Opinions on intercoms

[FROSTY]

The pillion is pestering me about gettting a lid to lid intercom.
Personally I think it destroys one of the fantastic things about bike riding.--The alonness with ya own thoughts bit.
Whats other peoples opinions of em?
i'd like to hear from riders who have thenm or have had em in the past.

[Paul in NZ]

Mostly your helmets are too noisey...

Damn handy in town debating where to get coffee etc. You can borrow one of our cheapies and see what you think if you like?

Paul N

[zeRax]

speaking of intercoms does anyone know much about bike to bike intercom setups? been looking at a couple uhf radios, thoughts ;0?

[bugjuice]

I use a lid-ta-lid comm that I got from Dicky Smith for $25. Not sure if they do them any more, but I've seen similar things still around. I don't often have anyone on the back, but when I have, it's been good to chat to them, just to make sure they aren't freakin out. Something I've found with pillions, is the sense of a lack of control doesn't help the fact they aren't used to the road flying past so fast and so close! Also, you can tell them off when they counter-lean. It can be quite loanly back there..

There are a couple of issues with my one tho, the ear piece can come out with the lid on (might be a pro in some cases!) so I tape it in sometimes, ouch. The other is get above 80 odd k's, and wind noise can take over if your helmet hasn't got a under-chin flap.

Aside from a few minor things, I personally think they aren't a bad idea. Definitly different/strange - you won't know what I mean, til you try it!

As for bike to bike, I use a Uniden CB with headset. PTT (Push To Talk) button sticks on the outside of your jacket, the radio on the inside, then it's all good. Again, wind noise can be an issue, but generally, they work for me and my bro..

Another combind issue - using the intercom and CB at the same time - the intercom is constant on, no PTT, where as the CB is. If the person on the CB says something, the person on the intercom doesn't hear that bit, but hears your reply to them! Can get a little confusing, and can land you in trouble when your bro tells you about a hot chick near by, and you make a comment, forgetting about the intercom!

I'll lead anyone mine for a weekend, if you want to try before you buy.. Might need some new batteries, but I'll check it. Just shout.. I rarely use either at the mo - gf doesn't have gear, and bro broke his leg..

[Slingshot]

Another thread to have a look at this (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=7441&highlight=intercom)
This link as some good discussion on the topic.

I'm about to purchase an intercom from here Pinfolds System (http://www.amalgamate2000.com/sales/motorcycle__communications.htm)
I'm looking at the rider to pillion intercom with the UHF radio attachment.

Can anyone relay their experence with the Pinfolds system? Are they any good?

Is there a particular channel that is used for the UHF radios? It would be good to be able to talk to other bikers and if a few KBers get set up it would be quite hard case.

[Hitcher]

The Pinfolds sets work really well (don't include the walkie talkies that you need to buy from Dick Smith). These are advertised in most of the kiwi biker mags. The limiting factor is wind noise in your helmet that drowns out your voice at speeds in excess of 120kmh.

One of these days Mrs H will agree to playing "intercom games"...

[Hitcher]

Is there a particular channel that is used for the UHF radios? It would be good to be able to talk to other bikers and if a few KBers get set up it would be quite hard case.
Mrs H and I use channel 20. You still get the odd courier and delivery vehicle around town but it's not as chatter-ridden as channels 1 through 10.

[zeRax]

:O

bj do u ever have range problems with the radio cb ? how much does it kind of set you back and all that ?

[zeRax]

it would be cool to have a set channel that kb'ers will use , amount of kb'ers using uhf radios can only increase ;)

[bugjuice]

:O

bj do u ever have range problems with the radio cb ? how much does it kind of set you back and all that ?
can't remember the exact prices. My bro and I were bought them for chrimbo pressies, but we looked into the pricing as we were going to get them anyway.
The radios need to be able to accept headsets. these headsets (http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4221745f0258639a273fc0a87f9906c9/Product/View/D2018) have the PTT button, don't get the voice activated ones as the road noise just won't let up. This radio (http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4221745f0258639a273fc0a87f9906c9/Product/View/D1778) must be the new version of the one I have (not sure on price tho. There's also 'pairs' which save), but this sort of set up should be fine. I can even crank the volume right up and hear fine with ear plugs in. Takes the wind noise out of my helmet, but I can still hear what's coming thru the radio.

They've got about 3kms of range or so, generally plenty. It'll increase out of town, we've had them at quite a range.. they're good fun, and can warn peeps behind of potential trouble. Can also 'guide' others if the route changes, etc etc

[Biff]

I use an Autocom unit.

Good points about rider to pillion comms - you can ask your good lady to give your neck a rub when it gets sore.

Bad points - Ms Biff keeps telling me to go faster/slower and is also prone to break into song, and that's without my MP3 player connected.

As for which UHF channels to use (frequencies) for bike to bike comms, you'll need to use licence free frequencies with a limited power output. This is very important, otherwise you pay an annual licence fee. In good atmospheric conditions and with line of sight you will manage between 3 – 8 Kilometres coverage. Without line of sight and other propagation nasties this can be significantly reduced, depending on the quality of the radio transceiver.

When buying a 'walkie talkie' always check the Receiver Sensitivity, the higher the negative value (i.e measured in negative dBm) the better. Anything above -100 dBm is pretty good.

Good makes for licence free units:
Kenwood
Icom

Tait radios are by far the best, but you'll need a licence for these as they fall into the professional mobile radio (PMR) bracket. You can get them to work on licence free channels however, they will need to be re-programmed.

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. Apart from Motorola kit which is always over priced.

[bugjuice]

quick note on BB's comments, you need a licence for the 'higher' range radios. The ones I have from DS don't need a licence. The downside of not needing licence are that the radios are lower powered, hence a 3km range. This works out fine for most trips unless you want a longer range, in which case, you know whatcha gotta do..

BB, the radios you mention, are they the ones fitted to the bike?

[Biff]

quick note on BB's comments, you need a licence for the 'higher' range radios. The ones I have from DS don't need a licence. The downside of not needing licence are that the radios are lower powered, hence a 3km range. This works out fine for most trips unless you want a longer range, in which case, you know whatcha gotta do..

BB, the radios you mention, are they the ones fitted to the bike?

No - I don’t have any radio's fitted to my bike.

The licence exempt radios only applies to radio's that operate in radio spectrum designated as 'General Usage' frequencies: http://www.med.govt.nz/rsm/licensing/gurls/gurl-srd.html

Pretty much any radios capable of UHF operation will work in these frequencies. Indeed many will work across most of the UHF spectrum. The cheaper ones, such as Uniden's, only work in these general usage frequencies. They are fine, but they offer nowhere near the range of the more expensive units. But you will have to turn the power down on the high end units as you correctly pointed out BJ. I never have, but you're supposed to. If you don't you just block out local courier firms etc. But who cares. If you're on a bike you'll be out of the area pretty soon so they'll never catch you!

[zeRax]

when you say higher than -100 dBm do u mean 0 through to -100 OROROROR -100 through to -1000000000000

[Slingshot]

So it sounds like channel 20 is now for the sole use of motorcyclists. If I catch anyone using it for anything else...there'll be trouble!

[Wolf]

Once bought a really budget intercom and found that wind noise above 40km/h used to wash it out.

Want to get a decent intercom once my wheels are going so I can chat with Stray.

Oh, as she wants her own bike I s'pose I'll have to get a UHF radio unit.

[Biff]

when you say higher than -100 dBm do u mean 0 through to -100 OROROROR -100 through to -1000000000000

-100 dBm through to -100000000 etc
In reality however, you'll be lucky to find anything that get's close to -115 dBm unless you want to spend a bit more and get a really good piece of kit.

[vifferman]

I recently bought one of Pinfold's bike to pillion intercoms - $117, and very good quality. We've used it only once so far, going to the Paeroa races, and it made things a lot more fun, but also I found it a bit distracting, partly because we had an issue (now solved, I think) where above 90km/h it crackled badly. Turned out to be the velcro on the back of my microphone, because I didn't have it stuck on properly, and the wind was making it vibrate slightly and physically transmit that to the mike. Otherwise, it was very clear, although the microphones are very sensitive (hence the problem with the velcro) and we could hear all sorts of things that you don't normally notice. Surprisingly though, wind noise wasn't really an issue.

Mike Pinfold has excellent customer service - when we bought it in January, he waited at his office in town for us to turn up, and spent maybe 30 minutes helping us to fit it and sort it out. He also gave us some different spare headphone cushions to try if the standard ones didn't fit.
When I told him about our recent trial, he was happy to take the unit back for a replacement if it was faulty in any way. I doubt if he makes much money fron it, so he seems to be prepared to go way behind what is reasonable customer service. :niceone:

There are a choice of headphones and headphone pads. I was initially sceptical, but as Mike said, the pads do cut out a lot of noise, so I didn't need to wear earplugs as a I normally do. However, we were using the unit at lowest volume, so if wind noise was a problem, we could have used ear plugs and the headphones, and still been able to hear.

My wife's headset is stuck in her helmet, but the lining of my X-Vent wouldn't allow the velcro to adhere properly, and I was worried about dislodging the headset when taking the helmet off and on at least twice a day for commuting, so I've got a modified balaclava with the headset in, and all I do is put that on first, get the headphones in the right position, then pull my helmet on over the top. This stops the headphones moving and/or the tops of my ears folding over (a potential problem). Then I just stick the velcro on the mike to the fluffy velcro dot inside my chinbar, plug everything in, and away we go.

I've also discovered that the plug for the lead to the headset can be plugged into a discman or MP3 player, so when I'm by myself I could potentially listen to music. I don't think it'd be proper stereo (just dual mono), but that's OK.