Intercom's...anyone use them?

[Uncle B]

Has anyone used bike to bike intercom's....if so what are the pro's / con's.
How many times have you been out riding and wanted to get your mates attention... or you've got separated... or warn about things like the local bobby lurking in the bushes.....

Smoke signals take too long
Can't hear beating drums
Sign language too complicated
Signal flares attract the wrong people
Pointing at stuff they have no idea what your on about
Morse code will only work if they are in front

Asked a mate once if he wanted to go halves in a set but he declined as when he's riding he sings.....buggered if I want to hear that...he aint no NZ idol :blink:

[Paul in NZ]

Vicki and I use a rider to pillion one some times...

Buggered if I know if I would want a rider to rider one unless it was with her....

Paul N

[Wenier]

me and a mate got a set of CB radios with the headphone connections, and a guy in gisborne does the headset part which had a button for when u wanted to talk and the ear piece and microphone.

Pros are u can talk to each other

Cons if the terrain is too hilly and ur quite separated you might not be able to get each other, if the ear piece aint in the right place youll no bout it after say 30mins.

But of overall they were bloody good.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Has anyone used bike to bike intercom's....if so what are the pro's / con's.
How many times have you been out riding and wanted to get your mates attention... or you've got separated... or warn about things like the local bobby lurking in the bushes.....


used a rider to passenger one a few times but would not use it now. I just like the ride and wifey likes the space. It is the only time she can not hear " Where is the?????? or what happened to the????" stuff :killingme :killingme and I have it on good authority that her singing is not to good :blah: and she does that in the helmet. The bike to bike thing would be to much of a distraction I recon. Just ride at a speed that allows you to do what ever you need to do as things change from second to second in respect to stuff on the road and cops etc. The lead bike should slow down or stop for you at the next turn off to make sure you do not get lost. :niceone: Anyway that's my bit on the matter.

[manuboy]

I was gonna try a rider to pillion system for the trip up north me and SexyVeeBabe^tm are taking. Not that fussed on being able to talk to her - just that she hasn't developed the foresight to know when i'm gonna do something stoopid in terms of accelerating and stuff... she gets a little uptight ya know?

[Uncle B]

I was gonna try a rider to pillion system for the trip up north me and SexyVeeBabe^tm are taking. Not that fussed on being able to talk to her - just that she hasn't developed the foresight to know when i'm gonna do something stoopid in terms of accelerating and stuff... she gets a little uptight ya know?

My wife has no desire to be on the back.....come back with too many speeding stories for her liking. If I had an intercom with her it would be "dunno whats wrong with it, batteries must be flat again"

[StoneChucker]

Am I the mate with the terrible singing voice? Hehe, but yeah, sometimes I don't know what you're on about when you point and stuff :whistle: I find if I nod agreeingly, you stop pointing hahaah :msn-wink: J/k's, wanna try one out sometime? Would be good to have one that is button activated, and NOT voice activated, since I sometimes to sing along to myself, and argue with the voices in my head telling me to floor it, or pop a wheelie.

[Hitcher]

Mrs H and I have a set of Pinfold's bike-to-bike intercom which, in our case, works through two Uniden UH044s (radios and batteries not included in the kits). Pinfolds retail their kits at $120 each.

We've had nothing but trouble with these. Although having said that, I have (yet another) replacement set sitting next to me as I type, but I am too scared to install these in case they fail yet again. Apparently they had a bad run with the push-to-talk switches.

To Pinfolds' credit, they are very obliging when it comes to replacing faulty kit.

We first started with these during our South Island trip back in March. The kits are easy to install and work brilliantly (when they work). Good for revenue collector spotting and for just generally sharing the joys of the journey. I've had difficulty recruiting Mrs H into "intercom games" whilst stopped at traffic lights ("On the count of three, stand up and pat the top of your helmet three times", etc) but I am sure I can wear her down...

[AMPS]

We're bringing in the Nady systems from the States. I haven't used one personally yet, but customer reports are good. very clear to 100k's, then the volume needs to be raised a tad to compensate for ambient noise. Still clear though.
There are several systems in their range, but the 1st one we brought in was a bike/bike and rider/pillion unit with input for music source.
It comes complete with a transceiver, two headsets. Has push to talk (PTT) or voice operated (VOX) options.
Retail is $278.00 inc.
Lou

[Yokai]

Mrs Yokai was supposed to have bought me some Alpine earplugs for chrimbo. She may well have done (we are super traditional and the last day of Christmas is 12th Night - we give presents then too - as an aside, Christmas starts in our house on 6th December - St Nicholas' Day), but I have been listening to my iPod and have been thinking about putting speakers and a mic into my helmet. LUCKILY I found that there's a lovely space between cheekpads and head cushioning that is about the size of some decent headphones. The chin area would take a lovely condenser mic - But.... is it worth me waiting for Lou to get his Nady's in... Or should I go ahead and do the DIY project?

Anyone tried that?

[dangerous]

Has anyone used bike to bike intercom's....
No I havent, but ya might want to p/m SuzyQ she uses a system with her hubby, both on there own bikes and can be some distance apart, Glen has his hooked into his radar detector aswell and you can plug ya cell ph into it, can also be used as rider to pillion.

[Lou Girardin]

Mrs Yokai was supposed to have bought me some Alpine earplugs for chrimbo. She may well have done (we are super traditional and the last day of Christmas is 12th Night - we give presents then too - as an aside, Christmas starts in our house on 6th December - St Nicholas' Day), but I have been listening to my iPod and have been thinking about putting speakers and a mic into my helmet. LUCKILY I found that there's a lovely space between cheekpads and head cushioning that is about the size of some decent headphones. The chin area would take a lovely condenser mic - But.... is it worth me waiting for Lou to get his Nady's in... Or should I go ahead and do the DIY project?

Anyone tried that?

If you just want music, get a set of headphones, 'deconstruct' them and fit the speakers to your helmet. You will need a splitter for two helmets though.
The ipod remote is useful too.

[TwoSeven]

I was looking at designing gsm phone ear pieces (mic and speaker sits in ear) for Push to talk (3G) for arai helmets, but cant be bothered as will be another few years before the market builds up here to make it worth while. Means you can talk to the rider (or group of riders) anywhere there is gsm covereage.

Just an idea for the electronically minded :)

[pipeman]

Hey you can have commication devices implanted in to your body now :doctor:
I had one installed three months ago :whistle:
yeh anyway it,s really cool all I have to do is.
OH hang on I can feel a fax coming on :shake:
Wont be long, I hope it,s not along one last time I
ran out of paper Ha ha ha he he he :laugh: :laugh: :lol: :lol: :killingme :killingme :killingme

[inlinefour]

Has anyone used bike to bike intercom's....if so what are the pro's / con's.
How many times have you been out riding and wanted to get your mates attention... or you've got separated... or warn about things like the local bobby lurking in the bushes.....

Smoke signals take too long
Can't hear beating drums
Sign language too complicated
Signal flares attract the wrong people
Pointing at stuff they have no idea what your on about
Morse code will only work if they are in front

Asked a mate once if he wanted to go halves in a set but he declined as when he's riding he sings.....buggered if I want to hear that...he aint no NZ idol :blink:

As I dont have a pillion I also have no need :mellow:

[Slingshot]

Anyone tried that?

I've been toying with the whole DIY intercom off and on for a while now.

A simple condenser mic installed on the chin bar is absolutely useless - over about 40Ks it will pick up wind/engine noise and you can't speech. I considered a double condenser mic set up, one in front of you mouth and one further around the side, wire them out of 180 out of phase and in theory both mics would hear the same wind/engine noise and cancle each other out, but only the mic in front of your mouth would hear the speech.

I'm currently working on a bit of R&D into throat mics (they pick up on vibrations in your throat rather than vibrations in the air). Initial tests have been positive and they're only about $25 from Jaycar.

The earpiece is the next important aspect, unless you find the perfect earpiece, it will start to hurt after about 10 minutes. Installing a speaker in the helmet is a good option but again can start to hurt if not installed properly.

You can get passive noise cancelling ear buds (basically an earplug with an ear piece in it), bloody expensive though >$100.

I'm about to start testing an active noise cancelling ear piece (from the Warehouse - $10). I'll give an update once tested.

My advice is...buy an already developed unit, or wait until I've finished my R&D (could be years away:bleh: ).

[vifferman]

After the vifferbabe complained about getting a bit bore on the back of the VifFerraRi on long, straight, uninteresting bits of road, I suggested we get an intercom system, and investigated the possibilities. I was thinking of a full system installed on the bike - something along the lines of the Baehr one, that I could plug my cellphone and a music system (mp3 player, discman, whatever) into, but the vifferbabe said she just wanted to be able to talk to me, so I checked out Pinfold's rider to pillion system, and ended up buying it two days ago.
This $117 system comprises two headsets (dual headphones and mikes), all the plugs and connectors, spare headphone cushions, and a small, thin control unit. The quality is brilliant, and the clarity of the full-duplex system is very high.
Mike Pinfold's service is also terrific - he went into his office on Saturday for us, and waited around till we turned up, then spent a considerable amount of time making sure it worked for us and we were happy with it.We haven't yet used it, as we were in the car on the weekend (had to take one of our sons with us), but we've struck a couple of problems, unrelated to the quality of the unit. My helmet is VERY tight: my head is 59cm, but the helmet is 58. (I probably should have tried/bought a different brand, but I've had three AGVs - included a previous 58 and a 60 - and like them, and Yamahamaman sold it to me for an unbelievable price). The second is the lining of the AGV doesn't provide much grip for the headphones, which adhere using velcro. The third problem is that I was doubtful about twice or four-times daily donning/removal of my helmet with the gear in place. I've solved ALL these problems by fixing the headset inside a thin balaclava, which I will put on under my helmet on the occasions we go for a ride together.

When we have a decent ride using this system, I'll do a full write-up. In the meantime, here's some links:
Intercoms in general:
http://www.epanorama.net/links/intercom.html#motorbike (http://www.epanorama.net/links/intercom.html#motorbike)
<O:p
Pinfold's Systems: </O:p
http://www.amalgamate2000.com/sales/products.htm (http://www.amalgamate2000.com/sales/products.htm)
<O:p</O:p
<O:pBaehr's Intercoms:</O:p
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/baehr/baehr-intercoms.htm#intercoms (http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/baehr/baehr-intercoms.htm#intercoms)

[Hitcher]

After an interest sequence of faults with our Pinfolds system, this weekend (until Mrs H's "off") it was working magnificently...

[Skunk]

My wife and I have bike to bike from Pinfolds. Good system. When I had my "off" it wasn't any use though. I did it 20 metres from her while showing her how to get down the hill! :buggerd:

[bugjuice]

my bro and I use Uniden CBs with headsets. The helmets fit over them and the leads from the radio to the headset has a PTT (Push To Talk) button (apparently some voice activated ones might pick the road/wind rush noise up and won't shut up) which works fine for us. I sometimes wear ear plugs too, cos the acoustics in my helmet is crap, so I crank the volume up and I can still hear ok up to about 120 then wind takes over.. cheap n cheerful for us.
Only downside is setting the volume for slow to fast cruising, if it's like mine where I have mine in my jacket insides, but still works

[Yokai]

Well, I ripped a pair of headphones apart and shoved the earpieces into the helmet, above the cheekpads in a nice little gap (that scarily goes all the way to the plastic... Hmmm - Zeuss helmet). Just leave the lead dangling and plug into the iPod in my pocket.

Works a treat at the moment, and with the catalog that came with my WONDERFUL!!!! :gob: Alpine earpieces I am sure that when Mrs Y gets to come on the back I will be doing a full on Bike-Bike and Bike-Pillion with music setup (even on the SRV!!! hah!)

We have to keep our fingers crossed that Mrs Y gets a bike!

[Biff]

I've an Autocom (www.autocom.co.uk - distributors world wide) unit running my MP3 player, mobile phone, radar detector & rider to pillion com set up type thing. It's also got a separate auxiliary lead into which you can plug a hand-portable radio, providing you buy the correct adaptor for the radio this will then support bike to bike. I've made some minor technical improvements to the unit, but overall I'm very happy with it.

Sound quality is ok - even at speeds that you shouldn't be travelling at (tested at 150MPH by Micky Doohan).
Phone works off a voice operated system (VOX)
Not cheap to buy
Supposed to be the best there is - allegedly.

I'm an electronic, radio communications and audio
engineering freak - so if you need any techie help don't be afraid to ask.

[Krusti]

I talk to myself all the time! :wacko: Faster I go, the loader I yell. Works great.

[bungbung]

I heard about Surf lifesavers trialling 'bone microphones' built into their helmets to overcome the engine noise problem afflicting conventional microphones while used in inflatable rescue boats. I'm not sure which part of the head the pickup is located.

Does anyone know anymore about these devices?

[Slingshot]

I heard about Surf lifesavers trialling 'bone microphones' built into their helmets to overcome the engine noise problem afflicting conventional microphones while used in inflatable rescue boats. I'm not sure which part of the head the pickup is located.

Does anyone know anymore about these devices?

Are you sure it's placed on the head?

And does the clarity improve is the wearer has a boner?

[Hitcher]

I heard about Surf lifesavers trialling 'bone microphones' built into their helmets to overcome the engine noise problem afflicting conventional microphones while used in inflatable rescue boats. I'm not sure which part of the head the pickup is located.

Does anyone know anymore about these devices?
These sound like what US bomber crews used from WWII until god-knows when. They fit around your neck like a loose collar and you push them up to engage with your jawbone when speaking. More "modern" versions have an earpiece that does two jobs -- acts as a speaker and as a microphone. Again the resonance comes primarily from the jawbone.

[Biff]

I heard about Surf lifesavers trialling 'bone microphones' built into their helmets to overcome the engine noise problem afflicting conventional microphones while used in inflatable rescue boats. I'm not sure which part of the head the pickup is located.

Does anyone know anymore about these devices?


I know quite a bit about these bits of kit, and they're pretty good too. They sit inside helmets and placed on the top of your skull, picking up the vibration through the head. There's are a few similar bits of kit out there as well. One is an ear piece/microphone that sits in your ear like an ear plug. Again picking up on bone vibration, the other is a throat mic that's strapped to your neck, although this works off the sound in your throat as opposed to bone. All of these are quite comon with UK fire brigades.

[CookMySock]

Anyone tried the pinfold bone mics ? Search for "bone" on this page, as there are a few products.

http://www.amalgamate2000.com/sales/products.htm

DB

[jim.cox]

Anyone tried two tin cans and some string?

Or how about a speaking tube as per a Tiger Moth?

And some Hardley's definately have room for a ship's telegraph.

:)

[McDuck]

Anyone tried the pinfold bone mics ? Search for "bone" on this page, as there are a few products.

http://www.amalgamate2000.com/sales/products.htm

DB

Dude check the frreking post date....... :bleh: