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Communications Connecting - internet cafes, laptops, smart phones - how to connect, use, which one, and intercom/radio systems.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 29 Jan 2008
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Does anyone know if there's a standard frequency which is OK to use worldwide? Or would/could there be difficulties with these in different countries? How for instance are these received at border crossings into say the former Soviet Union? Or is it a case of having to "hide and hope"?
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Old 29 Jan 2008
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U.K 446 Mhz PMR radio band is O.K to use anywhere in the E.U. These low powered radios are licence free and can be found in shops throughout Europe... Even in areas where they are unlawful, they are so low powered that their use is very unlikely to cause interferance or come to the notice of law enforcement.

I seldom go over 50 MPH on my bikes - a XT600E/XBR500 (both big Jap thumpers) and they don't like prolonged high speeds.That said they will happily stomp along all day at 60 MPH. So wind noise isn't likely to be that much of a problem.

I never experienced any problem using force radio in the Special Escort Group. I think the use of bike to bike comms is often overlooked by many riders without basic radio knowledge. They can turn a boring ride into a very interesting one... Providing of course they are used properly with safety/defensive riding in mind.

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Old 30 Jan 2008
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Originally Posted by Alexlebrit View Post
Does anyone know if there's a standard frequency which is OK to use worldwide?
It would make sense ... so No there is not.. as far as I know. The 'mericans have some 'public access radio' thingy .. wrong frequency for Oztralia. Not wrong by much .. but wrong. May be in another 50 years?
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  #4  
Old 31 Jan 2008
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There is an international organisation run by the United Nations that polices the worlds airwaves. Different frequencies are made available in different parts of the world in order to avoid congestion and interferance. Also radio signals can travel enormous distances by way of "propergation". VHF and UHF (50 Watt) are usually line of sight (30 miles or less) but H.F and VLF can bounce around the earth quite easily (9,000 miles possible using only 1 watt and a good aerial). It follows that radio frequencies do need to be allocated according to the area you operate from. The closest thing to an international radio frequency I know of is the 446Mhz Low Powered (PMR) radio system which is used throughout the E.U.
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Old 1 Feb 2008
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Originally Posted by kentfallen View Post
There is an international organisation run by the United Nations that polices the worlds airwaves.
Does the United Nations stop wars? No ..


Each country polices its' airways. Some countries are so close they have to cooperate ... some countries power over the top of other countries (somethimes this is political ...).

The 'international organisation' comes to some sort of consensis of what frequencies are used for what and area distribution. Some member countries chose to ignore that from time to time and band to band. They have no policing function!!!!! Like within the UN itself .. cooperation is the name of the game. For the majority of the time and spectrum it works .. but there are places where it goes wrong. And they mostly effect the 'free' areas .. commercial intrests have money to loose.

Places like Australia can set there own stuff up - because they are far enough away from other to do that in some bands .. North America similarly. As for China... well look at the problem of trying to get a vehicle there to start with! So seperate systems, laws etc exist and make 'global' things a dream at present.
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Last edited by Frank Warner; 1 Feb 2008 at 02:38.
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  #6  
Old 1 Feb 2008
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Hey there,

I can't recommend the Starcom1 guys enough

StarCom1 Motorcycle intercom helmet audio communication system bluetooth

I used the starcom1 advance system and it was fantastic at pulling together all my comms needs - including the MP3 player, the GPS, the mobile phone and the PMR Radio.

Radio wise - I'd always go with the PMR - whilst not legal in all parts of the world they're so low powered and on such a low band, that they don't cause any issues and most importantly, don't get noticed.

m
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  #7  
Old 25 Feb 2008
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I’d agree with this
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Originally Posted by mattcbf600 View Post
Hey there,

I can't recommend the Starcom1 guys enough

StarCom1 Motorcycle intercom helmet audio communication system bluetooth

I used the starcom1 advance system and it was fantastic at pulling together all my comms needs - including the MP3 player, the GPS, the mobile phone and the PMR Radio.

Radio wise - I'd always go with the PMR - whilst not legal in all parts of the world they're so low powered and on such a low band, that they don't cause any issues and most importantly, don't get noticed.

m
I’d agree with this post, got an Starcom1 advance unit from the NEC bike show in 2006. Spot on, they cost a bit, but the quality is very good. After sales services is also very good. Had a problem with a lead running from my Zumo and it was replaced no questions asked.

It’s developed a slight fault with one of the audio out sockets but I’ve not sent the unit back yet, sure it’ll be dealt with in the same way. The Bluetooth is C**P with audio (mp3) but for instruction from the Zumo its sweet. Radio wise, can't comment, not done bike2bike
Last edited by ukiceman; 27 Feb 2008 at 06:50.
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  #8  
Old 26 Feb 2008
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Autocom
I've used a PMR radio and a Maplins kit with the headset, mic and PTT button and found it to be pretty useless at anything over about 30mph. Fairly quickly, we tended to use it just to attract each others attention with a blast of static in the ear, then within a couple of weeks later I ripped it out of my helmet and threw it away as it pretty much just fell apart.

For my forthcoming trip to South America, we have gone for some Autocom systems, which allow connection of ipods, phones, gps etc as well as bike to bike comms. It also does VOX operation and has filtering for wind noise. Seems to work very well when I've tried it over here, and looks pretty well made. Time will tell how it holds up on the road.

The autocom website has some interesting video comparisons with the starcom unit, though I have never seen or played with one of the starcoms so can't really comment.
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