automag928
Well-known member
Well, I broke down and bought some toys for me and my FJR finally....One of the ones I most appreciate so far is the BlueAnt Interphone. Clicky
Seeing how I ride with ER6i earphones, 1) because the ear plug helps with wind noise in my Nolan N102 on the interstate, and 2) listening to tunes definitely gets me in the groove and clears my head, I wanted to some how tie my cell phone in for when my wife calls worried where the heck I am, but also wanted some sort of wireless intercom that I could use if she wanted to go riding with me. Last time we went out, she said she would have preferred to not shout at me all the time - so for the cost and reviews I saw, the Interphone looked like it fit the bill.
Install - As I said before, I use ear phones, so the speaker for the interphone sits just outside my left earphone in the little opening of my helmet padding. This was very comfortable, I could not tell a difference with it in or out. The little "guts" of the unit sits just outside your helmet, as most other bluetooth headsets do. The boom mic is almost perfect, however (and I'm assuming my helmet might be different because its a fliplid) my lips are constantly resting on the foam padding, which was annoying at first but after 25 miles or so, I didn't even pay attention to it anymore. So I'd say 4 out of 5 for install just because of the mic.
Setup - Anyone familiar with bluetooth items knows that bluetooth can be finicky to say the least. Following all the directions in the manual, the interphone paired beautifully with my Vz LG EnV cell phone and then flawlessly with the other interphone module. I did have a few issues, but those were user issues, not equipment problems. (RTFM helps for sure!)
Switching from phone mode to intercom mode is as simple as holding one button, and either listen for one beep or two. For setup, 5 out of 5.
So how did they actually do? - Well to say that this thing works as advertised would be an understatement for sure. I used it for several days just as a bluetooth connection to my phone, so I could answer it when the wife called wondering where I was or take the occasional call from work or whatever. Worked great, volume was good even through earbuds. I haven't even needed the "super loud" volume mode. Everyone I spoke with had no idea I was on a bike much less going 70-75mph on the interstate. Voice activated dialing worked as well as it does just using the phone, couldn't ask for anything better. Now as far as the intercom, I had the opportunity to test that out yesterday for a good length of time. My brother-in-law (on an 04 FJR) and I rode for about 120 miles, and used the intercom for probably 2/3rds of the trip. According to a distance calculator based off of google maps, the farthest we were able to talk and hear each other was just over 400 feet. The volume was good for both of us, and the full duplex is very nice, not having to wait for either of us to finish talking before speaking was as close to have a face to face conversation as you could. Having both of our visors up, actually didn't change the sound very much. There was like a slight scratchy sound in the background, but we could still carry on a conversation no troubles - that surprised both of us. As far as at speed, I can say they were tested simultaneously well into the triple digits, and again performed flawlessly. :yahoo: Being able to communicate with him using quick words, rather than trying to interpret hand signals etc, was awesome. At the end of the day, I'd say we were both pretty impressed with how they performed. 5 out of 5
Cost - for two units you're going to spend ~ $210 Unfortunately it doesn't do stereo, or have anyway to pipe music in, or have conversations with more than one other person on the intercom, but what it does do, it does remarkably well. It's not as expensive as collett, J&M, or a starcom setup, but it doesn't quite have that versatility although it is completely wireless. Just because its over 2 bills for 2 of them, 3 out of 5.
To summarize - its a great little unit if you want to be able to grab the occasionally phone call or chat with pillion or another rider wirelessly. It does everything as advertised for a fairly reasonable price. Two thumbs up!
Seeing how I ride with ER6i earphones, 1) because the ear plug helps with wind noise in my Nolan N102 on the interstate, and 2) listening to tunes definitely gets me in the groove and clears my head, I wanted to some how tie my cell phone in for when my wife calls worried where the heck I am, but also wanted some sort of wireless intercom that I could use if she wanted to go riding with me. Last time we went out, she said she would have preferred to not shout at me all the time - so for the cost and reviews I saw, the Interphone looked like it fit the bill.
Install - As I said before, I use ear phones, so the speaker for the interphone sits just outside my left earphone in the little opening of my helmet padding. This was very comfortable, I could not tell a difference with it in or out. The little "guts" of the unit sits just outside your helmet, as most other bluetooth headsets do. The boom mic is almost perfect, however (and I'm assuming my helmet might be different because its a fliplid) my lips are constantly resting on the foam padding, which was annoying at first but after 25 miles or so, I didn't even pay attention to it anymore. So I'd say 4 out of 5 for install just because of the mic.
Setup - Anyone familiar with bluetooth items knows that bluetooth can be finicky to say the least. Following all the directions in the manual, the interphone paired beautifully with my Vz LG EnV cell phone and then flawlessly with the other interphone module. I did have a few issues, but those were user issues, not equipment problems. (RTFM helps for sure!)
Switching from phone mode to intercom mode is as simple as holding one button, and either listen for one beep or two. For setup, 5 out of 5.So how did they actually do? - Well to say that this thing works as advertised would be an understatement for sure. I used it for several days just as a bluetooth connection to my phone, so I could answer it when the wife called wondering where I was or take the occasional call from work or whatever. Worked great, volume was good even through earbuds. I haven't even needed the "super loud" volume mode. Everyone I spoke with had no idea I was on a bike much less going 70-75mph on the interstate. Voice activated dialing worked as well as it does just using the phone, couldn't ask for anything better. Now as far as the intercom, I had the opportunity to test that out yesterday for a good length of time. My brother-in-law (on an 04 FJR) and I rode for about 120 miles, and used the intercom for probably 2/3rds of the trip. According to a distance calculator based off of google maps, the farthest we were able to talk and hear each other was just over 400 feet. The volume was good for both of us, and the full duplex is very nice, not having to wait for either of us to finish talking before speaking was as close to have a face to face conversation as you could. Having both of our visors up, actually didn't change the sound very much. There was like a slight scratchy sound in the background, but we could still carry on a conversation no troubles - that surprised both of us. As far as at speed, I can say they were tested simultaneously well into the triple digits, and again performed flawlessly. :yahoo: Being able to communicate with him using quick words, rather than trying to interpret hand signals etc, was awesome. At the end of the day, I'd say we were both pretty impressed with how they performed. 5 out of 5
Cost - for two units you're going to spend ~ $210 Unfortunately it doesn't do stereo, or have anyway to pipe music in, or have conversations with more than one other person on the intercom, but what it does do, it does remarkably well. It's not as expensive as collett, J&M, or a starcom setup, but it doesn't quite have that versatility although it is completely wireless. Just because its over 2 bills for 2 of them, 3 out of 5.
To summarize - its a great little unit if you want to be able to grab the occasionally phone call or chat with pillion or another rider wirelessly. It does everything as advertised for a fairly reasonable price. Two thumbs up!
