Communications Systems

[Frewil]

What's a good Communications Systems to use/mount on the FJR?

My use of a system in order or priority is; 1- Music, 2- bike to bike communications, 3- Take a cell call if I'm "at work", and 4 - Rider to passenger Intercom.

 

[TruWrecks]

I use a Chatterbox and my Zumo, but I use it on more than one bike so a mounted system in a no go. Autocomm is the one you want for a hard wired system. You will need to also buy a radio for bike to bike.

 

[strike3]

Scala multi-set, 250 on ebay. Works good and wireless FM, ipod input, and up to 3 riders plus bluetooth for up to 3 devices

 

[Frewil]

I use a Chatterbox and my Zumo, but I use it on more than one bike so a mounted system in a no go. Autocomm is the one you want for a hard wired system. You will need to also buy a radio for bike to bike.

A riding buddy shifted his Chatterbox to a tank bag for mobility, with a direct battery connection installed on each of his bikes.

So far he likes it.

 

[Aasland]

I use a J&M JMCB2003, a Zumo, and this: https://cyclegadgets.com/Products/KT/detail.asp?SET=CELL

The J&M sits smartly on the right handlebars and has a music input. You can find lots of info on the J&M with a search.

J&M has a $350 cell phone integrator (CFRG?) but I use the Zumo and the Cycle Gadget's Kennedy CellSet instead (about $110 if you alsready have the Zumo). The Zumo acts as a bluetooth headset to the cellphone, which pauses music/gps directions and feeds it to the J&M. That output is thus fed into the J&M's audio-in jack. The CellSet takes the J&M's intercom input and feeds that back to the Zumo, which is then fed to the cellphone iva bluetooth.

It isn't cheap, but it all works very well with a minimum of wires. When I get on the bike, I just click in my zumo which then pairs with the cellphone, and I plug in my helmet.

 

[crankshaft]

Take a look at Autocom. I've used the Chatterbox units before. Not that great of a unit in my opinion. I've really like my Autocom unit

 

[Patriot]

I pair my Zumo 550 with a one of these flavors of Cardo Scaler Rider headset or a Motorola HS830 Helmet Headset. I have both in different helmets I wear for different reasons on different bikes. I all work fine for me bluetoothed to my phone and zumo.

I also have mounted a J&M JMCB-2003-DU dual communication between rider & passenger (intercom) CB radio with weather radio and MP3/Ipod input to play my tunes and the relatively inexpensive basic J&M Headsets I have. There are a number of headsets to consider. But, be careful to purchase the 6 pin J&M amplified headsets that work with the J&M unit and not any others:

from their website:

Important Note: The JMCB-2003 is a J&M 6-pin audio system that requires the pre-amplified microphone signal provided by our Dual-Mode (ECD/ICD/BCD/CD prefixed) helmet headsets along with the #HC-ZJM or #HC-PJM lower section hook-up cord (please see the headset/helmet pages).

I use a Harley bracket it came with from purchasing from another rider and bent the bottom tab 90 degrees and drilled the hole bigger to use the threaded mirror mount hole on the clutch clamp.

New to me is the Zumo plus integrated harness (expensive) to hook all kinds of periphials to the CB unit ZUMO550/JMCB-2003 Specific Stereo/Nav/Cell/Radar Audio Integration Terminal JCB03-CFRG-ZM0550

I have pics in my flickr account - see Clicky below in my signature

Hope this helps

Cheers,

Mike in Nawlins'

 

[Fred W]

To do all that you want, there are really only 2 choices: Autocom or Starcom1.

Both have their pros and cons. There are bazillions of comparisons around. Read up.

None of the current bluetooth setups will do FRS/GMRS radio bike to bike. Some will do bluetooth bike to bike, but the range is severely limited and there are not many folks doing that. The de facto standard in bike to bike is FRS/GMRS. (CB is for wing dings)

I happen to have a Starcom1 Advantage in my electrified tank bag (for portability) fed by a Zumo 550 (music, BT phone and GPS) and a Motorola Talkabout T5720 GMRS.

 

[Aasland]

To do all that you want, there are really only 2 choices: Autocom or Starcom1. Both have their pros and cons. There are bazillions of comparisons around. Read up.

None of the current bluetooth setups will do FRS/GMRS radio bike to bike. Some will do bluetooth bike to bike, but the range is severely limited and there are not many folks doing that. The de facto standard in bike to bike is FRS/GMRS. (CB is for wing dings)

I happen to have a Starcom1 Advantage in my electrified tank bag (for portability) fed by a Zumo 550 (music, BT phone and GPS) and a Motorola Talkabout T5720 GMRS.

I'm not trying to start a cb/gmrs/frs thread, just exploring options.

In the group I ride with (not wings) the standard is CB. When they made that decision years before I was riding with them, they decided frs/gmrs didn't have the range or clarity they wanted. My only experience with frs are the handheld units and if they sound as bad on bikes as they do in cars or ski slopes I'm glad our group uses CB's.

We've had some Autocom users in our group, but due to sound quality issues they switched to J&M or Starcom. Starcom has slightly better clarity than J&M.

The Starcom is a nice unit (it is very flexible) and is prevalent in our group. The downside is, as you mention, the connections involved with portability. When setting up my wife's bike I didn't want her to have to deal with plugging in things beyond her MP3 and helmet, so I opted for the (pricier) J&M. Since we swap bikes on occasion I decided both bikes would have the J&M.

Another tip: custom-molded earphones rock! My wife is OK with earplugs and helmet speakers, but I just love having music piped directly into my ears while blocking out wind noise. Starcom has an adapter for this; on the J&M I had to cut apart a wiring harness.

The decision process starts with which comm method (frs/gmrs/cb) your group uses.

 

[fjr105]

I have the chatterbox XBI blue tooth with a street pilot 2820, so I get rider to passenger, MP3 player and step by step for GPS, there is no bike to bike however if you link your blue tooth cell phone to your street pilot it as good if not better.

 

[Foxhuntr]

I have my cell phone linked to my Zumo. What about the option of communicating bike-to-bike using cell phones? I'd need to outfit my wife's bike with a Zumo or equivalent. Right now she's just got MP3.

 

[FJrider1]

I have an older autocom M-1. I have it battery powered (9 volt). I have my cell phone, XM, Radar, FRS connected

to it. I always had a sound issue with the Autocom. I connected a Boosteroo which helped but the best investment

was the custom molded earplugs. I finally have it all dialed in. Expect to pay around $60 for any of there cables and more if it is for a unique application.

I have more wires coming out of my tank bag then the space shuttle! The good thing is I can just plunk it on the tank

of my other bike and go.

 

[Fred W]

The problem with using cell phones for B2B are that they don't work if you are out of cell phone range. That is a lot of the time in the mountains and rural areas I prefer to ride in. Another thing is the relatively long delay to get the attention of the other rider. Makes it a pain if you just want to say, "Your blinker is on" or "Did you see those wild turkeys" or "I need to make a pit stop".

The one other nice thing is that if you are riding with a group where everyone has the same type of radio it's like a party line and everyone can hear your announcements. But it seldom works out that way as most folks don't go in for all the electronica.

 

[Rubbersidedown]

I also just installed a Starcom with a Zumo 550 and went with a Yaesu ham radio. I could also swap the ham for a CB with the same cable. I haven't gotten to do any real heavy duty testing with the system yet, but music and radio transmissions are clear at all the speeds I have tested it at. I still have plans to rig my radio mounting a little more elegantly, but right now I just keep it under the seat and try to remember to turn it off when I get off the bike. If I do decide to add or sub a CB for the Ham I will probably go with a midland 75-822 which comes with a dc adapter and antenna adapter.

 

[zoltar]

I am using Scala Rider Q2. Works great, but... batteries ( when you talking much) only for one day... communication with my wife ( on other bike ) up to 100-200m in the city, 200-400m outside the city, but in case of emergency always I can make a phone call to her

FM radio works fine too.

In my opinion it is a very good and comfortable solution.

But now I will change it to STARCOM1 ( no batteries needs )

 

[eisen]

I am using Scala Rider Q2. Works great, but... batteries ( when you talking much) only for one day... communication with my wife ( on other bike ) up to 100-200m in the city, 200-400m outside the city, but in case of emergency always I can make a phone call to her FM radio works fine too.

In my opinion it is a very good and comfortable solution.

But now I will change it to STARCOM1 ( no batteries needs )

I had the same setup - Scala rider Q2 teamset, then moved to the Starcom1 digital.

The Q2 is a really good 'budget' setup - but the starcom is in a completely different league .

The J&M looks like a great piece of kit too, but i'd be scared to leave the bike unattended with the handebar mounted system as it would certainly attract thieves or vandals in general. I have never seen this system in person, but it looks quite big in J&M's website.

The starcom fits under the seat & all wiring + interface leads are neatly hidden away. I also love the fact that rider+passenger have (should they wish) complete contol over their own environment including mobile phone, music, volume, etc.

So i can highly recommend the Starcom1 digital.

Good luck with your search

 

[HaulinAshe]

Just be prepared to drop some serious $$$ for a full comm system as you've described. Cable costs are typically more than the core unit by the time you add a passenger headset, PTT switch, B2B radio cable, Zumo cable, RD cable etc.

If you decide to use a Chatterbox, be very careful and make sure ALL your input cables are isolated. 12v power to a Chatterbox feeds back to almost every wired input.

 

[just roy]

i have a cheap system an mit-100 that i got thru sierra electronics. it was under $200 and has no volume control but it does everything i want it to do and other than having to keep the plugs from getting to wet it has worked fine. i have my phone, fmrs, mp3 and gps hooked to it and the intercom works great. its nice to be able to just talk normally to the pillion. my wife likes it because she feels more like she is part of the ride instead of just hanging on the back. we hadn't had comms since the gold wing (16yrs) and she has avoided riding. now she is happy riding again and says its because of the communications. i wish i would have known this a long time ago. i thought she was just holding a grudge for getting rid of the wing. if she had her way we would have a wing.

 

[Bike Effects]

Starcom Systems at Bike Effects

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