Cheap E-Bay Blue Tooth Intercom--Anyone Tried One?

[Spud]

Looking for something cheap, and now see there are several "no-name" units that look like chinese knock-offs of the big $ brands. Here's a few examples. What gets my attention is the first one with 254 units sold.... To get a pair for under $100 seems really reasonable. I don't care about phone/music etc., just talking to pillion.

Any experience with these (or similar)?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-BT-Motorcycle-Helmet-Bluetooth-Headset-Motorbike-Intercom-Headset-1000M-/281087761926?pt=Intercoms_Access_Controls&hash=item417222de06

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Bluetooth-Intercom-1000M-2-riders-Climder-C3-FM-BT-Motorcycle-Helmet-intercom/111434738552?_trksid=p2054897.c100204.m3164&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140407115239%26meid%3D07398c1474cb4b03928f56b880888847%26pid%3D100204%26prg%3D20140407115239%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D20%26sd%3D161432335903

 

[Last Chance]

Hmmm, No sorry, I haven't tried one.. I did try a cheap BT dongle to pair with my UClear (replaced with Sena). The result was less than satisfactory. Ended up buying an expensive SR10 to pair the RD to my Sena headset. Of course, I found out later that the cheap BT dongles "might" have worked, but I have more $$$ than patience at my stage in life. I have several "failures" that might end up on Ebay someday!

 

[BkerChuck]

No experience with these but I did try a similar knock-off to try and use my I-pod with my car stereo and had less than stellar results. I've come to that point where I'm no longer willing to expend time, energy, or money trying any more of these sorts of devices. Too often I've ended up finally buying the name brand that I probably just should've bought in the first place.

Best of luck if you go this route. Let us all know how they work if you do.

 

[HelzBelz]

Word of warning when buying even non-knockoffs from chinese sources on EBAY.

I once bought a Motorola Bluetooth Headset for non motorcycle use. I received it rather quickly, even though it shipped from China, and it was extremely cheap.

It was a knockoff, but not a normal knockoff, it was a phony item. It was actually a plastic model of the same headset, with no electronics inside the shell.

Ebay's "protection" policy required that I send the item back, trackable, at my expense and they would refund my purchase price. It cost me $21 to ship it back. They refunded my 32$ purchase price only. So it cost me $11 to learn that I will never buy anything from a chinese company on ebay again.

 

[ULEWZ]

I bought them and then got the Sena's.

They do work well, but have the following problems. The battery life is about 4 hours vs about 8 hours for the Sema's. The mount to the helmet is less than stellar and can come off. Not bad for $100 though if you wish to experiment. Range is about the same, which being bluetooth is dismal, but good when side by side or within almost visual range.

 

[Spud]

I bought them and then got the Sena's.They do work well, but have the following problems. The battery life is about 4 hours vs about 8 hours for the Sema's. The mount to the helmet is less than stellar and can come off. Not bad for $100 though if you wish to experiment. Range is about the same, which being bluetooth is dismal, but good when side by side or within almost visual range.

Good feedback. I was thinking they'd work but not surprised that things like battery life are not up to par. However, i only need something to use about 2-3 times a year with a passenger only, so maybe they'd do the trick.

 

[ahchiu]

Get the real deal, Alex from Real Time gives fourm members 10% off and free shipping

 

[karnal]

Me and a friend each bought a pair of these off ebay: https://www.amazon.com/interphone-bluetooth-motorcycle-helmet-intercom/dp/B0069YYCFA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

They work very well at lower speeds; at higher speeds my wife has trouble hearing me (wind noise) - but I can hear her just fine due to her huge windshield on her Yamaha 950T. As long as we can see each other it stays in contact. Typically playing music through them from my phone, you can then switch to speaking to the other rider etc - but it takes a few seconds to switch. Have been using them for >4 years... probably have >4 hour runtime (have never run them down fully.)

We spent around $80 for a pair. As much as we don't use them to communicate, I'll be happy with them until they die. I find unless the situation is odd, hand signals work much better. For instance, once she left her saddlebag unhooked and it was open/flapping @ 80 mph on a group ride. The communicator was crucial in getting her to pull over, because she was ignoring my high beam/horn/frantic waving.

 

[mcatrophy]

... because she was ignoring my high beam/horn/frantic waving.

Maybe "someone" wasn't scanning their rear-view mirrors sufficiently?

Now try to tell her that while keeping your marriage

.

 

[karnal]

Well, she definitely didn't do my basic "check" of the bags while riding, that's for sure - when I rode the 950 as my primary bike, I would always reach back with one hand (each side) during the slower speeds pre-highway and lift on the bag to ensure it was snapped. Was always paranoid they'd come open. Now she locks them with the key every time before a ride I do like the fact that she has the option to leave them unlocked and can open them without having to do the key shuffle....