Chatterboxes

FJR1300Jeff · Mar 13, 2006

You guys that have the chatterboxes......Are you happy with them.

I’m thinking of biting the bullet for my wife and I. She has been getting better and better on her Burgman 400 scooter, so I thought it would be nice to be able to have bike to bike communications.

I was thinking of getting the Chatterboxes GMRS with the 5 mile range. The cheapest I've seen them is about $230 each.

Any good or bad experiences with these? Any cheaper places to buy them???

Thanks,

Jeff

zzkenoman · Mar 13, 2006

Love mine, bought the X2 Model and use it for the majority of my gadgets. i.e. xm radio 2 way radio, cell phone, and intercom. It is pricey, but very durable, they do have a bluetooth out now to eliminate the wiring cables but overall thumbs up on chatterbox.

Ric in Sac · Mar 13, 2006

Hmmmm . . . I just had a thought . . . it might be a stupid thought but a thought none the less.

Has anyone used Nextel phones through an autocom to communicate bike to bike? Of course you have to be in service area to communicate but you will have unlimited range, much better voice quality and other advantages as well. Probably cheaper too.

toophast · Mar 13, 2006

Hmmmm . . . I just had a thought . . . it might be a stupid thought but a thought none the less.
Has anyone used Nextel phones through an autocom to communicate bike to bike? Of course you have to be in service area to communicate but you will have unlimited range, much better voice quality and other advantages as well. Probably cheaper too.

Holy thread hijack Batman

fftopic:

mehaffydr · Mar 15, 2006

I have the gmrsx2 wich is there top unit. I have not been overly impressed. I have had to send it in for warranty replacment and the speakers are not that great and with the mic attached it would be difficult to use your own speakers. For the price I would say it is ok but not Great.

TheAxeman · Mar 15, 2006

I had the same experience as Mehaff did with the GMRSX2. I had to have both units replaced shortly after I bought them because they didn't work. They were to be used on a trip I was taking in Cali and we ended up not getting them replaced until we got back. Frustration factor was very high with the units so I ended up selling them on EBAY at a loss....Never again.

kanfjr · Mar 15, 2006

I am sorry about your poor experiences. I am also thinking about a chatterbox, mainly for communication to my pillion and a hookup for the mp3 player. Is there another brand you would suggest? Thanks for any help you can give. John

Ric in Sac · Mar 16, 2006

canfjr: ChatterBox has bike to bike communications referenced above which includes CB radio technology. If you are considering a unit just to talk to your pillion and use an MP3 player ChatterBox makes the HC-50 which is a simpler and more compact unit. I have had good luck with it when mounted to a tank bag. .

It is designed to be a helmet mount but the movement of the helmet with connecting cords eventually wears out the pin plugs causing intermittent problems. It was easy to attach to a tank bag and is frankly much more comfortable there anyway. Reliability has not been an issue and it is a relatively inexpensive unit. I run an XM radio through mine.

There are many other systems as well. Do a search for "autocom".

zzkenoman · Mar 16, 2006

Most common problem with the chatterboxes were the wrong cords getting swtiched from the passenger to the drivers helmet. The cord which is marked "stereo" is for the passenger, the cord marked "N/R" is for the driver. If switched, you cannot transmit over the 2 way, but you can hear your music. Also we found out the X2 and X1 models have different freq, both are equal up to channel 6, but are totally different from 6 and up. You can ask SoCalMike on this, we thought he was going crazy. I do confess I did have problems transmiting and went down to the headquarters of chatterbox here in california and they picked up the problem of the swtiched cord, they did exchange it for my peace of mind. I'm considering there new bluetooth stereo system, but don't have the nerve to put out the $$$ for each unit. So far I am happy with my setup, powering my XM radio, cell phone and Ipod, however I am looking for a a/b stereo switch for my CB.

FJR1300Jeff · Mar 16, 2006

Thanks for all of the replies.....I went ahead and ordered the HJC FRS base chatterbox model.

I'm hoping it will be enough for the wife and I.....I'll give a report after we try them for a while.

kanfjr · Mar 16, 2006

Thanks for all the info. I will be checking out the HC-50. I am glad to know it is a good unit. kanfjr.

FizzyPower · Mar 16, 2006

I have the GMRS-X1 that I bought a couple months ago and it works great so far. I can hook my cellphone, xm and gps into it and it has performed ok.

zzkenoman · Mar 16, 2006

I have the GMRS-X1 that I bought a couple months ago and it works great so far. I can hook my cellphone, xm and gps into it and it has performed ok.

did you get your xm fizzy? Guess what, I eliminated my tankbag and mounted my xm radio and chatterbox on a bracket that attaches to my empty mirror bolt. All I have to do now is find a stereo A/B switch, just in case I want to use my Ipod or CB.

FizzyPower · Mar 16, 2006

Hey ZZ,

Yeah, I can hook up everything, but I still have the super-mini bag that holds the chatterbox. Everything else is on the bars.

TahoeBound · Mar 16, 2006

Sorry dude, I'm too late. I've tried sooo many combos of Chatterboxes - f-em. I finally went to StarCom & haven't looked back...

I will say Chatterbox customer service has always been excellent in many, many replacements. The problem is the units always SUCKED!

FJR1300Jeff · Mar 26, 2006

:angry:

Thanks to all you guys that tried to stop me from getting Chatterboxes........I was VERY DISAPPOINTED in them.

I bought a brand new set of the HRS model...Charged them correctly and made sure I read all instructions.

The wife and I wore them around the house just to test and had some intermittet problems. But I thought this might work.

THEN WE WENT FOR A RIDE AND MAN THESE THINGS SUCK ***.....IF WE WERE ROLLING AND NO MORE THAT 10-15 FEET APART WE COULD NOT COMMUNICATE. LOTS OF STATIC AND CLICKING FROM THE WIFE TRYING TO TALK TO ME.

THEN WHEN WE STOP AT A LIGHT WE CAN COMMUNICATE....BIG ******* DEAL WHEN WE ARE AT A LIGHT I CAN JUST TALK WITHOUT A $300 PIECE OF ****. EVEN AT A LIGHT THE COMMUNICATION WAS SPOTTIE.....

I am returning them to Ridegear where I bought them...I'll be out the $15 shipping, but it was a lesson learned.

SO WHAT's THE BEST ONE TO GET????? AUTOCOMM?, STARCOMM?, HELP PLEASE!!!!

Bike Effects · Mar 26, 2006

I have never had a complaint with the Starcom. You can see them here:

Starcom Systems & Accessories

Please note the link in my signature line for forum discount information.

user 2057 · Apr 11, 2006

Speaking about the hissing and popping when trying to communicate while in motion, local riders have found that happening when the VOX is set a little too sensative.

The info I found about setup was to set it low enough you had to talk loudly to trip it.

Solution for the local riders: use a push to talk switch. No problem, no static, but a little less convenient.

With the number of them in use around the local area, something seems to be working acceptably well. The only real issue I've heard of from them was one having short battery life issues with a X2 model, before he finally just bought a newer battery for it.

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