What's good for talking to your buddies while riding?

[Kraig]

Hi,

I was wondering if someone knows of some good technology for talking to your buddies while riding? I am thinking about some VOX radios with the mic and ear bud. I was wondering if anyone knows of some good ones that have good VOX functionality. Range probably isn't an issue, but battery life may be. Also, has anyone tried those throat mics? They wouldn't have the wind noise or traffic noises, but how good is the speech quality? Does it sound muffled? I would love to hear what others use.

Thanks.

[Lion_Lady]

You can get Chatterbox or MotoCom for <$200 per rider. Decent quality. But not very durable.

I've got Autocom and LOVE IT! There's also Starcom1. Either of those can be bike powered or battery powered. There are different systems available depending on what ELSE you want to hook up. (I listen to XM on my Autocom and the GPS can talk to me as well).

Will run you anywhere from $300-$600 new. BUT they won't crap out on you in the middle of a daylong ride, or halfway thru the season.

check out autocomamerica.com

P

[Shorts]

Hi,

I was wondering if someone knows of some good technology for talking to your buddies while riding? I am thinking about some VOX radios with the mic and ear bud. I was wondering if anyone knows of some good ones that have good VOX functionality. Range probably isn't an issue, but battery life may be. Also, has anyone tried those throat mics? They wouldn't have the wind noise or traffic noises, but how good is the speech quality? Does it sound muffled? I would love to hear what others use.

Thanks.

We're waiting on our Motocomm headsets now (speakers, mic, PTT button and wiring) that will work with our Motorola Talkabouts. It was our only requirement to talk bike-to-bike. We don't ride with music, gps, phone or anything else needing audio connection.

As for VOX, I think it's going to be difficult to find any brand that will be "excellent" in this regard. There's so much going on as far as background noise that it will be a bit of a task to get the perfect VOX operation. Especially at higher cruising speeds.


Lion_Lady, with your Autocom, are you able to communicate bike-to-bike? I've seen the Starcom units, and they'd be what I'd give a shot if we were getting the complete audio capabilities.

[Kraig]

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't planning on listening to the radio or anything else, but if I get that Autocom that would be an added bonus. Especially when they get the bluetooth functionality, answering my cell phone would be nice instead of checking it everytime I stop to see if I missed a call. How was the installation?

What do you guys use for listening, earbud earphones or helmet speakers? I would think the helmet speakers are more comfortable, but the earbuds would block out environment noises better so I wouldn't have the volume turned up so loud.

The GMRS radios may still be worth a try because they are so cheap. You can get in-glove finger PTT buttons that the paintball guys use. Don't know if that will just get in the way or not. I am still thinking I will try one of those throat mics with the VOX functionality on the radio. Throat mics only pickup the vibration from your voice. They do not pickup wind noise, traffic noise, or any other background noise. This way they should work well for VOX without interference from the environment noises. That's what the paintball guys say. Iasus Concepts seem to be the highest quality, http://www.iasus-concepts.com/. They make a package for motorcycles, but I think I would prefer the earphone instead of the helmet speakers. I'll let you know what I try and how it works.

[Lion_Lady]

Well. In MD, earbuds are illegal, but helmet speakers are not.

I like the helmet speakers. The autocom has two volume settings: with and without (noise protection) earplugs.

The basic Autocom set up is for rider to passenger communication. For bike to bike, you need to get FRS/GMRS radios. We use Motorola Talkabouts. (Hubby has a Starcom1 system and I've got Autocom.) A plus: You can use the radios in whatever other system you end up getting.

Call autocom and talk to a salesperson. They'll take time with you and answer questions. Very helpful.

P