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David Clark H10-76 Conversion Kit – How to (H10-76XL)

by CpU on Apr.11, 2010, under Acousticom, Advice, Aviation, Aviation Headset, Education, Random

Do you have an old David Clark H10-76 or David Clark H10-76XL laying around from your years in the military? Or you can buy a H10-76 for cheap off eBay.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could turn that nice DC Headset into an aviation headset for less then 80 bucks?

If you are ready to convert your David Clark military headset to civilian aviation, then follow these steps.

	Step 1: You will need to buy a few things to make sure the headset will work in your aircraft correctly. Because military headsets are low impedance and aviation headsets are high impedance, we must first obtain the right microphone impedance. A 150 Ohm amplified electret microphone will do the trick!
Now you may also need to convert the U-174/U connector on the headset to the two plug PJ-055 and PJ-068 connectors. If you are in a Helicopter, this step is not necessary. Some may need to replace the earphones. Military headset earphones are low impedance and that can sometimes cause malfunction with other standard high-impedance headsets. By converting the 19 Ohm earphones to 300 Ohm earphones, you achieve a full conversion for the H10-76 headset.
	Now where do you buy these things as a kit?Well Acousticom would be the cheapest place, but many websites supply their versions on this kit. Acousticom offers three versions: 1. H10-76 Conversion Kit ($72) 2. H10-76 Conversion Kit Plus ($120) 3. H10-76 Conversion Kit Deluxe ($150)
H10-76 Conversion Kit ($72) This is the basic kit. You will get: (1) 150 Ohm Amplified Electret Mic (1) U-174/U to Aviation Adapter This would be for someone who is converting the H10-76(XL) to a civilian airplane that flies alone. The earphones have not been converted to high-impedance yet, so some pilots may report a malfunction when using more then 1 headset in the aircraft.
	H10-76 Conversion Kit Plus ($120) This is the full conversion kit for the H10-76 David Clark headset. You will get: (1) 150 Ohm Amplified Electret Mic (1) U-174/U to Aviation Adapter (2) 300 Ohm Earphones With the full conversion, you have a fully functional Aviation headset for less then buying a new one.
H10-76 Conversion Kit Deluxe ($150) This is the full conversion kit with boom upgrade for the H10-76 David Clark headset. You will get: (1) 150 Ohm Amplified Electret Mic (1) U-174/U to Aviation Adapter (2) 300 Ohm Earphones (1) 1/2 Flex 1/2 Wire Boom With this conversion kit plus upgrade you now have a high end headset. You never knew that your old military headset could be used for something.
Step 2: You will now need to install the kit into your headset. Each item has screws that loosen the leads to the element. You will need a small screw driver (similar to ones you use on glasses) to replace the microphone and earphone elements. Plug the headset into the adapter, and then that’s it! You are all done.