Avionics News August 2014 - 23

Comparatively, these systems
hold little of the utility of a fullaccess in-flight, mobile Internet
portal of the types long available
for business-turbine aircraft and,
increasingly, on commercial aircraft around the globe. But even
with systems shrinking in size,
weight and antenna footprint,
costs made them a difficult choice for many operators of
older aircraft - older, as in still performing their role well, but
with a residual value that rendered moot making a six-figureplus investment in in-flight Internet access.
So BendixKing's price point for the AeroWave 100 should
contribute to its potential as a game changer for bringing
Internet access to light aircraft in flight: $19,999, plus installation. The systems available up to now weigh somewhat
more, and cost significantly more; $100,000 would barely get
you the hardware - plus installation.
The aircraft getting an AeroWave 100 must be able to
handle about 16 pounds of hardware in three components,
one of about 8 pounds, another just short of 6, and an antenna
weighing a half pound. The aircraft also must be capable of
handling an extra 80 watts of electrical-system demand -
from 20 to 32 volts DC.
Expect to see and hear more of these types of systems for
light general aviation, and don't be surprised if pricing gets
even more competitive.
Audio-panel interfaces:
Audio of your choosing
While EQ1 likes 2.4 MHz wireless technology for its
wireless link to connect headsets to audio panels, Bluetooth
remains the technology that dominates connecting music
players and mobile phones to our headsets via the panelmounted audio-control system.
First up, Bose; its well-regarded A20 ANR (active noise
reducing) comes in a Bluetooth version costing about $100
more than the A20. This $100 buys only a phone connection,
however, leaving any music input to a cable Bose provides
for both versions.
Intercom connection remains through the usual Bose wired
connections to the audio panel. But for music and mobile phone
use with Bose's BluLink adapter, the owner needs a device with
music streaming capability or a Bluetooth dongle through which
to connect the portable music player. Bose notes to be certain
the Bluetooth-enabled phone or adapter has Bluetooth A2DP
(advanced audio distribution profile) and Bluetooth AVRCP (audio/video remote control profile). These Bluetooth technologies
allow the device to work with BluLink.

David Clark's DC PROlineup of ENC (electronic
noise canceling) headsets integrate Bluetooth technology
as a standard feature, again for
connecting wirelessly through
Aspen Avionics CG100
the headsets to mobile phone,
Connected Gateway
music player or tablet.
Lightspeed Aviation also
offers Bluetooth for its Zulu.2 ANR headset. But both the DC
PRO and Zulu.2 lineup retain their cable connections to the
audio-control panel.
Other players offer Bluetooth audio-panel options, but a
pioneer and predominant player in this realm is PS Engineering. The Tennessee-based company specializes in audio-control equipment, and integrating a Bluetooth interface to connect mobile phones and music players stands amid a number
of advances pioneered by the company.
At some point, Bluetooth-based connections should
emerge allowing wireless intercom between headsets and audio panels while preserving Bluetooth options for cellphone
calls or music input.
But it's unlikely that PS Engineering plans to pioneer
Bluetooth headset-to-audio-panel-intercom system connectivity, according to Gary Picou, executive vice president.
Bluetooth versus other wireless technologies
Picou noted the company's Bluetooth-equipped audio
panels work with phones and music players, not Bluetoothenabled headsets. He said, "The headset connects to phone
and music the way the audio panel does; however, if you are
linked to a headset, only the wearer gets to use the device. If
the Bluetooth phone or music source is linked to the audio
panel, everybody gets to benefit."
Picou, also PS Engineering's top engineer, noted what
he called "technical issues regarding the wireless headset
to the audio panel/aircraft radios that we aren't comfortable
tackling right now. We consider the link between the crew
microphone and headphone to the aircraft radio to be a holy
bond. Integrating a BT link, which may have latency issues,
frequency response issues or power consumption problems
into the flight-critical ATC communications, is an area we
don't wish to venture."
In this area, PS Engineering appears to be a majority
voice, since all the Bluetooth options we could find limited
their use to mobile phones and Bluetooth-equipped personal
devices like music players and tablet computers.
Meanwhile, don't expect the wireless-cockpit concept to
abate, not with so much fresh frontier for exploration by new
product idea makers. q
avionics news

august

2014

Avionics News August 2014

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