Anyone gone bike to bike with PMRs?

[RobA]

Hello Friends,

Trying to pick some brains out there!

I was recently in my local Maplins and saw this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/helmet-speaker-and-microphone-kit-27212

Has anyone any experience of going bike to bike using Personal Mobile Radios?

It seems to me by far the cheapest route compared to Scala, etc, but what are the pitfalls, which are the best models of PMRs to go with a kit as above?

Any help would be appreciated.

RobA

 

[Bumpkin]

I've ridden with a guy using one of these kits, not much use over 40mph TBH. And hard to hear over 25-30mph.

There were three of us, matey with the Maplin headset and self and other rider with Autocom intercoms plugged into Kenwood TK3201 and Puxing PX888 respectively. We could converse easily up to legal limit and beyond and between a mile and three miles, depending on the terrain, in real world Welsh countryside. I hasten to add that both of us have the Bikers Oracle antenna kits (linked to below) fitted and both have Autocom Super Pro Avi intercoms that alter volume depending on background noise.

There was a headset I was shown, on the web, recently that claimed to feature a noise cancelling microphone. This plugged straight into the PMR in much the same way as the Maplins one, ISTR that it cost about £50 though. A decent/effective noise cancelling mic would make all the difference.

If you keep your eye out on eBay you should be able to buy a decent Autocom for around £50-£100. I would aim for a Super Pro Avi (higher end £) or an Active Plus. However, you'd need to add the following for an effective PMR set-up:

Radio lead - £8-£15
PTT switch - £25-£35
PMR radio - £25-£100 depending on what you choose.

Prices above are guesstimates for eBay purchases. Better deals to be had at end of season rather than now though. I got my Super Pro Avi for £43 late last year.

You can also add an external antenna kit for enhanced range. - £42 and a bike power option for the radio £15 to £30.

It does start to add up, I've managed to ignore that by buying it piece by piece and thinking that it's cheap when in reality, when making a list, it's a fair amount of money. Yet still cheaper than either buying it all new. And by buying bit by bit I, at least, didn't really notice

 

[stever1]

Hi, the link takes you to a maplins headset, remember you need to buy a radio to go with it etc.
Personally I use a good quality Motorola PMR radio linked through a Starcom digital intercom system. This is a great bit of kit once you have it set up. I use a PTT switch on the left grip and not a vox set up as this tends to activate the radio when i do not want too.
One thing to remember is that the cheaper kit on the market tends to have less effective noise cancelling on the helmet microphone.This makes the experience very annoying if all you can here is wind noise.
One bit of kit i have used on my son`s bike was a Kenwood PMR system, this consisted of a radio, headset, cabling and PTT button. This seemed to be a good compromise as its much cheaper than the Starcom/Motorola combination (about £90).
you pays your money and you makes your choice.

 

[stever1]

Its me again.
B.T.W when using PMR equipment i believe you cannot have an external antenna, and can only have a 500mw output (yeah right)

 

[stolzy]

My experience with PMR stuck in the tank bag and working via a Starcom is that range when you're stationary in town is about 100m, and this goes down rapidly on the move. At motorway speeds, they're next to useless.

 

[roddy]

Its me again.
B.T.W when using PMR equipment i believe you cannot have an external antenna, and can only have a 500mw output (yeah right)

Not quite your allowed an external aerial as long as you don't exceed the 500mW output

My experience with PMR stuck in the tank bag and working via a Starcom is that range when you're stationary in town is about 100m, and this goes down rapidly on the move. At motorway speeds, they're next to useless.

It's amazing the difference having the aerial upright makes, you would roughly double the range in both town and out of town, and do motorway speeds without too much hassle

 

[AndrewD]

Had years of trying to get a group of us on good PMR's the best results were the Interide A80's set to 4w and external antenna. The problem was when people kept buying Chinese crap

I gave up and use a Schuberth SRCS made by Scala it's a G4 built into the collar with less range.

After that it's get the mobile out!

 

[Bumpkin]

My experience with PMR stuck in the tank bag and working via a Starcom is that range when you're stationary in town is about 100m, and this goes down rapidly on the move. At motorway speeds, they're next to useless.

The external antenna kits do make a big difference, having a radio lying flat under a seat or in a tank-bag will all but kill any effective range. If you can get it vertical it will help though.

Another vital consideration is the careful placement of helmet speakers. I've spent quite some time fine tuning the location of the ones for my Autocom and it does make a huge difference to being able to hear the audio at speed. The alignment of the centre of the speaker with your ear canal is important but this combined with making a foam/velcro stack (Autocom sell these in 6mm and 12mm thicknesses but I made my own) to bring the speakers closer was a revelation.

 

[andyclift]

My wife and I use Alan HP450 PMR radios as they are 100% waterproof and can, if required, be programmed with other frequencies at a higher output. They also come with Li-on batteries that last for days without charging.

As they are waterproof we have them on home made Touratech style aluminium brackets on the handlebars so we can adjust volume or change channels on the move. They link to Autocom systems and have push to talk buttons on the left grip.

The system works really well and provides a much better range than Bluetooth.

 

[Bumpkin]

Its me again.
B.T.W when using PMR equipment i believe you cannot have an external antenna, and can only have a 500mw output (yeah right)

You're correct about the 500mW ERP, the use of an external antenna is something of a grey area.

PMR446 users are reminded that their radios are only licence-exempt if they are built and operated within the conditions of the exemption regulations. If modifications are made to the equipment, such as adding an antenna connector, the overall maximum ERP or other technical parameters must not exceed the permitted levels set out in the Interface Requirement.

The above extract implies that an external antenna is permitted so long as the Tx power output is not boosted beyond the permitted 0.5W

 

[andyclift]

I think if my wife and I needed more than 500mw it would mean we have gone on different holidays.

Radios on bars means antenna is in nice open area and vertical (as it should be) so there is no point in going to the trouble of plumbing in an external twig.

 

[Bumpkin]

I think if my wife and I needed more than 500mw it would mean we have gone on different holidays.

Radios on bars means antenna is in nice open area and vertical (as it should be) so there is no point in going to the trouble of plumbing in an external twig.

Yes, a very valid point about having antenna mounted vertically. The trouble with this approach for many is that of security. Hence an external antenna with the radio located practically where it will fit, and be hidden from prying eyes, without consideration for it's ability to transmit effectively.

 

[andyclift]

I have the facility to put a small padlock on my radio bracket but in practice it's easier to spend about 5 seconds to lift it off the bracket and put in in my pocket.

The brackets were made with a couple of aluminium strips from B&Q, a RAM ball on the back and a standard RAM bar mount.

 

[Canuck]

I have the same setup as described HERE. Ant. from bikers oracle 'troggy' chap... last summer father and I had a range of about 1-2 km including being on opposite sides of mountains in the alp (i.e. st gottard's pass etc etc). WOrked great... always clear and no issues.

 

[stolzy]

It's amazing the difference having the aerial upright makes, you would roughly double the range in both town and out of town, and do motorway speeds without too much hassle

Useful info, might have to revisit this - gave up on it a couple of years ago.

 

[roddy]

Useful info, might have to revisit this - gave up on it a couple of years ago.

I used to have the radio mounted on the handlebars so the aerial was up high and upright always had a good range and clarity of sound

 

[russ996duke]

I think if my wife and I needed more than 500mw it would mean we have gone on different holidays.

Radios on bars means antenna is in nice open area and vertical (as it should be) so there is no point in going to the trouble of plumbing in an external twig.

FWIW
bike to bike pmrs have always worked well for our little group, a mix of cheapo chinese and motorola pmrs, via autocom with both PTT and Vox types. audio is clear enough up to 100mph plus with careful set up of autocom. the limit has always been primarily the available range, with pmrs, range is dictated by the surrounding topography, hills deepish twisty valleys or built up areas mean range can be as little as 100m, just when swe lose contact with the others and need to talk or as much as 1/2k out in open but mostly less than this.
my current set up includes troggies remote antenna,a puxing 888, autocom and range is no longer an issue. i did find that when I used a pmr in tankbag, upright was slightly better.

 

[Hatchet]

I’ve been using an Autocom with a Puxing radio. Works great.

The one rule we have in the group I go away with is, No VOX, PTT only.


Just got sent a link for one of these. Looks very interesting.

http://motohauspowersportslimited.c...61243150D74A/724A5344957E14EAE89F0E32AAFB68BF
.


.

 

[advancedbiker]

Icom and Wintec PMR's with Autocom

I have been suing Autocom and Icom radios for numbers of years and never had any problems. They were expensive a thge time, but thanks to E bay you can get a decent set at a reasonalble price. I did stray a few years ago and tried Intaride - Not a patch. Unable to compete at higher speeds, Autocom in much superior.
I was out today training and the client borrowed my Icom, he had Midland....... The comms worked very well, cristal clear until I tried my othere Icom connected to an external aerial. The reception from the client was not as good, so went back the Icom without external aerial.
I was just wondering if I have a good enough ground on the external aerial, which is from the usuaul source, or should I try the Icom with aerial mounted upright in my top box.
Work in progress, watch this space.
This is the Autocoms with two riders, with Icom and Kenwood in Wales:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9raAhyOK5B8&