So I spent 200.00 for the WT300 and push to talk, to mate to a Midland 75-822 CB. But the WC12 cable that connects the Midland to the WT300 is bad. And I have not heard from anyone at Uclear to get a replacement. Andy can you help me with this?
Hi Folks, I just bought the Uclear and though I'll share with you my review. The best part is that the microphon is on the speaker, great approach. You need to make sure the speakers are alligned though. The unit is easy to install on the helmet, pretty simple procedure. I have iPhone and the pairing was easy and quick. Sound is pretty good considering wind/speed. Generally speaking I had the J&M before and if I compare the two I would say the Uclear is as par (sound). At 80 m/h the sounds is reasonable. Phone calls - works very good, I needed to close the visor for the other side to hear my voice but they could hear me without any probelms. Rider and passenger communication with another Uclear system works great, no issues at all. I wish I had the option to stream the same tunes to two Uclear systems.....Technology is not yet there. All in all, very happy with the product. Regards, Yigal, NH
since i ride alone and pairing distance isnt an issue . do i need to spend the money on the 200???????????
it looks like the earbuds were out and then pulled.... I've just finished this thread hoping to get more information on a purchase decision. I have a Scala G4 now and think that it sucks. It's mounted on a Nolan N90 and the boom is too far from my mouth. Not to mention The Helmet Shop in Daytona butchered the lid to get the speakers through the NCom hole. After about one year the left speaker no longer works. The sound quality was always marginal on it anyway. So I have been looking at the Sena SMH10 and the UClear HBC200. I am leaning more toward the Sena because of the option to use earbuds but I like the UClear's simplicity.
I have both the Uclear HBC100 and the Sena SMH10. The UClear is a nice concept, but they simply dropped the ball when it comes to performance and options. With the UClear HBC200 (the new offering), you buy the basic unit, which comes with the speakers. As far as I know they do not offer you the unit with the option of their headsets (they have two - one cheaper than the other). So, you have to spend over $100 more AFTER you buy their unit for their earbuds. The earbuds are normal type with the flimsy soft rubber tips. My problem with that is that they do not cancel very much sound because they NEVER seal in your ears enough to cancel much road noise. Trust me, I've been there, done that. Another thing about the earbud options on the UClear - aside from them being an EXPENSIVE option with run of the milll ear tips - is the fact that their mics are placed in the wiring about an inch or so from the earbuds. Can anyone see where I'm going with this yet? - You will eventually tear the wire and damage the entire expensive setup merely by putting the helmet on and off all the time. How do I know this? With my Sena setup I have already worn out one set of Etymotic MC5 earbuds. The shells behind the earbuds cracked. - The good news is they have a two year guarantee and they were replaced for free. UClear is not going to guarantee their earbuds. They will say they were damaged from user abuse - You'll be out over $100, and that's for their CHEAP set! The Sena, of which if you can find they now have two models to choose from. I'd go with whatever's cheaper. They're really the same with only minor differences in their functionality (conference chatting instead of only one-to-one). If you need that then you have a lot of buddies that own only the new model. The old or new models do communicate with one another, so no problem there when it comes to one-on-one chat. The Sena units also come with speakers included. Difference being that you can get different mounts for the earbud setup and they also offer a boom mic or a corded mic.The later is more prefereable if you do not plan to move the setup to another helmet because you can velcro the mic to the front inside of the chin guard and route the wiring through the left cheekpad, or velcro the flat mic to the left side cheek pad at the farthest edge of the side by the corner of your mouth (ideal as the foam will isolate noise from the helmet better than placement on the chinguard (usually near a chin vent/noise), and also place the mic closer to your mouth). I have 5 helmets, so I use the boom mic option. Everytime you put the helmet on it requires you to adjust the position of the boom mic because your forehead and chin will hit it when you put on a full face helmet (really no big deal but it does happen every time). By the way, the optional mounts for the Sena will only set you back about a WHOPPING $30 or so, depending where you look, not over $100 a pop like the UClear. I think I paid about that for two mounts (I bought a Sena dual pack also for just a tad more than the single cost - SHOP AROUND!!!) The Sena units' software is also USB upgradeable. Go to their website and follow directions. Both of mine were upgraded in about 15 minutes. I like that Sena gives you the adaptor and not the earpiece. This allows the user to get what they like and customize their sound environment. I personally tested a bunch of different setups. The best I have found is a set of Etymotic true in-ear earbuds along with Comply ear foams. I can hear calls and music in excess of 100mph and the caller can still here me at that speed, although at that speed even a uni-directional mic will start to pick up some road noise, but I was told I can be understood. Once I found the Etymotic earbuds (you can find on Ebay or Amazon) I was amazed. I listen to my music on my phone and the volume is not even near max at 90-100mph! Trick is to use the right size ear foams from Comply. Their website is awesome. You can get replacement foams for just about any earbuds out there. You look up by brand and then by model. I sugggest you by the variety pack (small, medium, and large foams) and try them out to see which you like best. If you go too thick then they start to hurt your ears after a while, although they will be the quietest. As far as user friendly? Well UClear company chatted with me (check out the beginnings of this post) here and via email and i suggested to them that they come up with the earbud options and also that they make the next gen with solenoid soft-touch controls. Gee, what did they do? (LOL) The Sena is HANDS-DOWN easier to use when riding. That nice compact size of the UClear is actually detrimental to its functionality - meaning it's so small you have a hard time feeling the unit, let alone the three buttons. And when you DO feel them, wirth the new solenoid buttons, I an sure you are going to be hitting the wrong button sequences a LOT. With the Sena you have a toggle and a button. It AIN'T NO EASIER! Turning on the Sena - press in the button and the toggle together (two fingers and you can find the button on the back of the unit even through winter gloves - The Uclea you'll have trouble with or without gloves at all!. Shutting down the Sena is as advertised on any YouTube demo - press both again and it instantly shuts off. When listening to music on the Sena use the toggle only to press in and twist left (rewind) or right (forward to next track). I can do this so fast on the Sena that it takes less than a second for the push/twist motion. Push in the toggle and wait for a beep and you have hit pause. Answering a phone call you can either say, Hello, Hello', or simply press in the button on the back and the phone picks up. IT"S IDIOT-TESTED! I know because I'M NO FRIGGIN' GENIUS! What i do know is that the UClear is FRUSTRATING at best! I have the Sena SMH10 dual pack with two boom earbud mounts, and Etymotic MC5's with Comply medium P-series ear foams and I could not be happier. I hear my music, phone calls, and GPS from my EVO with clarity at illegal speeds on the highways. If you are dead set on buying the UClear then I suggest you go no faster that a 50cc scooter allows. They will be overwhelmed by road noise past 45mph when inside a helmet. Sure, the UClear looks cooler and sleek, but it can't compare to the ease of use of the Sena. I am sure future Sena models will slim down a bit, but not much. If they did they would suffer the same fumble fingered fate as the UClear. The Sena doe NOT interefere when riding fast as far as helmet checks and wind noise/resistance. I was skeptical about that, but it is a non-issue. I hope this rant provides somr help to the undecied out there.
there are new models out, what is everyones opinion of this product? Cycle Gear has the HCB100 for $149 and an additional headset only (second helmet) for $19.99 I plan to pick one up this week, but was "just wondering" if there is any more real worl feed back (and not from hearing aids !!) One review talks about pairing units with fellow riders, but when the distance opens up too much theu un pair and needed some intervention. I dont have intentions to just talk all the time while riding, but when we stop and want to ask the other guy "left or right", or ", can we stop I have to pee" - I would think the riders would be within proximity I would also be looking for feedback on snowmobile use. Thats where the second headset will probably go.
A helmet's a helmet. It doesn't matter what mode of transportation you're using. Whether you're on a motorcycle, snowmobile, dirt bike, jet ski, hot air balloon, etc. It's inside your helmet, not looking for a mounting place on your snowmobile. It doesn't care what you're riding. You'll be fine. If you need a review on video then click here - http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/u-clear-hbc200-force-bluetooth-communicator-dual-pack Honestly, a forum is only one form of information out there. Places like Revzilla do video reviews on most of their inventories. Granted, take into consideration that they want to sell you something, but Anthony is pretty straight. He mentions the Cardo and the Sena in this video review. Check out those other models also - there are video reviews on all the communication systems out there. ALSO - Check WebBikeWorld.com for written product reviews and videos.
I wish I would have gone for the Sena in the first place... the UClear was fairly expensive, and had serious performance issues. Speakers were too quiet; volume buttons virtually impossible to locate with gloves - and even the intercom/control button was clunky underneath all of that rubber. A few times both me (and my girl) almost lost the units while trying to fumble for the volume or intercom buttons. The Sena SMH10 with the universal mic setup is AMAZING. Incredibly easy to use, pre-paired... LOUD, loud, loud... and when used with the SM10, we are finally able to listen to the same music off of my iPad, converse over the intercom system without having to re-pair any of the Bluetooth devices - all while still being able to keep my phone connected and functional. If you are in the market for an intercom system - I would highly recommend the Sena!
I have the HBC 200 headset and the WT300 bluetooth radio/GPS/whatever accessory for it. The HBC200 pairs with my iPhone flawlessly. Works just great. Can't get the damn WT300 to pair with the HBC200 in anything other than A2DP mode. And when that happens the remote PTT switch is useless as it no longer works with the WT300 unless I pair it again, which requires plugging the PTT switch into power and holding down the button. And then it will pair with the WT300 however then the WT300 "forgets" it's already been paired with the HBC200. Looks like they decided to go with a bluetooth-based PTT switch (why when cheaper and more reliable low-power wireless options exist?) and the WT300 I have seems to only want to pair with either the PTT switch or the HBC200 - never both at the same time completely defeating the purpose of the device when used with a 2-way radio such as a cheap walkie-talkie or a ham radio such as my ICOM ID-51A. When it pairs with the HBC200 it works great for listening to an external music source and when plugged in to my ICOM ID-51A amateur radio HT I can hear the other hams coming in fine. Can't actually talk to them through the HBC200+WT300 combo but it sounds great. When the PTT switch is finally paired with the WT300 it keys up my ID-51A perfectly but since the HBC200 is unable to pair with the WT300 at the same time as the PTT switch, it's useless. I've contacted their support but haven't heard anything back at the moment. Also, none of their items have any kind of serial number on them at all which is kind of odd considering the expense. I have a feeling the jumped the gun on the HBC 200 "Force" and didn't thoroughly test it with their own WT300 accessory. Hopefully a firmware update to either the HBC200 or the WT300 will fix it. The way I see it, they'll fix what's wrong with my WT300 or I'll get my money back. If you're a solo kind of rider who just wants to listen to tunes without the hassle of a boom or other wired microphone, the HBC200 alone is fine in my opinion. But if you want to do radio comms on the road, look elsewhere far, far away from uClear. Right now I'm kind of pissed off about the whole thing. But I'll wait until I hear back from their support.
Looks like nothing has changed in the last year. I cannot get the damn WT300 to pair like it says in the manual either, just as a generic music bluetooth device. I'm starting to think it's all a scam. Still no reply from uClear about the support request I sent them via their website.
UPDATE: Turns out the pairing instructions in the booklet and their PDF online for connecting the WT300 to the HBC200 are wrong. Here's what they sent me in an email. I tried it and now everything is working as claimed: I do wish they would put that in their online FAQ or correct their documentation. Now my remote works and I'm transmitting out via the helmet. I'll test it some more this weekend once I get my HT rig w/external antenna going on the bike. Just finished getting APRS working on it.
You might want to hold off for a bit. This just came into my inbox: Great. I just bought this damn thing and now they're saying it's functionally broken right from the factory with no way to fix it via firmware update. I hope they ship me the next version for FREE then. I think uClear as a company (Bitwaveusa.com) is going to be dead to me soon. They should stop selling the current product immediately and then either offer a full refund to those who have already bought one and/or ship the new version when it comes out for free. Anyone remember the pain that a certain bluetooth headset maker went through with a fitness tracker product?
Thanks for the update. Yeah between their directions being wrong on their own website and now this, that isn't a great way to run a company at all and their products.