The BEST way to record ATC & cockpit audio | Rory On Air

[@MarionBlair]

I have the same problem. I have the Zoom also with volume down to near 1 and the aircraft audio is blowing me out. I can hear my passenger and ATC just find thru the head set but when I get home and play back the recording, it's clipped and just as you mentioned. I need to find the 40 db pad. I've seen many video's on how to record your flight but no one has mentioned this problem. Most use the Sony which I though might be my problem. That's confusing but I'm glad I found your video. Thanks.

[@RoryOnAir]

I'm glad the video has helped. I think the pad should do the trick. You can still get them on ebay. Good luck!

[@BradNewton]

awesome explanatory video!! Been trying for months to fix my BAD cockpit audio!

[@RoryOnAir]

Brad Newton Vlogs nice one Brad - glad I could help. I hope you’ll subscribe for more. 👍

[@anthonybryantmedia]

With that first joke it should be "Rory on a Prayer' haha good stuff. Good to see how this is all captured.

[@RoryOnAir]

Ha ha - thanks Anthony. :)

[@BenAtkinsonVideos]

Double thumbs up for this. Bought the suggested cables, tested today....very good

[@RoryOnAir]

Ben Atkinson excellent! I’m delighted that’s worked for you Ben. 👍

[@davidcartwright5591]

Not sure whether people this is the right channel to do so , but here’s wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a happy , healthy and safe 2019. All my best wishes . Dave

[@RoryOnAir]

David Cartwright thanks Dave. I wish you and your family all the best too! Rory

[@flyingwithmatt1986]

The 40DB reduction box (that I bought a year ago from your link Rory) is now £227 on eBay 😫 It’s worth its weight in gold - literally! Hope mine never breaks 🤞

[@RoryOnAir]

Bloody hell! That's some serious inflation!

[@flyingwithmatt1986]

You must have given them so much business they decided to cash in big time.

[@timesquare5473]

Where did you see that silly price, even 3 years later (2023) it's only £11.25. Come on its only an attenuator pad with 3 resistors worth 3p, a plastic box and 2 connectors; total outlay about £3.

[@JodelFlyer]

Interesting video Rory. I use the Sony dictaphone recorder for my videos but I might have to try the 40db pad thing you were talking about. You will see that I have had people asking me about similar requests in the video which has been uploaded for Friday where a PoV camera mount fails. I didn't like the effect but I was given the cap as a present from one of the family who kept asking if I had used it! Glad you got a flight in 😀

[@RoryOnAir]

Yeah the pad seems to do a good job for me, worth a try for £8. Equipment failure is a pain - it's usually batteries that go on me. I'm now hoping for good weather so I can get something filmed for Jon.

[@JodelFlyer]

Yep, I know the feeling!

[@johnboyceflying6863]

I used to do this professionally, your solutions all will work but incredibly over complex and rely on interconnectivity of all devices. Simplest of all solutions, which never fails, is to pop a lapel mic inside a headset. Helicopters, jets, microlights, never once failed me...

[@RoryOnAir]

John Captain Caveman Boyce thanks for the comment John. As you saw in the video I did mention that as an option. I haven’t tried it myself so I haven’t yet been able to compare the different audio quality. Perhaps something got a future video. Thanks for watching!

[@thomasbolam8671]

John Boyce if you put it inside the headset would you be able to hear your own calls or only those coming in to you?

[@philipgledhill7227]

Rory. Philip will have to meet you at Barton for a hat and a tea shirt large. My be a good time to start my learning in a plane with you if you have got any spare time I no you are very busy so just arrange a time with in the next month or so and I will meet you. Happy flying buddy Phil.

[@peterwood7960]

Another great video Rory. Shame I did not see it three weeks ago as I have just purchased a special cable for the GoPro Hero 5 from Crazed Pilots in The States. £88 for the cable plus £25 to Royal Mail for VAT and Handling. Ouch. One flight test and it works but picks up no background engine noise. Not sure whether that is good or bad yet.

[@RoryOnAir]

Peter Wood Hi Peter, I did actually post this one a while ago so I’m sorry it wasn’t there when you needed it. Do you only have one camera? If you had a second you could use the onboard sound from that to lay over the intercom in the edit?

[@CrayonboxAviationAdventures]

Hi Rory, thanks for giving all the tricks away ;-) I want to add that using a GoPro or other camera that doesn't have a manual audio fixed level control (Auto Level Control only) the audio levels fluctuate depending on the level received at the microphone. This means that in times of no talking, the amplification increases and the noise of wind and engine is increased. This means a lot of post edit level control. Also, an open cockpit with this scenario becomes a nightmare - just ask me how I know. I record connected with a lead to my intercom, to my phone or ipad using an app that has fixed level control. Cheers and thanks for your video - again! [ShamelessPlug] My recent videos on my trike channel use the method I mentioned here. [/ShamelessPlug]

[@RoryOnAir]

That's interesting about the gopro auto levels pumping the background noise, no use at all that! It must be more difficult in an open cockpit but you do a good job.

[@jarviselson-veale9971]

Nice video - also saw your contribution to the BMAA MF magazine :0

[@RoryOnAir]

Thanks very much. Yeah I finally decided to send in a pic and they printed my email as a letter. Winner!

[@g-de]

Nice video. Have you thought of adding your track sync clap to your checklist? Obviously it wouldn't work as well if you start the recording in the air but it would ensure you remember before take off. As a bit of constructive criticism, it think you could have done with some close up shots of the connectors, adapters and such. I watched on a phone screen and it's quite difficult to see.

[@RoryOnAir]

Dale Edwards hi Dale, good shout on the close ups - I agree with you and wish I had added that. I will do more of that on the next ones, thanks for the useful feedback! Adding the clap to the checklist is a good idea too. You’re on a roll! 👏

[@rogerclarke3291]

Hi Rory. I’m currently learning to fly a Eurostar at Otherton airfield, Penkridge near Cannock, Staffordshire. Thanks very much for your videos. It’s awesome following your journey and a real encouragement. Loved the Orkney flight and your Coventry trip. Do you think you’ll be doing a flight in to Otherton airfield any time next year ? Regards roger.

[@RoryOnAir]

Roger Clarke Hi Roger, thanks for your comment and I’m delighted you are enjoying my videos. I am definitely intending to visit Otherton in the new year so hopefully we’ll cross paths. Good luck with your training. As you’ll have gathered, I’m a big fan of the Eurostar.

[@Planehazza]

So Rory, that Sony one doesn't prompt you to chose audio in, rather than mic in? I think the problem you faced with it before getting the Zoom may have been due to this. I'm trying to find a dictaphone that supports audio in, but documentation on this seems hard to find.

[@RoryOnAir]

Harry Marshall I’m not sure it has an option to change it does it? The main issue is you can’t set the level whether it’s in mic or line level.

[@mrchristerryTV]

Nice video. Similar to what I came up with but after the attenuator I added a three way split which means I get audio into the H1, a GoPro that faces me and another GoPro. I added the backpack batteries to the GoPro Hero 4s which last about 2 hours. Don’t think you can do that to the 5/6/7s.

[@RoryOnAir]

That’s a good idea with an extra splitter. It’s a shame about the lack of extra battery ability with the newer gopros too.

[@g-de]

I'm not sure if the gopro would overheat when recording video but I've used a power bank you usually use to charge a phone to get a time lapse using a gopro before. It lasted all night.

[@CrayonboxAviationAdventures]

I can record for 4 hours to a 128GB card in my GoPro Hero 7 black using an external battery bank. Mind you the camera is cooled in the airflow on my trike.

[@johnhughes3624]

Hi Rory. John here from NEWTOWNARDS (EGAD) in Ulster. I use a couple of 3+ and a 4 black all with the back pack batteries...but for long flights I find the Removu controler for the outside cameras allows me to switch on and off ....it needs the Bluetooth to be on all the time but that’s not too hard on the juice. It also gives me a view of the almost live camera action. Thanks for all the tips on the audio...now have my little mic and a Zoom H1. The slight problem is finding a 40db pad on the web ...would RS have such things ? Noticed in one of your videos you hankered after flying a Sting ? I fly one in our syndicate (includes Geoff Hill of MF editing fame) and you will be more than welcome to sample the delights if you take a trip over ....mind you, I’ve never been in to Barton. Hummmm Last question for now ....which editing suit. I stopped recording for a while as GoPro Studio was driving me to insanity. I’m up and running again with iMovie......what’s best ??

[@trevorchristian2916]

Hi Rory, great videos Does it work if you plug an external mic into the gopro and pop it into your headset? About 18 hrs into learning to fly, in a c42 and have just bought a gopro to record some of the flights, not to worried about audio, but would be nice to have some without having to spend a fortune

[@RoryOnAir]

Trevor Christian Hi Trevor. The lapel mic in the headset is a good method as it’s simple and cheap. My system is a more robust and I think the quality is better but for what you’re doing it’ll be spot on. You can’t plug a 3.5mm lapel mic straight into the GoPro, you’d need an adapter of some sort but it should work. The other option is to record the audio onto a separate recorder, again like I have but I guess if you’re going to buy that you may as well get the splitter cable too. Another option is to plug the lapel into your phone and record it via an app there. Don’t forget to clap to sync it all up!

[@NikinKam]

Hi, I’m using this set up going into my iPhone and I’ve got the exact same pad as you, when it’s connected it gets no audio, when I connect the pad backwards it gets audio but it’s really loud as if there is no pad. Am I doing something wrong? Should I be using TRS TRRS or a mono cable or should this not matter? Thanks for your help!

[@londonairsports]

Rory, thanks for this video info on microphones... I used to record inflight video with my iPhone 3 which could take an external microphone input, but the later iPhone series don't seem to allow an external mic input during video... any advice on how to input external mic to the iPhone 6,7,8.... or even the iPad when recording video ?

[@RoryOnAir]

Hi, Thanks for the comment. I have an iPhone 6s so I can comment on that at least. It does work with external mics, in fact I was recording myself into it using the Lav mic in this video. There's a link in the description. You just need to make sure you use a TRRS cable, rather than a standard headphone cable to connect the mic. I hope that helps!

[@mr2spyderchronicles287]

Lol 8 pound on ebay for the 40db its more like 226 now. I just clicked the link and was surprised

[@RoryOnAir]

Yeah, someone is making a few quid and it’s not me!

[@timesquare5473]

@timesquare5473 0 seconds ago Where did you see that silly price, as of 2023 it's only £11.25. Come on its only an attenuator pad with 3 resistors worth 3p, a plastic box and 2 connectors; total outlay about £3.

[@jeffnudd]

Hi Rory great channel by the way. Just wanted to ask where did you get your headset from? I'm currently looking to buy a couple of sets. Kindest regards Jeff.

[@RoryOnAir]

Jeff Nudd hi Jeff - welcome! Great to have you on onboard. I fly the Bose A20 which I think are fantastic. They are very expensive but I consider them an investment in my hearing and comfort as a pilot. I think I got them from flightstore or pooleys. Have a look online as I think they have a Christmas deal on where you get a free bose speaker with a pair which is a good deal.

[@jeffnudd]

@@RoryOnAir Thanks for your reply Rory. I am only a student but I've gone and bought myself a Ikarus C42. I couldn't resist ;-)

[@RoryOnAir]

Jeff Nudd Check you out! Nice one - I’m sure you’ll have loads of fun with that.

[@flyingwithmatt1986]

Hi Rory, thanks for telling us all how you do the audio. I tried a cheap lapel mic to iPhone on a recent flight but the audio was shocking and way too loud. Do you think a good quality lapel mic (the one you have linked) and the ATT40 box you have also linked would resolve this? Thanks.

[@RoryOnAir]

Hi Matthew, Thanks for watching. Are you planning to put the lapel mic in the headset cup? If so you shouldn't need the attenuator, you can just record straight into the iphone. If you want to record via the aircrafts plugs as I have, I think the attenuator is crucial to ensure good levels. You wouldn't need the lapel mic then though. I hope that helps!

[@flyingwithmatt1986]

Rory On Air Hi Rory, yes lapel into ear cup and into my iPhone. As above, I tried this set up with a cheap Ebay lapel mic but the volume was so high and poor quality, I could hardly recognise my own voice!! That’s why I was thinking the attenuator would help. Perhaps it was the poor quality lapel mic though. I’ll have to give it a try and will report back after my next flight.

[@RoryOnAir]

@@flyingwithmatt1986 If the input level was set right in the audio recording app on your phone and the level in your ear was comfortable it should be fine. Try it at home with your hifi and check it works as expected and your settings are good, then go for the plane again.

[@flyingwithmatt1986]

Rory On Air I think I need to get a better recording app for the iPhone then, one that lets me control the input. Any recommendations Rory?

[@RoryOnAir]

@@flyingwithmatt1986 Yeah, good plan. I use Voice Record 7.

[@epscproductions1373]

I put an earphone mic in the headset. It’s even cheaper as you get it with the phone.

[@MarionBlair]

Rory, I found a 20 db and 50 db pad like your's. Trying to decide which I should get (or both and try them, they are only 10 US each). Can you tell me when you have your Zoom connected to the 40 db, what is the audio level you set on the zoom? Just wondering whether 50 will be too much attenuation? Your thoughts appreciated.

[@RoryOnAir]

Marion Blair I cant remember what it’s set to, and it varies for different aircraft but I’d try the 50 and see how that goes. 👍

[@MarionBlair]

@@RoryOnAir Thanks, i think that'll be find. if not I'll try the other one.

[@RoryOnAir]

Marion Blair well see how it goes with your aircraft and you can always get a 20 after that. I have seen adjustable ones too.

[@MarionBlair]

@@RoryOnAir yes I saw the adjustable one but kind of wanted to stay away from the possibility of having too many variables in my recordings. Really appreciate your help and video. this is exactly what I've been needing to find. Apparently some Sony recorders have a line and Mike input that can be changed to one of the other however my zoom claims to accept line and mic but it's just getting blown out by the aviation audio. Even with my volume set to manual on 1. I think the aviation output may be even hotter than the standard line output from Normal radio equipment. IMO, The audio is the most important thing in these videos. Thanks again

[@Capt_sal_b777]

Hi Rory, Hope you are doing fantastic, I took your advice and bought a Stereo Audio Attenuator 40dB converter...NOW I went flying and almost felt I was on the Moon ( 10/10). But why can I hear only from the left side of my headset? Gopro6 ( audio in setting = Line IN )...

[@RoryOnAir]

I don’t have that issue but the attenuator has sometimes caused the audio recorder to only record the Left side. It’s a mono signal so you just copy it to the right as well in editing software. I’m not sure why you’re getting left only in your set during the flight. Sounds like you may have the wrong kind of splitter cable? It’s needs to be dual stereo.

[@Capt_sal_b777]

@@RoryOnAir www.flightstore.co.uk/pilot-supplies-c1/pa90-pilot-headset-connector-cable-for-audio-devices-p385 What about the Gopro audio in, is l'une in the correct setting?

[@martyfireblade]

Hi Rory, I've bought all the kit you have recommended for recording my cockpit audio but when connected to the Skyranger it doesn't pick up the right channel and all I get is clicking. Sound is perfect on the left. Any ideas where I've went wrong? Works fine without anything connected to line in btw. Cheers. Martyn.

[@RoryOnAir]

Martyn Ferris hi Martyn, that’s good news as that’s what I get. All the audio in the aircraft should be mono as mics are mono so all I do is use adobe audition or audacity to copy the left leg to the right before you add it to your editor. Works great. I hope that helps. Rory

[@martyfireblade]

@@RoryOnAir I'm a total noob as you will have guessed lol. Thank you so much for your help mate much appreciated..I'm not going mad after all. Love your videos btw, watching yours and Ben Atkinsons have really encouraged me to go for it this year with my training. Keep them coming mate, they are a brill watch. Cheers. Martyn

[@RoryOnAir]

Martyn Ferris brilliant - that’s great you have decided to start lessons. Ben’s channel is excellent - he’s doing a super job. I should probably have mentioned the mono thing in the video but hopefully people will see the response to your question here. Cheer, Rory.

[@MrAlwaysBlue]

How often do you need to fly in order to avoid the need for a check flight at Barton?

[@RoryOnAir]

MrAlwaysBlue they have a ‘fly within’ 6 weeks’ rule. I managed to fly on Monday so I was at 5 weeks - lucky!

[@TheMicroPilot]

Lucky, mine is every 4 weeks @@RoryOnAir

[@RoryOnAir]

The MicroPilot that’s tricky that!

[@MrAlwaysBlue]

We have a sliding scale, starting at 28 days for low hour pilots up to a maximum of 90 days

[@TheMicroPilot]

I guess that makes sense @@MrAlwaysBlue

[@himanshuyeole7579]

What will be alternative of that tiny box 40db noise attenuator..we want alternative for it

[@RoryOnAir]

himanshu yeole google is your friend there I think.

[@Tchown22]

I have a gopro hero 7 silver, but there are no audio recording cables for it for an airplane. Well... There is, but it's like $200 CAD (way out of my price range. I found it online somewhere). I was wondering if I could buy an old gopro recording cable, and buy an adapter, like, mini usb to usb-c, because my gopro hero 7 uses a usb-c. Would that work to record the airplane air traffic control and my talking? Thanks!

[@RoryOnAir]

I would suggest you use the same setup as I use in this video, as that doesn't require connection to a gopro.

[@kjanbartuah5373]

Hey Rory. do you have to change audio setting? like line-in or audio in? I have the Philips 4110 that I just brought to use for this reason. thanks

[@RoryOnAir]

Very difficult to help with specific setups I’m afraid.

[@Bodrochowski]

Hi Rory, it's Jon. Got exactly the same kit as you, however did a little test in G-DA today and could only get audio down one side of the splitter. Either nothing in the headset and clear as day in the recorder, or the other way round. Tested it at home on my PC and got audio out of each side of the splitter. With your audio knowledge, have you any idea what might be going on here? Some sort of power drawing issue perhaps? Engine wasn't running although can't imagine that makes any difference... ?

[@RoryOnAir]

Jonny Starr Hi Jon, that’s very strange. I only get one leg in the recorder but as it’s a mono source it’s fine - I just copy it to the right in the edit. What you’re describing is unusual. I can’t imagine it’s a power issue as none of the gear gets power as such from the plugs... hmmm, that’s got me stumped 🤔 for the moment.

[@mm231106]

​@@RoryOnAir yeah, really odd... have to try it again some other time.... cheers anyway!

[@NetAndyCz]

Really wanted GoPro until I discovered they last only for about an hour, really would prefer something that lasts at least 3 hours. Need some good outdoor camera that lasts longer.

[@RoryOnAir]

NetAndyCz well I think you can plug them into a portable power pack on the go but I agree the battery life could be improved.

[@MarionBlair]

Plug it into a cigarette lighter that's what I do on are you a portable battery pack also the Sony video recorders have more life I'm told

[@eduardogzt]

The 1/4 cables need to be TRS???

[@eduardogzt]

Or can be TS?

[@RoryOnAir]

@@eduardogzt I've just used TS - works fine as it's just audio by this stage, no mic channel.