What happens if I plug in regular aircraft monaural headsets into a stereo intercom system wired for stereo headsets?
A. What happens depends on the design of the intercom system. At the very least you will get reduced performance. At most you or anyone else in the aircraft may hear music but will not hear intercom or aircraft radio reception. This latter situation is the reason that monaural headsets should not be plugged directly into stereo headset jacks wired for stereo. If stereo to mono plug adapters are used then the intercom and headsets will function correctly. Since the headphone plugs used on general aviation headsets are the same as that used in home stereo equipment, these stereo to mono headphone plug adapters can be readily purchased at your local electronics store. The gory details: Stereo headset jacks have three electrical connections. A regular general aviation monaural headset has a headphone plug with only two electrical connections. When you plug this two connection plug into a three connection stereo jack it shorts two of the connections together (the RING and BARREL). If the RI
