Does anyone know a source of really good quality headset cables?
As I have a coupke of headsets and the cables have broken on them – trapped in doors etc.
All the after market ones tend to be of quite poor quailty. Does anyone know a source of good quality David Clark type ones?
If you can source (or re-use) the connectors, then you have a vast choice of cables. If you are looking for the cable with the plugs on the end, that’s different.
Making the whole thing up offers the chance of using good quality connectors and cable.
What connectors are there and are there connectors on both ends?
All the cables are one piece and of the molded type. As are the David Clark cables but they are of far better quality and so much more robust.
Second hand David Clark cables come up from time to time in eBay and fetch about 20 quid.
There are plenty of cheap ones like this on ebay and other sights
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacement-Aviation-Pilot-Headset-Cable/202163360224
But they are not very robust and I would much rather prefer a to buy a good quality cable that would last as long as a David Clark one.
So why not buy a David Clark cable?
Those Ebay ones look nice
Why are they not robust?
You can buy the jack plugs individually and make up a cable using something heavier. Van Damme make all kinds of fancy and expensive cables, a lot of which go into the “£500 gold plated digital hifi interconnect” market 
but to be fair they are well made. I have used their heavy speaker cables for this sort of thing.
The only cable which won’t get destroyed by getting caught in a door is something steel braid protected under a sheath, like this
They are used in the robotic sphere, where the cables are constantly moved about.
If it was me, I would instruct passengers to look after the headsets, and if they can’t comprehend that, tell them their chance of learning to fly is around zero
“So why not buy a David Clark cable?”
Because the only ones that come up for sale care second hand ones.
And those ebay ones are what we have at the moment. The wires break inside the cables.
You can buy the cables new from David Clark or any David Clark dealer
Peter Mundy has a pilot shop – try him?
Always willing to help – but perhaps Headset Services Ltd are more local.
Now that’s good to know. I’ll start looking for some.
Thank you Peter’s
