| Author | Message | ||
     Kccyclone |
Does anybody have experience with the chatterbox bike to bike comunicators or similar units. I know they work well on the tour bikes with quiet exhaust, but do they work well with aftermarket loud exhausts?  Larry | ||
| Eor |
what?  | ||
| Choptop |
no. I tried the chatterbox on my 99 S3T. The Buell was too loud to use the chatterbox at anything above 20-30mph or at a stop sign. This was true with the stock exhaust, more ture with the WhiteBros. E Series, and the system was completely useless with the Kooks system (too loud to ride even with ear plugs for my taste). I've HEARD that the Autocomm system claims "any bike, any speed", and heard 2nd hand stories of the system beinge so good you can carry on a cell phone comversation while riding and hear and be heard just fine. but I have not personally tried the Autocomm | ||
| Kccyclone |
Thanks Choptop...I heard the same about the chatterbox...and had not heard of Autocomm..I will have to do some research... | ||
| Trac95ker |
Thats funny, I'm looking into the same thing. I was going to get the chatterbox. It sounded pretty good. Now I have second thoughts. Are you talking about Autocomamerica? http://www.autocomamerica.com/docs/home.cfm | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Coolice has an autocomm, and loves it. I want to get a couple of these for the wife and I to communicate with on rides. Anyone up for a powerbuy?  | ||
| Trac95ker |
yes | ||
| Steve_mackay |
most BMW dealers carry ther Autocomm systems. I can check with our local one, but they are a bit snobbish IMHO. Maybe a better idea would be to get enough people interested in ordering the autocomm units, and get one of the spnsors such as Daves to become an autocomm dealer. | ||
| Trac95ker |
Steve Mackey, Do you know if the Chatterbox was anFRS 2 and did he have noise canceling a headset? Theres a price difference between autocom and Chatterbox. Found another brand. http://www.baehrusa.com/index.html | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Buddy of mine tried the Natty (sp?) and said it was terrible for pilot/passenger communications. Got a Firefox throat mic, plugs into a handheld radio like the motorolas, works alright, once you get the ptt button sorted out. They have a new kit for pilot to passenger comm that looks interesting, has a sound tube that runs to both ears - I use similar equip at work with nice sound transmission. Anyway, dual mics on that unit and you can run music through mp3 and the like. Talked to the makers last year, they had this current model in the makings then - should have a automatic cut out that's voice activated. Firefox technologies dot com I think. -Mike | ||
| Trac95ker |
I talked to Daniel Johnson at Firefox. It sounds like a good system. They use it for skydiving (120mph wind) and all sorts of stuff.He said the throat mics are vibration activated. Patented too. He says there is no ambient noise. The biggest problem is that people talk to loud and it overloads the mics. They are woking on a custom molded do it your self ear bud kit that blocks out 90% of noise. That gives you the perfect fit. He said that main design was for people who did'nt want to wear helmets. All kits are coponent buildable. The extreme is bike to bike only. $79.00 Road warrior is b to b and intercom and audio input, two mics. $i34.95 You need a cheap radio like the motorolas they sell at wall mart to do bike to bike and the $25.00 adapter they sell seperately. Sounds like the best mic on the market and the kits are buildable so you can add stuff later. In January they will have the Cell phone/GPS/ radar kit available. They are working on software now. Cabellas caries their stuff. | ||
| Trac95ker |
I just ordered the Firefox Road Warrior system with Bike to Bike. | ||
| Josh_ |
I've found wind noise to be a far greater factor in how well a system works. We have a Chatterbox FRS2 voice cancelling system that we use on long trips. Over about 60MPH the system is pretty hopeless w/o a quiet helmet and a big windshield. If she's on the Blast she needs to drop to about 40 (no windshield ya know) before I can hear her over the windblast. I tried Clearcom's throat mic and found it pretty useless. Hope the Firefox stuff works better. | ||
| Coolice |
Autocomamerica, they sell direct to you and have a website. Tech support and product. Speaker placement is critical and you can get in the ear plug/speakers now. Just used it this last weekend for 3 days phone and all, just didn't spend the time to position speakers so sound wasn't as good. Check the web site they have complete bike to bike systems. | ||
| Kcfirebolt |
Autocom is a great system Expensive, but it's been worth every penny to me. | ||
| Kccyclone |
Charles, you ought to meet up with us at Fuell on Thurs. or Fri. nights for a ride...and bring the Autocom for some of the KC's Least Wanted crew to check out... Larry | ||
| Henrik |
Josh wrote: We have a Chatterbox FRS2 voice cancelling system that we use on long trips. Is that so you can have some peace and quiet while riding ???  Henrik | ||
| Easy_rider |
This months Motorcycle Escape has a review on several systems. They were very impressed with Autocomm, calling the bike to bike with an added Kenwood radio "eerily lifelike". Here's a quick rundown: Autocomm Active-7-Smart: $299 each Pros: Noiese-free performance guarantee; great clarity;compact size;many cofiguration options fantastic customer service. Cons: Difficult to access controls under seat; adapters needed for basic communication. Baerh Verso XL $699 Pros: Auto volume level feature;auxiliary plug-in capability; plugs into most wiring harnesses; allows you to prioritize signals; super cutomer service. Cons: Expensive; helmet install can be tricky; adjustments can be a chore; Capo option (for bike-to-bike) clutters thinks up. Chatterbox FRS-X2 $279.95 Pros: Clean design; easy set up; built-in batterey; accessible controls; solid customer service. Cons; Tricky initial VOX set up. Helmet clamp not compatible with all helmets. Collett Communicators Platinum 900 $219.95 each Pros: Easy install; long battery life; removable main unit; tough waterproof design. Conns: Batter pack is carried off helmet. No PTT switch. J&P Cycles IC993 Communicators $60 Pros: Plug-and-play installation; basic communication for two for under $100. Cons: Tinny sound and dubious clarity , short battery life, no noise canceling, limited accessories. Motorola Bluetooth HS 930 $179 each Pros:Wireless, simple installation, low cost, communications easily transferred off of bike. Cons: One speaker; sound quality deteriorates at speed, cna only add Bluetooth devices. | ||
| Captainplanet |
Collett Communicators, hands down. They just work. | ||
| Josh_ |
oops. don't tell her I said that  incidentally, we got ours for ~$180 per set and found VOX to be useless. All in all, we'll keep using it until something revolutionary and cheap appears on the market. | ||
| Captainplanet |
The con listed above about the collett not having a PTT switch is interesting. The VOX on it actually works so well, you would never need a PTT switch. Both of our bikes have loud pipes and the collett VOX works flawlessly. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I have a collett cell phone adapter (actually, I think I have two laying around somewhere). I don't currently use it as it did not work well with my flip front helmet, and I found it a distraction. But while I had it on, I was on a packed interstate at 60 mph talking to a friend on the cell phone, and they were not even aware I was moving. I'll make somebody a good deal on the cell phone adapter if they are interested... I was going to try and retrofit them to work with a VOX and FRS... and it was a waste of my time. I should have just dropped the $$ for the units already built to do what I want. Anyway, the collett noise cancellation works very well. | ||
| Easy_rider |
FWIW, the article repeatedly noted it took some time to get the mic positioned well and to get the level to enable the VOX-optioned comms set correctly. | ||
| Buelet |
My wife & I use the Collett Electronics Platinum 900's. (http://www.collettcommunicators.com/)They come with cables and include inputs for a cell phone as well as an audio input for tunes. For communications duties they work great. Music is a different story. The speakers that you place inside your helmet don't really do a good job with the tunes. I haven't tried any of the "others" but I am satisfied with these. Hope this helps! | ||
| Rackman |
I have Autocom in 4 bikes, I changed out the goldwing to autocom, added to BMW, CBR929, and Duc Monster, getting ready to add to XB12SS, you can get with or without PTT, I use on one bike so I can talk with passenger without comunicating with other bikes. The other bikes, I didn't add the PTT, no big deal. on Goldwing, the original intercom got difficult to comunicate after 70 MPH, the Autocom as fast as I want to go no problem, on the CBR 929 it is loud, it is no problem, same with the ducati. Autocom I think has 1/2 price sale going on right now as well. it is really reasonable. | ||
| Raceautobody |
I just got a pair of Collett 900's and must say they realy do work. I ride an X1 with a Supertrapp pipe and my wife rides a SV650 (not the fairinged model) and once we got the units sorted out. Which only took a couple of miles. We can cummunicate clearly at 80mph. And that is with me wearing my noisey HJC cl-14 helmet. Al |
