I found this cheap bluetooth headset and decided to give it a shot. I thought for sure that it would be DOA but so far it works GREAT! I can listen to music and take/place calls with good volume and clarity. I haven't tried it yet but supposedly it's also an FM radio receiver... The people on the other end of the line couldn't even tell I was on the bike at speeds up to 65mph. Mounting it inside the helmet was easy.
So it just functions as a Bluetooth headset? So now I can receive calls while riding....:furious: ....why would I want to do that :headbang:
:green_lol:
LOL just playing. I have a Cardo Scala rider that my dad and I talk back and forth with. It also does the Bluetooth which I have found handy a time or to. The bonus is my wife doesn't like calling me on it because it "could distract me" not sure if she means the phone call distracts from riding or riding distracts me from talking with her :green_lol:
In all reality it s kind of nice sometimes to answer it and not have to be pulled over. but like anything else you have to stay focused on the ride. :thumbup:
I've been looking for just such a system for a long time. I'm watching this thread with anxious anticipation for an extended test and product report. I'd love to have this kind of product but I'm too cheap to pay for the expensive ones. Please post a report after using your set up for a couple of months.
I will definitely post again to this thread in a couple months. So far I've gone on 3 rides with the system. Other than phone calls (which don't happen all that often) I used it to play pandora internet radio. Battery life seems in-line with the manufactures claims. The pairing with your phone is easy although the process is also easy to forget, so don't lose the manual. The wind noise in my helmet is a bit high at speeds over 55 mph so I have to turn the volume up to a level that is uncomfortable when I finally come to a stop. Adjusting the volume on the device is possible but the buttons are difficult to press with gloves on.
I have not figured out a way to send a voice command to the phone yet - I believe it might be possible but it's not a functionality listed in the manual. I also have not tested it's waterproof claim.
I have (by accident) shuttled to the next song in pandora by pressing some button on the device while trying to press the volume key with my gloves on. So there is extra functionality that I'm just not sure how to use yet.
I was given one of these systems and found it to be just OK.
If you want you can pair it to your phone and it will auto answer.
By going into my local electronics stores and testing their display GPS units I have found it WILL NOT pair/bluetooth with most Garmin GPS products but works with Navman and Tomtom ???
I use it with a Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD. I can do nav with it, auto answer call, and play pandora.
It has some direct control over pandora as well. If you hit the FM button while pandora is open (even when running in background) it will pause the station. If you hit volume + once quickly it will move to the next track, if you press and hold volume + it will increase the volume.
I have a Scala Rider G2 system that my buddy and I used on our US tour last year. It worked great up to about a block in between us (very clear), and the battery lasted most of the day.
This model looks very similar, and it sure is cheap.
Three things I didn't like about the G2, and it appears you may have the same issues with this one;
1) You can't just switch out the battery and keep on talking, you would have to buy two units and have one on the charger all the time (expensive).
2) Microphone doesn't disconnect, so if you screw it onto your helmet, you have to later unscrew it if you don't want to deal with a mic in your face all the time. It would be nice if the mic just unplugged somehow.
3) Problems connecting to other unit. We were constantly having to turn our units off and on to establish the connection, but once it connected it was good for many hours. Whenever I stopped I always turned mine off to conserve battery, which brought the problem back again (annoying).
Your right about the battery it's stuck in the unit and the charger port is also the port used to play over the headphones so you couldn't charge it and use it at the same time.
The mic doesn't disconnect on it's own but it's pretty easy to remove the whole mic and speakers from the helmet - everything is attached with velcro.
To your last comment - this particular model headset doesn't serve as a person to person com it only pairs to your phone for music, phone calls, and it can tune into FM radio. If you had nexus you might be able to use their chat thing with the headset... not sure. There are some other cheapo models on this site that can do the person to person thing as well as all the bluetooth stuff.
Imo, another thing to consider is if you want to use a set of isolating earbuds with a BT headset. I love my Sean setup for that very reason. Which in turn allows me to not lose my hearing long term and not have to blast music high when riding 70mph.
I hope this works out for you. I had great luck using unknown BT brands in a car.
Imo, another thing to consider is if you want to use a set of isolating earbuds with a BT headset. I love my Sean setup for that very reason. Which in turn allows me to not lose my hearing long term and not have to blast music high when riding 70mph.
Hearing protection is soooo important. You WILL have very significant hearing loss over time if you ride without it. For this reason alone IMHO any headset solution without noise isolating earbuds is a non-starter.
You can get noise-isolating earpieces cheaply for most earbuds.
So how long did you have to wait before you received it? I ordered some flashlights from the same place and while they are excellent lights it took 4-5 weeks to get here.
Well, that counts me out. The most important thing that I was looking for was bike-to-bike communications. Listening to music would be secondary for me. I have used the ear buds while on a trip once, but without easy controls, I found myself taking them out because I couldn't adjust the volume, pause, or change tracks easily without stopping. I was a a multi-day trip and wanted to be able to turn it on and off quickly...
Then check out these ones on ebay. I've had the previous generation since spring last year. No problems at all. Great connection to iPhone for music, calls and GPS. My buddy took the other one and we use them any time we ride together with no problems.
I ride in all weather and these have past the test as far as I'm concerned. What's nice with mine is that it's a standard 3.5mm jack for the mic and speakers so I could use this with some isolating earphones. Unfortunately, looks like the new versions all use the mini-usb port for the mic and speakers...
The above reviews convinced me to order as I have been wanting a blue tooth that also transmitted from my smartphone's navigation system, but I would not justify the high dollar of some big name brands. With my order confirmation I received notice of 6-10 WEEKS for delivery. Disappointing, but really no problem as I have spent years thinking about this. Well, in less than two weeks they arrived
but
unfortunately they will not work/fit with my Schuberth C3 helmet as the mounting system conflicts with the slide handle for the shade screen, so it looks like I will be selling it new and unused.
After my wife got here Wee and it became apparent that we would be be doing a lot more riding together, I splurged for the Sena SMH-10. The sound is clear for music, bike-to-bike communication. It will also pair with a phone or GPS.
Very easy to use! Claimed range on this is 980 yards, which is plenty. Range has not been an issue. You can either use push to talk, or it has a sensor that can be voice or sound activated. This can be a little sensitive, but the manual activation is super easy to find. The jog dial is perfect.
Expensive, yes. I feel I am getting every penny out of it, though. I had a Parrot before and abandoned it because it was p.i.t.a. to use.
I have a Cardio Scala Rider Q2 system that I use to talk to my wife when we are riding. The pair were rather expensive (about $300 on sale). Have had it several years but I expect that when it comes time to replace it I will go with another brand. The batteries only last 6-8 hours before needing to be recharged. They are not user replaceable and I have not found a way to hook them to my electrics on the bike so I can recharge them while using them. So after they run down, we are without communications while waiting for them to recharge. Also, Scala will not replace the batteries. So when the batteries are old enough to need replacement, you are out of luck unless you hack into them and provide your own battery replacements. Scala has lost a customer with me. I also am happy to tell anyone of my not so good customer experience with them.
I bought mine on close out. Single set was 100 bucks. The radio function is fickle at best, it skips stations. The battery life is decent. Swapping between channels is a guessing game. Range from bike to bike is good as long as you have a clear line of sight. In the mountains, 3 corners at best. The bluetooth phone connection is decent as long as the auto voice detect on the headset doesnt try to call random people.
Im working on changing to a cb set up. Farther range, clear signal (when tuned properly) and more reliable.
So, I've had this device for 3 months now so I thought I'd update my review. It was originally mounted to a Gmax GM44 helmet and the fit for the mount worked well. Since then I've mounted it to a Shoei Quest which was more challenging. The mount requires a slight gap between the foam impact absorber and the shell of the helmet. The gap ideally should be about 1.5 inches deep and only need be about 0.05" to 0.1" wide by about 1 inch spanwise. I could not get the mount to fit snuggly on the Quest but managed well enough that it's been on there for about a month and hasn't fallen off.
I've ridden with it in the rain and have it on my helmet all the time. It is a bit frustrating that you cannot place a call using voice commands - this is my only functionality gripe. Also the attachment is starting to get loose between the device and it's mount - it has come off once by accident and was just hanging by the cable. Might need to glue it on there.
As far as protecting your hearing, I use cheap foam earplugs with my Cardo Scala G4 bluetooth headset in my full-face helmet (stock Scala earphones velcroed into the ear cavities of the helmet) and it works great. I don't hear the howling wind, but I can still hear traffic around me, as well as music, phone calls, and intercom with other rider.
I bought 3 of the BT Interphone (similar to the one in the link) over a year ago. I sometimes ride with the Wife, or my Father in law, and the intercom feature works great! It has a range of ~500-700m.
Battery life is good (5+hrs.) it pairs to the my iPhone with no hassle, picks up calls hands free after the 4th ring, and most of the time the people I'm speaking with have no idea I'm riding while chatting with them. As mentioned, the sound quality from the flat little headhones isn't fantastic, but I find it decent enough. Installation into just about any full face helmet is easy, and you have the choice whether to stick on, or clamp on the mounting bracket.
At around $40/ea. shipped, I find the value to be great. After over a year of use, none of the three units experienced any problems. The only regret I have is not buying them sooner!
LOL...nope didn't even pay any attention to the date!!! Don't look too stupid! I clicked on current posts and it came up.....lesson here about reading the details!
Man, technology has come a long way in 5 years. Bluetooth really is cheap and decent sound quality now...I use these ...$22 shipped(I keep two pair on the bike at all times):
Oh, and another tip, at least on my Samsung S7 there is a audio setting where I can basically take a hearing test which re-adjusts the sound equalizer to match my hearing and it works great.
For anyone looking at something like this... be careful which brand/model you buy.
I bought a set of similar bluetooth buds, except I got one that has the ear bud wires recoil into the neck strap... it's great, except for the fact that the button to make them recoil is on the top of the neck band and got hit by my helmet every time I turned my head.
Trying to extend the wire again without pulling the ear bud out of my ear was a right PITA (esp while wearing gloves), so much so that I went back to just using wired ear buds until I get something better.
Was just thinking about starting a thread on this subject (inexpensive intercoms) - a friend recently got a bike so I've been shopping around and almost pulled the trigger on a sena (until I saw reviews about the waterproof-ness (or lack thereof) which turned me off to that option).
That got me to do some extra searching and I came across some cheapos on ebay and didn't know if they were any good.
So instead of starting a thread might as well keep this one going and keep the info in one place...
Any new recommendations on inexpensive comms devices?
I was looking at the netphone v8 and love the idea of having a handlebar mounted remote control so I'm not trying to hit buttons on the side of the helmet... but reviews seem so-so.
Any other ones worth looking into these days?
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
StromTrooper
1.7M posts
66.6K members
Since 2003
A forum community dedicated to all Suzuki Strom owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, troubleshooting, purchasing, reviews, accessories, maintenance, and more!