Jesse and I spent last Saturday working to fit the new intercom. This is the third intercom ordered from Spruce (fast forward - I made 2 consecutive ordering mistakes, which led to me getting intercoms which were not suitable).
The latest intercom from FlightTech is still in the small aluminum box, which means it fits perfectly in the same slot occupied by the current mono intercom. Paying another $60 for the stereo version also got me a set of installation instructions that could be read without a magnifying glass. The mono intercom (since returned for credit) came with the instructions duplicated on 2-ups with faint printing, which required me to scan and enlarge the pages before they could easily be read.
Along the way it emerged that the headphone circuit on the existing intercom had been wired in series. This might explain the propensity of the intercom to distort when 2 headsets were in use. The 20XL and 3G headset combination that I currently use has made the distortion worse, possibly due to those headsets having different internal resistances. Because we had been given all new headphone and microphone jack hardware (for 4 places) with the intercom we decided to replace all of the existing hardware, which was probably 13 years old.
The main installation and wiring challenge (which Jesse seemed to have no trouble with) was attaching the wires to a set of extremely tiny Molex connectors to go into a 24-pin plug which connects to the intercom board. Those connectors are so tiny I swear I almost needed a magnifying glass to see them...
We hit an issue towards the end of the wiring with the PTT circuits. Jesse could not properly make sense of the instructions, which appeared to be inconsistent. The wiring diagram said one thing, the written instructions appeared to contradict the wiring diagram. We also had to remove the canard to try and trace several of the wires from the PTT circuit on the front stick. The wires were not clearly labelled, so we had to pull out the multimeter to make sense of the wiring.
We ended up suspending work at around 4.00 pm. Jesse took the installation instructions home and tried to match/compare them with the installation for the current intercom. After determining that, yes, the new intercom instructions were internally inconsistent, he ended up calling FlightTech support. They confirmed that the wiring diagram is right, and the written instructions wrong. (NOTE for use by anybody installing a FlightTech intercom).
The wiring diagram shows that the PTT circuit needs to be fundamentally rewired since more of the PTT processing capability resides in the intercom. For example, the previous PTT processing was operated by a single stick switch, but if the rear seat passenger was talking at the same time as the switch was pressed, that would be broadcast on the radio. With the new intercom, the passenger mike is not connected if the pilot is pressing the PTT. Only the pilot voice is transmitted.
The result is that Jesse will be completely re-wiring the PTT circuits between the radio and the intercom. This will probably involve discarding the existing wiring, since, in this type of situation, it usually takes less time to discard the wires and run new ones, compared to tracing all current wiring to determine which wires are connected to which devices. The wiring runs are only 24-36 inches long in any case.
Because the pilot PTT switch will not activate the co-pilot/passenger mike with the new intercom, I have ordered a second PTT switch from Spruce to fit in the rear seat stick. This will be wired into the intercom on a separate circuit so that the rear seat passenger can talk on the radio if required.
This intercom is beautifully small and compact, and if it works as well as it looks, the plane's communication system will be transformed. If it doesn't work, I might be learning some new Anglo-Saxon words in the weeks to come...

Link: http://www.anrheadsets.com

I just love vendors who not only supply a quality product, but who stand behind it.
In 2000, when I purchased the Long-EZ, I bought two Lightspeed 20XL headsets. I subsequently sold one on to Jesse when he wanted a second for his Cozy, and used that money to buy a LightSpeed 3G headset from James Redmon, whose head clearly is not as big as mine...he had bought the headset but it didn't fit his head properly.
A couple of years ago one of the stirrups broke on the 20XL. I phoned Lightspeed. They sent me 2 new stirrups by return mail at no charge.
Last year, the ANR unit began playing up. Again I called Joe at LightSpeed. They sent me a brand new new battery box unit with fitting instructions, again at no charge.
More recently, a plastic component on the underside of the headband broke on the 20XL. Today I phoned LightSpeed and again talked to Joe. Once again, I am getting a new plastic component sent to me. Also, LightSpeed is sending me new stirrups, which are apparently now made of a tougher more durable material.
Tremendous customer service. If all vendors were as good as this, customer service in the USA would be a pleasure, instead of the wild-goose chase and teeth-grinding experience that it usually becomes.

Link: http://www.frappr.com/longez

Acting on an email from Beagle (David Orr) about setting up a Frappr map, I just created one for Long-EZs and Berkuts.
I also created a map for Vari-EZEs.
If anybody wants to add themselves to either map, they are welcome to do so.
There is also a Frappr map for Cozy and Aerocanard owners, and a Frapper map for Velocity owners.

This morning, Jesse and I started work on fitting the new intercom to the plane. However, after a while, we noticed some things in the instructions and the hardware that began to concern us. Like the fact that the supplied headphone jacks were mono, not stereo. And the fact that the wiring diagram showed only 2 wires going to each headphone jack.
Then the truth hit us.
This is a mono intercom...
Before everybody bursts out laughing, let me quote the text from the Aircraft Spruce catalog (Page 494 for those of you who wish to read along) for the intercom:

The ITC-402P ENRI intercom is a small, easy to install intercom designed for the pilot who flies a small 2 or 4-place aircraft. Featuring single volume control operation, the pilot and passenger can enjoy quiet communications on those long cross-country trips. THe ITC-402P includes a stereo auxiliary audio input. To prevent missing ATC communications, the music is muted when either audio from the radio is present or there is intercom audio.
The new ITC-404S-P has full auxiliary stereo in and stereo out, with dual function muting.

Here is an example of the old saying that Assume means something that makes an Ass of U and Me...I read the phrase "includes a stereo auxiliary audio input" as implying that this was a stereo intercom. My reasoning was quite simple; if his was a mono intercom, a mono input would suffice.
This is not what it meant at all. When Jesse and I squinted at the small print on page 2 of the installation guide, this is what suddenly leapt out of the page at us:

Auxiliary Audio Stereo Input
A Stereo Auxiliary Input is provided allowing a tape or CD player to be connected to the ITC-402P. The audio output is mono to the headphones.

"mono to the headphones"....the terrible truth dawned. This is a mono intercom, which was not what I thought I had purchased.

After several minutes of sotto voce use of Anglo-Saxon, we pulled out the Spruce catalog and looked closely at the descriptions again. From reading the last line of the description, it is clear that the 2-place version (the ITC-402P) is a mono intercom, but the 4-place version (the ITC-404S-P) is a stereo intercom. This fits with a pattern I have seen with other manufacturers, where their 2-place versions are mono but the 4-place variants are stereo.
This intercom is going back to Spruce first thing on Monday, and I have ordered an ITC-404S-P. Fortunately we had not actually used any components of the intercom, so I was able to put it back in the box totally unused.
Third time's a charm? We'll see. In the meantime, I learned once again that it always pays to read the small print very carefully...

For some time, my intercom has been malfunctioning when both headsets are connected in the plane. The headsets distort badly. This is not a radio issue - the radio works fine (otherwise I would probably have been forced to land by the authorities).
The original intercom in the plane is a mono intercom built from a kit at the same time the plane was built. I have been wanting to install a stereo intercom for some time. However, the main replacement issue is that the intercom is currently installed in the panel on the right hand side of the plane in the front seat area where the fuses and switches are installed. The current intercom is on a circuit board that measures only 3 inches long by less than 2 inches wide, so any replacement intercom would need to be able to fit into the same space. I have no current panel space for a conventional panel-mounted intercom.
After some searching, I finally located a suitable intercom - the FlightTech ITC-402P. It comes as a kit for panel mounting, but the board can easily be removed from the kit and installed in the same slot as the current mono intercom. I ordered it from Spruce for $269.95. Initially I suffered from finger trouble and ordered the wrong darned version - they sent me the 2-place portable version of the intercom. I sent that back for credit and re-ordered the correct item.
The headphone speaker jacks will need to be rewired for stereo also. No big deal. I bought the wire and jacks for this from B&C.
The circuit board for the intercom is tiny. Here it is:

This should easily fit where the current mono intercom board fits.
The intercom has automatic squelch, ENRI noise reduction, pilot and co-pilot PTT, aux stereo input with automatic mute (this will be even better when I connect up my XM Radio circuit - I dream of a Garmin 396 for next Christmas) and pilot isolate.
My only complaint is that the Installation Guide is close to unreadable, because they printed it as 2-ups on 8.5 by 11 paper to save space. The lettering is way too small, and the printing is not firm enough. When I scanned the pages at 150 dpi, I found the manual to be much easier to read. I will be printing it as single pages on 8.5 x 11 paper to make life easier.