Leave the Batteries Behind: Why Pilots Are Upgrading to Panel Power

There’s a moment every pilot dreads.

You're halfway into a long leg, settled into cruise, and then, beep. Your headset chirps. Noise canceling dies. Suddenly, the peaceful hum of the cockpit turns into a full-throttle roar - you check the control module. Batteries are dead. Of course.

Now you’re fumbling for spares, pulling open your flight bag, and doing mental math to figure out how long you can go without ANR before your ears hate you. It’s not just annoying, it’s downright distracting. And that distraction could’ve been avoided entirely.

That’s the reality of flying with battery-powered ANR headsets. And that’s exactly why more and more pilots are upgrading their aircraft to panel-powered LEMO connections and installing the panel-powered "Lemo" controller on their Bose headsets.

What Is Panel Power — and Why Should You Care?

The LEMO 6-Pin connector is the single-plug connector you’ve probably seen in newer aircraft like Cirrus SR22s or Beechcraft Bonanzas. It’s round, has six pins, and combines power, mic, and audio into one neat, click-lock plug. No battery. No dual GA plugs. No extra wires.

With panel power installed, your headset is powered directly from the aircraft's electrical system. That means your ANR is always on, no batteries required. Just clean, consistent power every time you turn the master on.

Whether you fly a Cessna 172, Piper Archer, RV-10, or a homebuilt, adding a LEMO jack is one of the smartest upgrades you can make, especially if you already use a Bose A10, A20, A30, David Clark One-XP, or Lightspeed Zulu headset.

No More Dead Batteries, No More Headaches

As a headset repair shop, we’ve seen the damage batteries can do. It’s not just the hassle of remembering to swap them out before a flight. We’ve seen battery leaks ruin $1,000+ headsets — corrosion that eats through circuit boards, destroys switches, and leaves pilots with an expensive repair (or replacement) bill.

And here’s the kicker: battery leak damage is almost never covered under a manufacturer's warranty.

Even when they don’t leak, batteries degrade. As voltage drops, ANR performance weakens. Your headset may still seem fine, but the noise reduction quietly fades, and you won’t always notice until your ears start ringing after the flight.

Panel power eliminates all of that. It’s clean, consistent, and stable. You’ll never carry spare AA batteries again. And your headset will always be at 100% performance, every time you power up.

Installing the LEMO Jack: What to Expect

With our LEMO Installation Kit, you can add panel power to your aircraft with minimal effort and zero avionics shop downtime. Most installations can be completed in under an hour, especially if you readily have access to the back of your panel.

Here’s how it works:

1. Choose Your Mounting Location
   Most pilots install the LEMO jack close to the existing GA headset jacks, either side-by-side or slightly below. All you need is 0.55" of space for the keyed hole. The connector is self-latching, and the hole cutout dimensions are included in the kit. 
   
   If you're retrofitting a custom panel or experimental aircraft, you’ve got flexibility. The included 36" harness gives you room to mount the jack where it’s most convenient.
2. Drill the Hole and Insert the Connector
   Use a step drill or Unibit to make a 0.55" (14mm) hole with a flat notch (keyed) to keep the LEMO jack from rotating. The kit includes the connector, nut, and lock washer. Once it's in place, secure it firmly from the rear.
3. Connect the Wiring Harness
   The kit includes eight labeled wires. Here’s how you’ll hook them up:
   • Pin 1 – Power (Red): Connect to a fused 10–32 VDC source. Most pilots use a spare ¼ or ½ amp breaker or tap into the AUX power bus.
   • Pin 2 – Ground (Black): Ground to airframe or intercom ground.
   • Pin 3 – Left Audio (White): Connect to the left headphone signal.
   • Pin 4 – Right Audio (Blue): Connect to the right headphone signal.
   • Pin 5 – Mic High (White): Connect to the ring terminal of the mic jack.
   • Pin 6 – Mic Low (White/Blue): Connect to the barrel terminal of the mic jack.
   • Shield Wires (2 total): Tie the mic shield to the mic jack ground and the audio shield to headphone ground.

   You can solder the connections, but we recommend using high-quality crimp connectors or solder sleeves to keep it serviceable and clean.

4. Test and Verify
   Before closing everything up, test the connection with a known-good LEMO headset:
   • Turn on the master switch.
   • Check for power to the headset (ANR should activate).
   • Confirm mic transmission and clear audio in both ears.
   • If needed, flip the stereo/mono switch on the headset to match your intercom.
5. Have Your A&P Sign Off
   Panel power installs are considered a minor alteration, so your A&P can sign it off with a simple logbook entry after inspection. No 337 or STC required. If you’re flying an experimental aircraft, you can do it all yourself.

Add Flexibility with Plug-and-Play Accessories

Once you’ve got panel power installed, you can get even more out of your setup with some of our other accessories designed specifically for panel powered headsets, including:

• LEMO Splitter: Lets two headsets obtain power from, and share one LEMO jack.
• LEMO Extension Cable: Our long Lemo extension cable adds 5 feet of length, perfect for rear-seat headsets and larger cabins. Our 8 inch cable has lots of great uses. It can be used as a break away cable, a short extension pigtail cable, or as an alternative to allowing direct plugins to the aircraft panel. Instead of plugging directly to the panel, you plug the headset into the pigtail so if someone accidentally force the connector in, it won’t damage the expensive panel connector, and only the pigtail will need to be replaced saving you lots of money. 
• Lemo to PJ Plug Adapter: Once you have a Lemo headset, if you ever want to fly an aircraft with twin GA plugs, simply snap in the adapter, and you will instantly convert your Lemo headset to PJ plugs. Don't want to use batteries when flying aircraft with PJ plugs? Then you will love our USB-powered Lemo to GA PJ plug adapter. This adapter allows you to power your Lemo headset with any USB port on the aircraft. Just connect the included USB cable to the adapter and plug the other end into a USB port, and it will instantly power your headset.

Now’s the Time to Make the Switch

If you're already flying with a Bose A20 or A30, a Lightspeed Zulu, or a David Clark One-XP, you’re using a top-tier headset. But batteries are the weak link, and you don't have to accept that. It is super easy to switch out a Bose A20 headset from twin PJ plus to Lemo. All you need is the Bose Lemo controller, or, depending on the Bose controller, you may need just an A20 Lemo cable. 

Adding a LEMO jack to your aircraft doesn’t just clean up your cockpit; it makes your flying safer, quieter, and more reliable.

No more mid-flight power loss. No more carrying around extra batteries, adding weight to your flight bag.  No more corrosion risk. Just smooth, uninterrupted ANR from takeoff to shutdown.

Ready to Fly Battery-Free?

With our LEMO installation kits, most installs can be completed in an afternoon, and once it’s in, you’re done for good. Once you fly panel-powered, there’s no going back.