Anyone using PMR type radio on their machines to talk to their buddies ?

Rod

pmr ?

sorry confused here

walkie talkie Charlie

Walkie talkie
Unless I am wrong, then I have nfi either

hmmm could be right rossko .....possibly citizens band (uhf) as well as all the comercial variations around ?
like the police use etc ?


from memory there were a few good options from uniden many years ago ...some didnt have variable "vox"  so external vox controllers were all the go ...wich would make hands free possible with higher than normal wind noise ....  yeah off subject again ...but what i remember .

Charlie , I tried a set of the VOX throat mic walkies on a trip to the south coast, got to Sydney and threw them back in the pannier.
when your wife is screaming at you from half a clic away , due to a wrong turn , you throw them away real quick.
I quite like Rossko's thingy - SM10 I think, I just haven't convinced myself  to try them yet , as I like my freedom too much.
Rod , there is plenty of newer stuff out there, much more superior to the walkies , the all in one helmet stuff seems the go.
Ed.

Sorry lad's,
I think I was have a moment of nostalgia.
Of course why would you even want to have more noise and distraction than necessary.
For the record PMR was a uhf variant that came along post CB craze.
In any case I was just harking back to the 80's when Ham radio was all the go and I used to commute with a vhf setup on the bike...great fun at the time but the driving conditions were a lot less busy than the are now.
The less distractions the better I think.

safe driving and keep between the hedges
Rod

yes agree ed the sm 10 would be the preferred way to fly these days

had a look at the aldi version recently ....but the quality just wasn't there ...kicking myself now that I didn't have the money to share in rossko's purchase - deal....  but time and place counts ...and it wasn't the right time for me ...just then

my turn will come ....one day !

its worth a try rod ....but honestly a motor bike is not an ideal environment for radio comms   .. I do remember we installed a pushbutton switch  on the handle bar switch assembly for the transmit button ....and found at the time, that a phone handset speaker was particularly good at mounting in the helmet (size and slimness )  and for sound output levels . a curly cord did the speaker and mic ( 3 PIN ) connection to the radio  with a break out box for the ptt  near the radio in the fairing

good riding to you blokes

We have the SMH10 for the wife and I, and use it bike to bike. So far it has been great. Very clear with about 2kms line of sight range. When you get into the hills the range is much shorter and if I go off ahead (as a K100RS would do when riding with an F800ST) it will start beeping to say that it is out of range. If I stop and keep the helmet on I will pick her up again as soon as she comes within range.
The battery life is very good, but I have fitted a USB charger onto my bike just in case we are away for a few days.
I have mine fitted to my open face helmet and it has no problems with wind noise.

I used to have one on my 1150GSA for when I was providing rider training. I powered it via the bike and had a PTT switch on the left-hand controls:



It was run through an Autocom that would mute my iPod music whenever I transmitted or was receiving. I fitted an Autocom boom mic to my helmet but preferred my Ultimate Ear monitors to helmet speakers.

The unit had the ability to double the signal strength (twice the UK permitted power) as long as you mounted the optional, short, "liquorice stick" antenna.

Was it any good? Well I only really required one-way (from me) comms during instruction and it seemed fine for that. I did use it on occasion to chat to a mate who's bike was similarly equipped, when doing some touring.

In the latter case it was more of a hindrance than a help. Firstly, if I wanted to chat to a travelling companion on the road I'd travel by car. Second; the signal is never as clear as the sort of radio comms I was used to in the old days at work. I'd get half a message or just a carrier-wave and have to stop to be certain that it wasn't an important message, more often than not it would be something like, "did you see the tits on that?" and the journey was unnecessarily interrupted. Sometimes what you receive is break-in from other sources, you stop to ask what was said and find that neither of you has said anything!

The range is too short to be of real use if you do become separated, you're better off relying on a mobile phone. 

VOX operation is available on many but then you get people who don't realise that the first part of what they transmit is lost because the voice operation needs a pause to wake it up. Or worse, every time your buddy clears his throat it opens the mic and you think that you've missed something he said.

Nothing is worse than having your mate accidentally go onto permanent send and having to listen to him singing along with his music (even if he is a choir member and quite accomplished). 

It can be done, it isn't cheap though.

Charlie when you are out riding through those splendid mountains of yours, all you want to listen to are the bellbirds.

SMH10

Brilliant.
I have not chatted between bikes so I cant comment on that but for  any other blue tooth function they are great.
Have the phone connected.
Trapster (police alert thingy that works world wide in case you dont have it) and GPS navigation and music at the same time.
Just learnt I can hook up the ipod to play the music and save phone battery life at the same time I can have the phone hooked up to take calls and use the GPS to tell me where to go.

Certainly a good piece of kit.
And I have charged it about 5 times since I bought it only because I thought I should, not because it needed it.

aye you got that right ed ........nothing like it ......in the world !