet directly to the radio using a 900 Series Patchcord, you must specify the mic you are using or the mic will not function. Be sure to specify microphone type when ordering patchcords for single seat operation. Comtronics mics.doc

Item 12 asks for the fuel on board in hours and minutes. This is determined by dividing the total usable