Aviation Headset Adapter for Yaesu Handheld Radios

I am both a private pilot and and a ham radio operator. In using my ham radio it is sometimes desirable to use headphones to better hear transmissions. Many of the headsets purpose-built for handhelds are expensive, around $100-200 (although good aviation headsets are more expensive). Since I already had an aviation headset, my purpose was to repurpose it for use with my handheld.

The microphone-speaker jacks for handheld ham radios are different for different manufacturers. They are even different for different radios made by the same manufacturer. On the other hand, aviation headsets for airplanes have a standard set of two jacks, a microphone input (small diameter plug, 5.23mm or 0.206″) and a speaker output (large diameter plug, 6.35mm or 0.250″).

One issue is the Push-To-Talk (PTT) switch. This is the button that connects the microphone to the transmitter. In airplanes the PTT switch can be a button on the control yoke, or it can be a button placed in-line between the headset microphone plug and the radio microphone input jack. Ham radios work much the same way although in handhelds the PTT switch and microphone are integrated into the unit.

Yaesu handheld radios have an auxiliary jack (3.5 mm) for external microphone/speakers. This is handy for wearing the radio on your belt but having the microphone/speaker near your head.

Yaesu makes aviation radios so the headset adapter for those radios also works with ham radios. The adapter is relatively inexpensive (around $20) and is available from aviation supply stores (see [1] and [2]).

Using the adapter, an aviation headset can be connected to the handheld. A PTT button could be added, but it’s less clutter to use the radio’s PTT button with the headset. The headset provides a better, somewhat more private, listening experience, particularly in noisy environments. And like in the airplane, if you have to listen to something in the din you can always uncover one ear.