Hi there I'm planing to use my cheap chinese ebay Baofeng Radios (and smiliar) for bike to bike comm. But I lack a headset for helmet use. The radios have a Kenwood plug. I don't want to spend a gazillion on bluetooth helmet inserts that include ipod buttons, gps, phone and can make me a sandwich. I'm looking for a good old corded solution, with PTT switch and some plug in the connector along the main line so I can disconnect the shit when I stop (or in mid-air when falling down a cliff with my bike). The setup should be more or less helmet independent (just using some Velcro or so), as I would by a pair of two for any other rider that joins me and does not have his own radio/intercom). as I'm not as experienced with those products I'd like some input of you guys. What would you recommend? As I stated above I don't plan to spend hundreds of dollars, I'm good with a simple solution that just connects to my radio and gives me a PTT switch for the handle bar. A decent micro (less wind noise) would be perfect. Shall I just get me some cheap ass crap from ebay, or are there any good and simple headsets for that sort of use? any inputs are appreciated.
I use the system from www.ruggedradios.com Sound like it's more than you want to spend, but it's my solution. I've seen lots of people try other solutions and they fail or sound terrible.
The rugged (or PCI or Sampson) racing setups work as opposed to the cheapo junk. Unfortunately, the mic booms don't really lend themselves to be moved easily from helmet to helmet. This is a case of you get what you pay for. But if you want to try the cheap stuff then Fry's and other stores should have some cheap headsets. Just my $.02 Cheers,
thanks for your replies. To clarify: I'm not fixed on a cheap one, I just don't need the features of the 300$ league (aka bluetooth, wireless, coffee and sandwich) and Id' like to know what I get in terms of technical specs. I looked into the ruggedradios products, and even there it seems to me that you buy pig in a poke. but the connectors and cables seems very rugged and will indeed last for a while. I'll look into it, but appreciate other inputs too.
Ebay search baofeng headset You'll find a ton of,choices I used a baofeng and a 30 dollar headset for a week in baja Took a spare headset which was lucky because a spill pulled the ptt wire out Rugged radios have MUCH better connectors but even with the cost of the back up headset I,was into,the whole.setup,for under 100 bucks
Thanks for your help. In the meantime I went for the more expensive route and got myself a used Intercom setup. Main reason was the need for rider to pillion communication. The system comes with headsets and the option to attach a PMR radio. Had no chance to retreive the item from the seller yet, but hope to put it into my bike in January
Boafeng radios use the same as the Kenwood PTT Plug system. I've got the cheapo PTT units from Fleabay.... my riding partner paid the big bucks from PCI.. They both work well.. and both are not bullet proof systems as we both have had ours problems.. His just cost more and look cooler we've been using the Boafengs programed to GMRS stations for years for great results.. we have the bigger batteries so they last a few days... you can also get them to hook to the 12v bike plug as well for unlimited battery life.. that's good to have on remote rides where you can't plug in and charge every night.
that's what I did just this moment: added the autocom kenwood wire harness to the baofeng radio and wired up the baofeng battery eliminator. glued a ram ball mount to the back and now time for testing.
I use a helmet headset with my Baofeng UV-5R HT. Id like to add an amplifier and mixer to the setup, so I can also monitor my GPS while riding (and possibly add MP3 player music later as well.) Heres a description of the components: AMP/Mixer: The AMP/Mixer has three inputs for, say, a GPS, MP3 player and a Baofeng Radio. The AMP/Mixer has one output to headphones. Theres no signal prioritization on this AMP/MIXER, which is OK with me. All inputs are treated equally and heard simultaneously. (Website for the AMP/MIXER is http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider.html.) The headset: The headset, by Pryme, terminates in a two-prong, Kenwood-compatible, plug which is compatible with the Baofeng UV-5R. The MIC plug is 3.5mm; the SPKR plug is 2.5mm. Push-To-Talk (PTT) is activated by connecting a circuit between the sleeve of the 3.5mm plug and the sleeve of the 2.5mm plug. (See the plug description on page 3) (Headset Website http://www.pryme.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=2243) The radio: Has Kenwood-style two prong MIC/SPKR/PTT sockets. (See the plug description at http://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_Technical.php) Usage Using the AMP/MIXER requires me to add an extension cable to each of the two plugs (2.5 and 3.5mm) on the Kenwood compatible headset. The MIC plug (3.5mm) from the headset goes via male/female extension to the MIC socket on the radio. The SPKR plug (2.5mm) from the headset goes via male/female extension to the AMP/MIXER output. The SPKR output from the radio goes via male/male cable to the input on the AMP/ MIXER. The GPS SPKR output goes via male/male cable to the input on the AMP/MIXER. (Optional: the MP3 player output goes via male/male cable to the input on the AMP/ MIXER) The Problem The PTT on the Baofeng requires a circuit between the sleeves on both the 2.5 and 3.5mm plugs. (See drawing on page 3) The PTT switch completes the circuit between the sleeves. Using the extension cables eliminates the PTT switchs ability to complete that circuit. The Solution: Might you recommend a solution that would allow use of the AMP/MIXER and the PTT switch?
