Lifting Com Audio

I don’t actually tap the com line itself because I frequently work in places with various types of com systems between analog ClearCom, Helixnet, and FreeSpeak. Because of this, I decided that instead of making a com line tap it would be a better idea to make something more platform-agnostic.

So what I have is essentially a cable with a 4 pin XLR on one end and a 3 pin XLR on the other.

I take the two “speaker” pins on the 4 pin connector and wire them to the two audio pins on the XLR3. + to +, and – to -.

I don’t worry about the two mic pins but it is, in theory, possible to send audio back down those as well to input into a system. This would need a separate connector on the two mic lines. 

That little cable plugs into any beltpack on any system and then into any audio interface. 

Essentially what I’m doing is just tapping the speaker lines for a headset. It does mean that audio has to give me an extra beltpack on whatever system they’re using, but that’s typically not a problem.

When I’m capturing archive, I can plug my little cable right into a master station, too. You could also accomplish this if you are on an installed system with a spare 4-wire port. Two wires are input, two are output. Map that port to whatever channel you want and you’re golden.

Now, if you ONLY work in places with analog clearcom, you can absolutely tap the 3-pin line. The three lines are essentially audio +, DC power +, and a shared ground. You’d just tap the Audio + and ground and not use the DC+ pin/wire. AVLifesavers sells this product, too