DRUNKNORGY

I got an in line amp for about £18 which runs on 2 AA batteries called Boostaroo mail order from the states www.boostaroo.com . It works well but will **** your hearing.
If you want an intercom to go from Bike to Bike, or rider to passenger, The only way to go is with noise cancelling mic's. Autocom uses this system and it consists of 2 mic's back to back on a boom or in the chin piece of the lid. One faces the mouth and picks up voice and background noise, the other picks up just background noise. The signals from both are fed into a small amp and the background noise signal is inverted, this is than mixed back together with the other signal and cancels out the background noise leaving just the voice. Other filters are used to screen off the frequencies above and below the vocal range. If the system doesn't use this, the wind/engine noise will drown out everything above 50mph. This is why cheap systems don't work.
Its a shame they charge so much for the system as its quite a straight forward circuit and can be run from 2- 3 volt lithium watch batteries. in a matchbox sized container

[Edited by DRUNKNORGY - 7/2/2002 12:39:09 PM]

kryten

Just wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a motorbike audio system. All I really want is to be able to listen to the radio while I'm on my way to/from work.

Option to attach the iPaq for MP3 would be nice as well as a bike to bike setup option that isn't too expensive.

I don't want to use in-ear headphones but a proper helmet mounted speaker system (I tend to use earplugs).

Oh and connecting to my T68 would be a bonus.

Suggestions then?

rik1471

Not sure about an audio system, but I can sort you out a pretty nifty ashtray for £14.99 + p&p.

fast bloke

Kryten - If you get a lid with built in speakers you wont be able to use ear plugs anyway. I've tried a few bike to bike with built in AM/FM radio system. As a rule, anything under 300 quid will be next to useless. Throat mikes seem to suffer less from wind noise etc than mouth mikes... not sure about connecting the rest of the stuff.

AndyWRX

Kryten
Me and my wife use an Autocom intercom system on our bike with and without earplugs. We can hold a reasonable conversation at up to 100 mph even when using earplugs, in fact the voices are probably clearer with earplugs in though obviously not as loud.

It also has an input for a radio/CD/tape which I use sometimes when on my own. This works fine depending on the volume that the station is transmitting at. The unit we have is a old analogue one which picks up interference from digital mobile phones so cannot be interfaced with them, but you do know when someone rings you.

I think the latest ones are compatable with digital mobiles.

kryten

Well, I've got the autocom and an MP3 player, so we'll see how it goes on the journey to work tomorrow.....

AndyWRX

Worth spending time making sure the speakers are fitted well. I've fitted ours under the lining in the cheek pads.
Hope you get on OK.

kryten

Fitting them into my Suomy Gunwind has been a bit of a pain. I started in the place the dealer suggested but they were too low and slightly covered by the chinstrap.

I've now moved them above where the straps come through (unfotunately, the correct place is exactly where the straps come through the cheekpads). Hopefully that should mean its audible at motorway speeds (which it wasn't before).

AndyWRX

Both of ours are near the chinstraps as well and took a couple of attempts to get right. You'll either have to persevere or have an operation to move your ears.
I have found that using a silk balaclava helps as you can then pack the speakers out closer to your ear, but still gat the helmet on over your ears.

kryten

I've pretty much given up on the radio idea. I've now realised that a thing called RDS is what makes radio useful in a car. While a couple of portable radios have RDS (roberts/sony) neither seems to automatically retune the AF signal while moving: pressing buttons to retune isn't something that seems like a good idea on a bike with gloves on.

The speaker position is now about as good as I can get it (without the operation, or buying a new helmet). Spent a while restitching the lining over the weekend and the helmet fits fine.

At motorway speeds (+) its just about audible, though it does seem to depend on the direction of the wind!

At 70mph its excellent. I think that the MP3 player I'm using has a low output voltage, so may try a different one for comparison.

I'll probably also try some different earplugs. Interestingly, its totally inaudible when not using earplugs due to the deafening wind noise!

Where did you fit it on the bike? I was thinking of under the seat, but cannot decide where to bring the headset cable out (and also where to clip it when not in use!).

Makes a change from fitting car stereos - no pulling panels out and running miles of cable. Just lift the seat and that's your lot!

Adam_K

u can get a kind of amplifier from autocom which sits inline with the headfones so u can make it louder so u can hear it on the motorway.

AndyWRX

We haven't got ours permanently fitted on the bike. I just put it in my tank bag when we want to use it.

kryten

Using a Minidisc player with an analogue recording done on maximum input/output levels produced a much better volume that was audible virtually the whole time, so I'll have a play with the levels on the files I've got.

Thanks for the help.