Voice Recognition without Bluetooth Headset

#1

Fellow ‘MiraCheckers’ forgive me if this is a really stupid question.

I fly with BoseX or DC H20-10 headsets without Bluetooth. I would like to upgrade to the voice recognition function of Miracheck, however I do not want to buy a $1000 new headset. The adapter you can buy on Sportys for $249 does not get good reviews plus it add to cockpit clutter. Have you given thought to a solution if you cannot connect via your panel or an external audio input to the headset, i.e. Miracheck’s own adaptor to target the market in GA that must be the biggest, i.e. the PPL’s without Bluetooth headsets?

#2

I just upgraded to Bose A20 w/bluetooth. Love it with MiraCheck. I don’t use the voice recognition - don’t care to or need to. But having the audio read out en-route with a simple tap to pause and re-start works great. BTW I use the bluetooth to my iPhone for the pre-flight/walk around.

#3

Mac thank you for your insight

#4

The Bose does have an input where you can use a 3.5mm cable if you just want to listen to audio. It doesn’t support the mic though.

For the mic you can try this. Hasn’t been tested with MiraCheck, but this may work. It is for recording cockpit audio.

#5

I have only found two alternatives to a $1200 Bluetooth headset for connecting the device with MiraCheck to your headset: The PA86A cell phone interface with cables, or the equivalent Bluetooth adapter. Both these plug into your headset cables.

In my case, being a skinflint, I opted for the PA86A as it is only 30% of the Bluetooth adapter cost. The downside is a mess of cables under your feet in the cockpit. This worked OK with my old iPhone 5, which as a 3.5mm audio jack.

However, my new iPhoneX, does not have a 3.5mm audio jack and needs a lightning cable to 3.5mm audio jack to work. My next discovery was that while there are lots of 3.5mm audio jack to lightning adapters on eBay, they are all 3 pole TRS jacks that will not carry the microphone signal. Voice recognition does not work very well without a microphone signal - as I discovered. A 4 pole TRRS adapter is required for a microphone signal.

The only 4 pole TRRS adapter I could find was from Apple. I am pleased to say that my headset microphone did commune with my iPhoneX via the Apple 4 pole adapter.

I must admit that I have not tried the voice recognition function from my headset microphone yet. I wanted it to make phone calls from the air - which I can now do. I cannot see any reason why it would not work with voice recognition on MiraCheck.

One other point: I found Pilot Communications responsive and helpful - despite the negative comments I read on some internet posts.

#6

If Miracheck find a solution to enable voice recognition without spending the big bucks for a new headset it will in my view create a stepchange - my Bose X is in perfect condition and am reluctant to change, however I know it will be safer to use the full functionality of Mirecheck

#7

We are only doing the best we can with current voice recognition technology on mobile devices. It has come a long way, and with a high-end headset like Bose A20 with good bluetooth it works very well. With the current state of voice recognition, the number one killer is background noise which hurts the accuracy, and the headset that cancels the noise best at the microphone works the best. In our testing the Bose A20 has been the best so far.

#8

I’ve had success with the hard wired adapter to plug my iPhone into the headset. I’ve not tried it with Miracheck yet. The only drawback is the big spaghetti tangle of wires under my feet.

#9

Joe would be great if you can send me a few photos of your setup:

neels.kriek@gmail.com

Thanks

Neels

#10

Has anyone tried these cables? How do they work with voice commands to MiraCheck?
Thx
Bill

#11

I have made an adapter for my Bose Q25, so that I can use it in a Robin DR400. In addition I can connect my smartphone/tablet via cable to the adapter to listen the audio output of the tablet and can record e.g. the ATC. Check these website: German PF Forum

#12

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.