Re: [XJ-Planet] Need a "Gizmo" ?
Ken Wagnitz
There are gadgets you can buy which allow plugin of CB radio, mobile
phone, MP3 player, GPS nav, pillion comms, etc etc. So you buy all
those gadgets, and the amp/gadget to plug them into. (If you have the
budget!) Then have a curly cord from helmet to some point on the
bike. Some bikes come equipped with variants of that, eg GoldWings,
BMW cruisers etc.
In Oz, riders use either 27MHz or UHF CBs, with most going to UHF.
My problem is with the microphone. If I put a tiny mic into the front
of my Shoei helmet, the wind noise is too high over about 40km/h. A
throat mic works, but the sibilance is gone, making it harder to
understand. Lots of riders successfully use a big dynamic (as opposed
to electret) mic right in front of their mouth inside the chinpiece.
That works, because the wind noise is low compared with a mouth 1mm
away from the mic. I don't like it because it compromises safety. I
reckon a good fall forward, and the mic would be embedded in one's
teeth and lips.
Motorola sell a Bluetooth headset explicitly for use with a motorbike
helmet. It gives comms to a pillion but allows use of the mobile
phone to override. I think the mic is on a boom. One Ulysses member
tried it, but reckons it is lousy.
Motorola also sell a tiny Bluetooth mono headset which goes right in
the ear and acts as mic too, using sound from the ear like the secret
service guys' earpieces do. A stereo version of that would be
absolutely perfect on the bike (assuming adequate sound quality).
I have always intended to construct the ideal audio setup (as I see
it), but various obstacles and time have defeated me. The stero
Bluetooth headset I bought was a cheap experiment. It works with my
PDA giving me stereo music, and pairs with my mobile phone at the same
time, but the whole arrangement is flaky as hell. Ideal would be a
Bluetooth dongle on the helmet or in a pocket, which communicates with
a box on the bike, and with the pillion.
The next Ulysses AGM (May 2007) will see me doing a few thousand km
with the missus on the back. I think I'll have to have a comms setup
working by then. By that time I will have a new Bluetooth phone with
MP3 ability, so I won't just be relying on my PDA for music (but it
may be doing navigation). So its unknown what setup will be best
then.
I've sent this to the XJ Riders group, cos it seems appropriate chat
for the 'in crowd'.
regards all,
- Hide quoted text -
Ken.
On 3/30/06, XJ900...@aol.com <XJ900...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> In a message dated 3/30/2006 12:49:10 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> kenand...@gmail.com writes:
> Hey Rick, that looks like the type of place that would have you a
> slatherin' an' a dribblin' ifn you could actually walk into their
> store.
>
> In the last few days, I've bought and received in the mail: a
> non-working videocam (had hoped its lens, zoom & sensor were working);
> a stereo Bluetooth headset; a charger/sync cable for my PDA; an
> ADSL2+/VOIP modem. (Courtesy of internet and eBay ordering.)
>
> I reckon none of those gizmos would feature in that store.
>
> So whatever turns you on, eh.
>
> I'm too lazy to polish anything.
> Last weekend I dobbed myself in to establish a family website (went a
> reunion of the missus's family).
> I guess you could say computers, internet, and electronic gizmos
> feature large in my life.
> The bike... I just get on it and ride it.
>
> regards,
> Ken.
>
>
>
> On 3/30/06, XJ900...@aol.com <XJ900...@aol.com> wrote:
> >
> > If only you had a ... what? Some little Gizmo you've been wanting to add
> to
> > your toolbox for ages, but haven't found the place that carries it.
> >
> > This site may have what you are looking for.
> >
> > http://www.hobbytool.com/index.htm
> >
> >
> > Rick Massey
> >
>
> With the electronics industry seemingly able to create an endless steam of
> communications devices for nearly every imaginable application ... why is
> there no highly-reliable communication device for motorcyclists?
>
> It would be very nice to have some sort of low-power FM system that was
> multi-channel. The ideal system would have several freqs to select from and
> one or two common channels to be able to communicate with every biker
> equipped with one.
>
> Add music -- sat-radio ... and live off the profits until you die with
> enormous trust funds for all your friends and family.
>
> Rick
>