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Communications Connecting - internet cafes, laptops, smart phones - how to connect, use, which one, and intercom/radio systems.
Photo by Erling Foshaugen, Curious kid in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia

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Photo by Erling Foshaugen,
Curious kid in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia



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  #16  
Old 9 Sep 2012
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Autocom is a nightmare.

Scala G4 is awesome. Three of us rode in a two week, 9000 km rally; in snow, rain, hale storm, heat, cold, sand storm... Long days where we chatted A LOT. Only problem we encountered was that we found it confusing to pair them up, but after that, they worked perfect, except for a couple of tines where we needed to reset. Might be way easier on the latest models or if you are just two riders/bikes.

At home I use it for my I-Phone. Even when riding fast with open faced helmet, people I speek to can't tell I'm not at the office.

As for music, it's too weak in tha bass and too much treble. But this is because it is primarily an intercom. I still use it for music though, it is ok...

Never used the FM Radio...
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  #17  
Old 9 Sep 2012
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Me and Bushman travelled 6 months RTW last year with Scala G4's - no problems for us. Before the G4 we had a G2 setup which, again, was excellent - in fact we used it again this year on our Balkans trip because Bushman couldn't find his G4 rig - no problems. We do, however, not connect our sat navs to bluetooth when we are riding as our guidance instructions always seem to cut in just as we are saying something importnat to each other like "Watch out for that....."
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  #18  
Old 10 Sep 2012
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Does anyone have any experince with the nolan NCom kits??

they're only compatible with nolan/ xlite helmets but it seems to me because they mount internally to the helmet shell then they'll be much less exposed so less susecptable to water damage.

It's irritating that you need two seperate kits to get them to fit but it's price in line with the equivalent cardo product.
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  #19  
Old 12 Sep 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fantastic Mister Fox View Post
Does anyone have any experince with the nolan NCom kits??

they're only compatible with nolan/ xlite helmets but it seems to me because they mount internally to the helmet shell then they'll be much less exposed so less susecptable to water damage.

It's irritating that you need two seperate kits to get them to fit but it's price in line with the equivalent cardo product.
No. No experience with the n-com Mr Fox, but I might have to challenge you on the cost of the n-com. I looked at getting the Nolan option when I bought the wife a Nolan helmet. I already had an N43 Air.
But a quick hunt round on the web shows that you have to buy a "Basic Kit", which looks to be just the speakers and microphone at £50.00. Then you have to buy the electronics bluetooth kit at £175.00. And this is for one helmet so far. So about £450 to equip a pair of helmets.
When you consider that both the Sena SMH10 and Interphone F5 are £300 or less,for a pair, and are possibly the best intercoms around, it made it no contest for me.
I ended up buying a pair of the Sena SMH5's. And so far they have been fantastic.
Having said all that, I dont know if you have seen some n-com kit cheap? My understanding is that Nolan do not have a UK distributor at present, hence why a lot of shops were selling there stuff off cheap.
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  #20  
Old 20 Aug 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mavis cruet View Post
two of us are off to africa for a few months and were wondering about getting some form of bike to bike communication. in-helmet seems like the best idea but probably more expensive. What systems have peple tried and which are any good? cheers in advance. karl.
I have been using the Interphone F4 and F5 for 2 years now and have had no problems with them. The battery lasts all day with constant use, long range(400-600m proven) with clear audio. The build quality is top notch plus you can recharge them off a standard cigarette USB charger it only takes 2 hours or from a standard wall charger. There are 2 types available one for full face and another for flip helmets with a boom microphone.
The difference between the two models are that the F4 has menu selection with bleep prompts(cheaper) and the F5 has voice prompts which is easier to set up.

I have mine paired with my Garmin Zumo 660 and my Iphone which makes life much easier out on the road.

Well worth a look at and buying you will not be disappointed.
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  #21  
Old 22 Oct 2013
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Scala G4, when it works is great. When it works being the key statement. My microphone now no longer works and Scala are being very difficult about sorting it over warranty. They have no European service support it appears. Give their unreliability and poor service, go elsewhere. Maybe they will see the light with some further pushing, but we shall see.
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  #22  
Old 22 Oct 2013
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We've had a couple of Sena SMH10's since last year and find them great, as far as 2up riding goes. I've just not used them between 2 bikes to know. However I did a distance test with them and got almost 1km before it lost the connection.

What I like:
-Easy to use jog dial, tap to talk, turn the dial to adjust the volume, can answer phone easily if needed.
-Easily connects all our devices.
-Great battery life, every trip this year they have easily lasted the entire day of riding (we do turn them off at breaks).
-Great sound clarity.
-No cables
-Price was right.
-Overall simple to use

What we don't like:
-Battery operated so you have to make sure you charge up every day. We did have a day that I just forgot to charge them, and strangely enough we managed most of the next day on the same charge, although we limited our usage significantly. Other solution is to buy a spare unit and charge the spare on the bike, while using the fully charged that day, then swap the next day.
-Does stick out on the helmet somewhat. Although I've not measured how much this ads to the wind noise, I'm sure it's a factor.
-Durability could be a factor with anything attached to the outside of your helmet. I think that if I crashed or even a low speed get off, it would be more likely to get damaged beyond repair vs a wired unit sitting snugly under the seat. I suppose the spare would fix that. But by the time you factor in a spare I can't help but think a wired set is the way to go.

I realize you weren't asking about wired systems, but those are my thoughts. We like the Sena system very much but I'm seriously considering going back to wired for our RTW, we're 2up mind you.

Cheers,
Mark



Quote:
Originally Posted by talljohn View Post
Scala G4, when it works is great. When it works being the key statement. My microphone now no longer works and Scala are being very difficult about sorting it over warranty. They have no European service support it appears. Give their unreliability and poor service, go elsewhere. Maybe they will see the light with some further pushing, but we shall see.
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  #23  
Old 22 Oct 2013
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I will ad that I've met a few people that ended up with cheap knock off BT units from Asia and have been super happy with them.
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  #24  
Old 27 Oct 2013
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The Sena are great for bike to bike. Range varies on terrain. Max in open spaces probably 6-800 metres, much less in cities or on winding mountain roads. Battery life is great (few days) if sensible with use.
Plug them into charge via 12v or 240v. External music, phone etc. Absolutely no way I'd tour without them now
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  #25  
Old 30 Oct 2013
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Hi I haven't tried this combination yet but Midland make a bluetooth PMR Radio see link Midland G8E BT - Radio Communication - Products - Midland, Cte International, Consumer Bluetooth Communication, Bluetooth adapter, Headphones, GPS Locators, Radio CB, Radio Marine, Radio PMR446/LPD, Radio professional, VHF/UHF Transceivers, Scanner, .

This will pair with any bluetooth helmet and there is a wired PTT for the handlebars.

It does mean you could stick it all in your tankbag and run the cable to the bars and you also end up with 2 pretty good PMR radios too that work just as walkie talkies.

norms
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  #26  
Old 18 Nov 2013
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Cool Interphone F4/5

I have been using the Interphone F4 but now upgraded to the F5 its a fantastic piece of kit.
It lasts upto 10hrs on a single charge we had distances upto 600-800mtrs depending on local conditions. It pairs with all phones and sat navs through blutooth plus it has a auxillary audio input for music and a built in FM radio.
It comes with a choice of full face or open face boom microphone kit so you can mix and match whichever helmet you want to wear
The audio is very clear with good volume output just depends on how wind noisy your helmet is this is the same with all helmet audio units.
The F5 has voice prompts in the set up menue which makes setting up very easy as opposed to diffrent bleeps and tones.
You can pair multiple units so if there is a large groupe you can all be on the same communication loop.
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  #27  
Old 20 Nov 2013
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Intercom

We had a Scala & I think there the best but mine broke when the misses started to whinge !!!!! Unfortunately it was fatal !!!!
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