Crap Intercoms in Planes

Thargor

What is it with the useless intercoms in planes? They seem to have gotten worse over the years instead of better, Ryanair 737s being the absolute worst, you just cant tell whats being said by the pilot anymore. Its not just Ryanair though its the same on AL aswell. The only place worse is the ones on the DART.

You'd think on an aircraft that cost millions they wouldn't cheap out on the sound system, and thats what the problem is in my opinion, its the classic sound of a cheap tinny speaker. I could install a better system in a similar space for €50 on Ebay, I could probably do better for €20, I just dont understand it...

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A lot if it's due to not using the system properly. Speaking too fast, too quietly (or too loudly with Ryanair PAs), holding the mic too far or too near the users mouth.
People need training on it which doesn't happen.

Bussywussy

And people in the cabin not shutting up...

devnull

Thargor wrote: »

What is it with the useless intercoms in planes? They seem to have gotten worse over the years instead of better, Ryanair 737s being the absolute worst, .

Depends on the plane, some of them are as clear as day and crisp like they are standing next to you and others are impossible to hear.

Locker10a

I do find Boeing to fail here, on both the 737 and 787 I've only every found the PA system to be crap and tinny. Airbus on the other hand I find perfectly clear and of good quality and reasonable decibel

Noxegon

Bussywussy wrote: »

And people in the cabin not shutting up...

Because it’s critically important to listen to how you too can be a millionaire with scratch cards?

Less is more with announcements.

Bussywussy

Noxegon wrote: »

Because it’s critically important to listen to how you too can be a millionaire with scratch cards?

Less is more with announcements.

Ha true,but I meant it in regards to pilot and crew announcements regarding safety,flight updates etc couldn't agree more about the scratch card crap

Growler!!!

The INTERCOMs are very clear. Makes communication on the flight deck easier and no problem with comms to/from the cabin.

The PA or public address is a different matter, nobody pays particular attention to the announcements anymore and has been used by some airlines to sell sell sell.

Some flight crew who are required to make the before landing PA see it as a chore and put no real thought or effort into how they are heard or perceived in the cabin.

coylemj

Thargor wrote: »

What is it with the useless intercoms in planes? They seem to have gotten worse over the years ....

As the cops get younger, it gets harder to make out WTF they're saying in public announcements.

Locker10a

coylemj wrote: »

Thargor wrote: »

What is it with the useless intercoms in planes? They seem to have gotten worse over the years ....

As the cops get younger, it gets harder to make out WTF they're saying in public announcements.

I agree, younger generations (and I’m in my 20s so consider myself in this generation) generally approach things more casually and flying with an older crew I often notice the captain or senior crew member approach their jobs in a more formal way.
While this doesn’t affect the sound quality of the system there is sometime a notable difference in the delivery and structure of announcements, in my experience

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

As the cops get younger, it gets harder to make out WTF they're saying in public announcements.

Locker10a wrote: »

I agree, younger generations (and I’m in my 20s so consider myself in this generation) generally approach things more casually and flying with an older crew I often notice the captain or senior crew member approach their jobs in a more formal way.
While this doesn’t affect the sound quality of the system there is sometime a notable difference in the delivery and structure of announcements, in my experience

Sorry but you misinterpreted my post. I was referring to the age of the listener, not the person delivering the announcement. Hence my reference to policemen looking younger - a classic sign that you're getting old.

Thargor

What would the age of the listener have to do with it?

L1011

Thargor wrote: »

What would the age of the listener have to do with it?

Older you are the worse your hearing gets even if you are convinced it doesn't. First way it seems to manifest itself is distinguishing fast speech - something I notice myself a lot as I talk extremely fast and people who could understand me a decade ago now need me to slow down.

Thargor

Hmmm, well I dont think thats what Im talking about in this thread anyway, Im 31, I seriously doubt Ive developed physical and/or mental deficiencies that make cabin announcements or fast speech unintelligible since I started flying 9 or 10 years ago. The sound system especially on Ryanair planes has all the symptoms of a very cheap loudspeaker, tinny, rattling and full of distortion. You would not hear anything like it on an Emirates or BA flight for example.

L1011

Thargor wrote: »

Im 31, I seriously doubt Ive developed physical and/or mental deficiencies that make cabin announcements or fast speech unintelligible since I started flying 9 or 10 years ago.

Really depends what you've been doing in the interim; loads of my mates have quite severe hearing loss at 30-35 due to clubbing. I was the one slagged for using filtering earplugs and I've still got normal hearing for my age.

Locker10a

Thargor wrote: »

Hmmm, well I dont think thats what Im talking about in this thread anyway, Im 31, I seriously doubt Ive developed physical and/or mental deficiencies that make cabin announcements or fast speech unintelligible since I started flying 9 or 10 years ago. The sound system especially on Ryanair planes has all the symptoms of a very cheap loudspeaker, tinny, rattling and full of distortion. You would not hear anything like it on an Emirates or BA flight for example.

Perhaps there are exceptions but airlines don’t select particular sound or PA systems, it comes as standard like lights, air conditioning etc. So your issue with Ryanair is actually an issue with Boeing as that’s who manufacture the aircraft they fly. And I must say I agree with you, the 737 (Ryanairs fleet) do have a far inferior PA system to the Airbus 320 series in my opinion and experience.
Unfortunatly Boeing didn’t improve this with their state of the art 787 which I also found to have a low, tinny and cheap sounding PA

Thargor

L1011 wrote: »

Really depends what you've been doing in the interim; loads of my mates have quite severe hearing loss at 30-35 due to clubbing. I was the one slagged for using filtering earplugs and I've still got normal hearing for my age.

Yeah well as I said thats not what Im talking about here. Im talking about the quality of the actual hardware, the loudspeaker sounds like a poundshop radio when the crew use it.

faoiarvok

Thargor wrote: »

I could install a better system in a similar space for €50 on Ebay, I could probably do better for €20, I just dont understand it...

Now make sure that system works continuously under all sorts of unlikely stresses, accepts but doesn’t cause any interference to other vital systems and get it certified safe by the relevant authorities. You’d be doing well if you only had to add two zeroes to the end of your estimate.

billy few mates

The B737 like many other aircraft has a circuit which senses the oil pressure rise at engine start and boosts the output of the PA amplifier by something like 10-15db to compensate for the increase in ambient noise, there’s no indication when that circuit fails so the PA would sound perfectly fine on a ground test but the volume would be low in flight.
Another thing to remember is there’s not usually a speaker in every PSU above every seat, depending on the config of the A/C they’re usually spread out across every three or four rows, so depending where you sit, the better the PA might sound.
The most likely and frequent cause of PA problems is just poor technique with some crew members holding the handset too close to their mouth while roaring into it or too far away from their mouth while mumbling into it.

Having said that, the PA system installed on even the most modern airliners is a pretty low budget affair, they have a very narrow voice bandwidth and usually low quality mics and speakers, they’re never going to sound high quality.

Noxegon

Thargor wrote: »

What would the age of the listener have to do with it?

As I’ve gotten older I’ve developed the ability to tune things out because I’ve heard them a thousand times before.

billy few mates

Noxegon wrote: »

As I’ve gotten older I’ve developed the ability to tune things out because I’ve heard them a thousand times before.

As you get older you tend to experience hearing loss at the upper end of the sound spectrum so you don’t really notice it but it’s real. I remember a few years back I was at home reading on the internet about a device being used by shops and businesses which played high frequency noise to deter teenagers from hanging around causing anti social behaviour. I clicked on the link to hear a sample of the noise and nothing happened...or so I thought until the dog got up and made her way for the door and a short while later my two kids who were teenagers at the time and sitting in completely different parts of the house roared at me to switch off that annoying sound...:eek:
I couldn’t hear a thing but they could, needless to say I had hours of fun for weeks afterwards when I’d just play it and wait for the reaction...:D

Locker10a

billy few mates wrote: »

Noxegon wrote: »

As I’ve gotten older I’ve developed the ability to tune things out because I’ve heard them a thousand times before.

As you get older you tend to experience hearing loss at the upper end of the sound spectrum so you don’t really notice it but it’s real. I remember a few years back I was at home reading on the internet about a device being used by shops and businesses which played high frequency noise to deter teenagers from hanging around causing anti social behaviour. I clicked on the link to hear a sample of the noise and nothing happened...or so I thought until the dog got up and made her way for the door and a short while later my two kids who were teenagers at the time and sitting in completely different parts of the house roared at me to switch off that annoying sound...:eek:
I couldn’t hear a thing but they could, needless to say I had hours of fun for weeks afterwards when I’d just play it and wait for the reaction...:D

We use to have great fun with that in school, someone would play it, class would react and the teacher would be baffled

exaisle

I go with the OP here..the quality of the sound on the PA on Ryanair/Boeing flights is terrible. The PA on AerLingus/Airbus flights is significantly better. As far as I'm aware neither cabin crews are given any decent kind of instruction in the use of them...ie. speaking slowly and clearly. From what I've heard, it seems to be a race on the part of the Ryanair crew to get through the announcement as quickly as they can. The Aer Lingus crews seem to be a bit more relaxed about things and tend to take their time..
Just my tuppence ha'worth....

Tow

My worse was in a DC 9, flying between regional airports in the Philippines. The plane did a hard 180 turn and the pilot came on the intercom. The hum was so had we could just make out the odd word. Engine, eme, lan.
No one was the wiser, but we were worried. The man beside me was griping the arm rests and kept saying he needed a strong coffee, must we a cultural difference! Anyway we landed back at the airport without difficulties and took off again a few hours later. Never did find out what the problem was.