
Thanks to Mike K for the motivation to get this project going. The idea was to come up with a DIY adapter that was easy enough to make to allow me to use my Bose QC2 headphones in the airplane. Because I’m not a Part 135 or Part 121 operator, I don’t need TSO, even in certified aircraft. The price of the old Bose QC2 headsets is plummeting on eBay and used sets can be found for under $50. If you include the cost of the pieces for the DIY headset kit, you can have a very nice, lightweight set of noise cancelling aircraft headphones for much less than even the cheapest sets out ther today.
- Wireless Conversion Kit Short Cable for Bose QC15 QC2
- USB Reading Lamp
- 1/4″ Plugs for Patch Cables
- .206 Microphone Plug
- Total Cost = $37.18
- For the electronics, the big components are:
- Electret Mic – I used EM-9745UN ($2.19)
- NPN Transistor – 2N5089 ($0.54)
- If you want to get fancy, I ordered a nice 4 conductor extension cable for a nicer fit and finish:
The Schematic for the Mic Circuit is Below for Reference



















