The BlueLink User guide

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Avee BlueLink May 2023-1105

Avee BlueLink April 2023-1304

Previous version (non pdf)

Document version December 21st 2022

How to use the BlueLink MkII
In this presentation, we are going through all features of the Avee BlueLink.

Technical specifications are found in the BlueLink Technical spesifications tab on this page.

We would recommend skimming through this document quickly before you start using the BlueLink. That will save you a lot of work (and frustrations).

You will be able to configure and test the BlueLink from home – ‘almost’ as you were in an aircraft – but you will need to know how to do it!

How the BlueLink is connected to the aircraft
The BlueLink MkII is connected to the Avee microphone using any Avee400 cable. Typically a 45 cm cable is used when the BlueLink is clipped on your seatbelt, but any available Avee400 cable length can be used. 

The straight end of this cable is plugged into the top of the BlueLink, and the angled connector is plugged into the Avee microphone.

Another Avee400 cable is plugged into the side of the BlueLink and then plugged into the aircraft via the appropriate adapter (dual GA/XLR-5 etc).

The BlueLink side keys
The BlueLink has 5 keys on the side according to the drawing:

• On / off key
  To switch the BlueLink on & off and to do a full reset
• Function key
  From this key you set the BlueLink mute mode in addition to some other features describe later.
• Volume + and volume – to set the level of the Bluetooth audio source 
• Play / pause & accept call / hang up
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All keys are covered in detail further down in this document.

The keys can be operated in several ways:

• tapping: short press
  
• Press and hold for a second – or two
• Double tap: two quick presses within a short second
• Tap and hold: short press&release and then press and hold
• Double tap and hold:2x short presses&releases and then press and hold
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The BlueLink Led indications
On the top of the BlueLink you find the BlueLink Status indication led.

This led is indicating the status of the BlueLink:

• Blue blinking led: pairing mode
• Green blinking led: connected
• Green blinking led with occasional red: connected, but battery getting low.
• Green & blue blinking led: reconnecting
• Red blinking red: active phone call
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The BlueLink Voice Detect indication led is found on the bottom side of the BlueLink; close to the USB charging connection.

• Green steady led: Normal operation
• Blue led: steady and flashing. Indicates that aircraft audio is detected.
• Orange flashing led: in mute level or mute length setting.
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Audio messages from the BlueLink
On some commands, the BlueLink responds by issuing audio mesages.

To be able to hear these messages, you need to connect your headset to the BlueLink.

How to charge the BlueLink
The Avee BlueLink contains a lithium battery and needs to be charged. It can not receive charge power from for example the XLR-5 connector.

• Charging is started by plugging in the included USB C cable iinto the bottom side of the BlueLink. The other end (USB type A) is connected to a power source.
• The BlueLink indicates charging with a short green flash every second.
• Charging is finished when the BlueLink is giving a 500ms flash every second.
• Charging typically takes one hour.
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Please note that the BlueLink is not operational when charging is active!

How to switch the BlueLink on and off
The BlueLink can be switched on in two ways:

• by tapping (we define tapping as as a short press 1-100ms) the on / off key 
• By connecting the BlueLink to an aircraft with the Avee400 cable & Avee41x adapter.
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In both cases, the BlueLink responds by turning on and giving the audio message ‘Avee BlueLink Power On’ in the headset (if connected).

The BlueLink can be switched off manually by pressing and holding the on/off key for three seconds.

The BlueLink responds by giving the audio message ‘Power off’.

The BlueLink is automatically switched off:

• after 6 minutes if not connected to an aircraft (avionics on & bias voltage detected).
• The BlueLink is issuing the message ‘Power off’ 20 seconds prior to switching the power off in this case.
• Please note: you can extend this time by new 6 minutes by pressing any key on the BlueLink. 
• After 60-80 seconds if not paired with any Bluetooth device.
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How to pair the BlueLink with a Bluetooth device (phone/pad etc)
The BlueLink is going to pairing mode when it is switched on the first time and not paired to any device.

This is indicated with a flashing blue indication led on the BlueLink.

Pairing
Go to your Bluetooth device -> settings and connect to the Avee BlueLink.

When paired, the BlueLink will respond with the audio message ‘Device connected’. 

The indication led will start flashing green every second when a device is connected.

Unpairing/factory reset
The BlueLink can be deleted from a Bluetooth device by deleting it on the Bluetooth device paired list.

Factory reset
The BlueLink can be reset to factory settings by the following procedure:

• Switch the BlueLink off
• When the BlueLink is off, press and hold the on/off key for 13 seconds. The Bluelink will issue the audio message ‘Full reset’.
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Automatic reconnects
The BlueLink is automatically reconnecting to the last device it was connected to when it is powered on (manually or automatically).

The BlueLink is issuing the message ‘Device connected’ when a reconnect is successfully done. A reconnect is typically done with 5 seconds of BlueLink power on.

Battery level
You can get the battery level on the BlueLink by double tapping Mode key.

The BlueLink will respond with the audio message ‘Battery fully charged’ or ‘Battery level xx percent’ (in 20 percent steps).  

Aircraft stereo or mono
The BlueLink will always feed stereo music to the Avee aviation microphone & headset – regardless of if you have stereo available in your aircraft (almost no aircraft do).

However: if you do have stereo audio available in your aircraft – set the BlueLink to stereo mode by pressing and holding the 

Mode key and ‘Volume -‘ key for a second. Do the same again, and the BlueLink switches back to Aircaft mono (which is the default).

If you set the BlueLink to Aircraft Stereo, and the aircraft do not support stereo (or wired on left channel only) – you will most likely loose the aircraft audio in the right ear. 

Please note: The Mono stereo setting on the Avee microphone should be set to Mono – or the same setting you normally use.

The Avee microphone is detecting that a BlueLink is present and gives you full stereo Bluetooth audio as long as the red led is lit on the Avee microphone. 

BlueLink test mode
Before we go into playing with the BlueLink we will introduce the BlueLink Testmode function. This function is generateing the bias voltage internally – the voltage that is feeding the microphone/headset when in the aircraft. 

This again makes it possible to test almost all functions on the BlueLink when not connected to an aircraft – and it is very handy; believe me.

When the Avee microphone is connected to the BlueLink – and NOT being in connected to an aircraft, the Avee microphone will not have a red light (power) simply because there is no bias voltage available. 

We can turn on this voltage by going to BlueLink testmode:

• Make sure the BlueLink is on and NOT connected to a USB source
• Press and hold the ‘Mode key’ and ‘Volume + key for a second’.
• The BlueLink will respond with the audio message ‘BlueLink Test Mode’, and the internal bias generator will be switched on.
• Verify that the red led on the Avee microphone is now switched on.
• When talking into the microphone, you should now hear your own voice in the headset (slightly muffled).
• Whenever you talk, you will see the blue Voice Detect indication led switch on – indicating (simulated) aircraft audio is detected.
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You find the BlueLink Voice Detect indication led on the left side of the USB charge plug in the bottom of the BlueLink.

The Testmode feature will make it much easier for you to understand how the BlueLink is working.

Playing music
Whenever the BlueLink is connected to your Bluetooth device, it can play and pause music, go to previous & next songs in addition to control Bluetooth volume settings.

This is all done with the top-most play & pause key. 

Open your connected device and go to play music to see how this works practially:

• Play music
  Tap the play & pause music switch. The connected device will toggle between play & pause music.
  Music should be heard in your headset.
  .
• Adjust Bluetooth device volume
  Adjust the output volume by using the volume keys. Verify that the volume on the phone is changing accordingly.
  The volume keys can be tapped, tapped repetitively, or held in.
  The volume will change fast accordingly.
• Please note that it is not possible to set the aircraft radio & intercom volume from the BlueLink. These settings are performed from the aircraft.
• The BlueLink can ONLY ADJUST THE BLUETOOTH DEVICE volume.
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Next song
The next song is selected by double tapping the Play Key. The next song should start playing (regardless of if the BlueLink was in pause mode before this command).

Previous song
The previous song is selected by pressing and holding the Play key for two seconds. The BlueLink should now play the previous song (again regardless of if the BlueLink was in pause mode before this command).

Muting Bluetooth audio
Automatic Bluetooth audio muting is a very important feature on BlueLink, and we have three different ways or modes for muting. To hear which mode is currently active, tap the Mode key.

The BlueLink will respond with the audio message: Level mute (factory setting) or Audio-book mute or Mix Audio.

Level mute
In level mute mode, the Bluetooth audio is 

• immediately muted to a configurable level whenever audio is detected from the aircraft (intercom & radios) and 
• slowly going back to normal level at a configurable time after aircraft audio is not detected.

Audio-book mute
In this mute mode, the Bluetooth audio is 

• immediately paused whenever aircraft audio is detected. 
• starts playing again at a configurable time after aircraft audio is not detected.

Mix mute
The mix mute is no mute at all really: when this mode is selected, aircraft audio is mixed with Bluetooth audio.

(You could create the same mode by selecting Level mute and configuring the mute level to max setting. We have chosen to add this mode for the sake of simplicity. )

Selecting mute mode
The mute mode is selected by pressing and holding the Mute key for around one second.

The BlueLink will respond by stepping through and announcing the three different mute modes.

Please keep in mind that you can hear which mode is currently active by tapping the mode key.

Setting the mute level when in level mute mode
The level to which the BlueLink is muting Bluetooth audio can be set by using the following simple (..) procedure:

1. Turn on the BlueLink Testmode function (if not in an aircraft)
2. Play music from the BlueLink and set the audio level to a comfortable level (please note that a comfortable level will depend on if you are actually in an aircraft or not…) 
3. Set the headset ANR ON.
4. Make sure the BlueLink is in level mute by tapping the mode key. The BlueLink should respond with the audio message ‘Level mute’. If this is not so, select the correct mute mode by checking out the ‘Selecting mute mode’ in the previous chapter. It is not possible to set the mute level when not in ‘Level mute’ mode.
5. Now it comes to the point where you have to focus and do two things at the same time (and it is most easily done with two hands):

1. 1. Tap and hold (repeating: tap and hold) the mode key: the BlueLink will respond with the audio message ‘Set mute level’.
   2. The BlueLink mute indication led will start flashing orange and you will now hear the music muted in the headset. 
      1. Adjust the muted level with the volume keys (still while holding the mode key).
      2. When you are happy with the mute level: release all keys.
      3. The music level will go back to the level you set before the procedure started, and the Mute Indication led will turn green.
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Setting the mute length – level mute and audio-book mode
The mute length – the time the BlueLink is level muting (level mute mode) or pausing BlueTooth audio (in Audio-book mode) can easily be configured individually for each of these two modes by using this simple procedure:

1. Switch on the ANR on the headset and play some nice music from the BlueLink.
2. Select the mode for which you would like to adjust the mute length.
3. Tap the mode key to hear which mode you are in (level mute or Audiobook mute): Press and hold to switch to a different mute mode.
4. Please note that mix mode can not be selected when setting mute length.
5. Ok; time to focus:
   1. Double tap and hold (yes; that was double tap and hold) the mode key.
   2. The BlueLink is responding with the audio message Set Mute Length and the Mute Indication Led is flashing orange.   
   3. Hold the Mode key as long as you want the BlueLink to mute or  pause Bluetooth audio when aircraft audio is detected.
   4. Let go the Mode key when you are happy with the mute length. The Mute Led will turn green.
   5. If you are not happy with the result; simply do it again.
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Phone functionality
For many of us folks flying smaller aircraft, the phone functionality comes in handy; when you are lost in air (it can happen), when you forgot the PPR (happens often) – or your better half is calling (happens very often). 

When someone is calling in – you can accept the call by tapping the play key. The call will come into your headset and you can talk like normal.

Rejecting an incoming call – or ending an active call – is done by holding the play key for a second. The BlueLink will in this case respond with the message ‘Call ended’ and hang up.

What you hear as default ( aircraft mode)
When you are in an active call, the default is that you hear the aircraft audio as normal, you hear the person calling, and the calling person and your co-pilot/atc can hear you.
Your co-pilot/ATC can not hear the voice of the person calling in.

If you would like to have a more private call, you have two choices:

• private mode or
• full private mode
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These modes are selected by pressing and holding the mode key for a second (then letting go): looping from Aircraft mode to Private mode to Full private mode.

So in short:

• Aircraft mode: You can hear the co-pilot or ATC, the co-pilot and ATC can hear you (of course you need the ptt to talk to ATC).
•  
• Private mode: You can hear the co-pilot or ATC, the co-pilot and ATC can NOT hear you (not even when you press the ptt to talk to ATC).
•  Full private mode: You can hear nothing but the person on the phone: You can not hear the co-pilot or ATC, the co-pilot or ATC can NOT hear you .
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When you eventually hang up, the BlueLink mode goes back to normal Aircraft mode.

****** This manual will be updated on a regular basis ******