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‘Finally, a noise canceling headset that uses ships power instead of batteries.’ That’s what I thought when I picked up the Telex ANR 850 from Crew Outfitters. I had used headsets like this before but I was never able to keep up with the batteries it used. But now the question was how would it perform out on the line.
When I put it on for my 13 hour trip to Lagos Nigeria, the first thing I noticed was how light it was. Next I noticed how comfortable it was as opposed to the vice-like Vulcan Death Grip that larger headsets have. Then there was the amount of noise it cuts out. So much that it was hard to hear the other pilots in the cockpit.
Testing it out on a Boeing 767, it worked very well on intercom and P/A which made it score well on the issue of safety. Since the power of the noise cancellation comes from the microphone jack connection of the communication panel, when I tested the Oxygen Mask, the noise cancellation feature was negated. This would make the headset useless in cabin decompression situations when you really need it.
Where this tool really shines is in overseas flights where the ATC system has less than perfect transmitters. I Nigeria, I could understand the instructions much easier than the other pilots. Also, when I had to listen to other frequencies like HF,I cut out background noise and mandatory cockpit conversations in the cockpit. The only problems I found were the fact that the use of a hand mic cuts out the noise cancellation feature. And if you sit on the jumpseat and can only plug into the earphones, there is no cancellation.
Finally, one of our folically challenged pilots mentioned that it scaped the skin on the top of his head. A small piece of foam rubber would do the trick.
In General I would say that this is a great tool for pilots in noisy areas.