Hey,

I ride with the wife and she likes to chat. What is the best wireless (bluetooth/RF) communicator. And why?

Important is Light weight, helmet mount, simple to use, battery life etc.

Thanks in advance.

V

MY GOD MAN,

The best part of riding with my wife is the silence... I would tell her that its not a great technology yet and you should wait another 20-30 years before getting them.

Good luck with that

Actually, I'm interested as well.

Seems the ChatterBox stuff is common, but I recall folks not being all *that* satisfied.

AHAHHAHAHHAH! I agree! But happy wife = happy life.

Quote from: armybiker on June 04, 2009, 12:38:40 PM
MY GOD MAN,

The best part of riding with my wife is the silence... I would tell her that its not a great technology yet and you should wait another 20-30 years before getting them.

Good luck with that

I feel that helmet is as important as the communicator itself. If you've got a loud ass helmet like an EXO you're barely going to be able to hear anything regardless of what communicator you have.

I have only tried the SCALA communicator. It works well for what it does and I think it would be very good for just passenger to rider communication. No tunes though unless you're piping tunes through a gps.

the group I ride with most people have chatterbox, so that's the only one I've tried.  The trick to the chatterbox is having speakers in the right spot, and having the mic in the right spot.  The VOX option is essentially useless.  I like it over the straight bluetooth units because there isn't a 30ft (or whatever BT is) limitation.  Now, chatterbox range isn't near what they claim unless your riding at night through a desert, but it's pretty good.

complaints:  weight/size of the unit.  I wish it was smaller.  The manual is terrible.  The clip that attaches the unit to the helmet is horrible and I'm convinced designed to fail so they can sell more radio units.  I know more than one person's whose clip has broken on the highway.  Nothing like watching $250 go flying down the concrete at 80mph.

I'm sure you could find a better/cheaper solution with a 'regular' GMRS radio in a pocket with a throat mic.

Personally, I'm not real interested in a unit like the chatterbox that hangs on my helmet.

What would be an example of a GMRS radio?

GMRS= General Mobile Radio Service
They operate on UHF (ultra high frequency) and have a range from a couple of miles to 25 miles or so. You have probably seen the little Motorola Talk About radios... GMRS are the next step up from those.
Amazons got 'em;
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-EM1000R-20-Mile-2-Way-Radio/dp/B0014DVIL2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244305259&sr=1-5

You might check out;
http://www.clearercom.com/motorsports.htm
I am looking at their Tork Sport. It can be used with radios to comm rider to rider, or rider to passenger. I just don't want to mess with Bluetooth.

I personally like the Blue Ant interphone.
This works great for my wife and I and also works great for my blackberry.
http://www.myblueant.com/interphone_helmet_kit.htm

Pretty good review too:
Aside from me liking it just as much.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-intercoms/interphone-bluetooth-intercom.htm

+1 for the blue ant

One thing is it cannot be linked to more than one other device. It shouldn't be a problem if you only use it to communicate with a passenger or another rider. When I bought mine it still have Bluetooth v.1... if that's important to you check into it to see if they have a newer version.

I've heard that the best out there is the Dainese Airstream Bluetooth

http://motorcycles.about.com/od/gearreviews/gr/Dainese_D_Nect.htm

Regardless of what headset you get, experiment with speaker placement as soon as you get it so that you can quickly return it if it doesn't fit well. Speaker placement is always a pain in the ass. The only that has gone even remotely quickly/well for me is the Scala because the speakers on that unit are only about the size of 2 quarters put back to back. Everything is a inch, maybe inch and a half in diameter and a pain in the butt finding space for. You might have to do some surgery on your helmet too. I'm in the process of doing some surgery to my EXO700 to make a chatterbox fit. Starting with experimenting with cutting some foam out of the cheekpads to make space for the speakers since I think I can buy new ones if I screw it up. 

we have the cardo scala x2 teamset. Very easy to use, press-to-talk, or just talk loudly. Not as far a range as a radio, but we never ride that far apart. Last trip she past a tractor trailer and I missed my opportunity. I took another minute before I could connect and she was out of site, but we stayed connect albeit a little staticy. Also pairs with my phone which is a nice feature. One piece of equipment, easy setup, and pretty good price on the teamset (two paired units.) We also wear ear plugs, and the speakers are loud enough even with the plugs in at speed.

 +1 on the cardo scala Q2,

I've also been doing some research on the subject. The Q2 system has its faults but its smaller and you get more features for your money than a similar chatterbox system. Cardo also has a new product, the G4, which seems to solve the Q2's problems. I'm waiting for someone to buy it and write a review before I buy.

+1 on the Scala.  I just returned from Nova Scotia, worked well through the turns of Cape Breton.  Pairs up w/ phones and GPS units.  Battery life was better than expected considering it was linked to phones, gps and 2 individuals.  One frustration is that when paired w/ a GPS, it will override any other lines of communication you currently have open.  Although I didnt experience any safety issues because of it, I certainly would like there to be a better way to integrate the multiple lines of communication.