Garmin 2610 earpiece

[PanEuropean]

I understand the point you are making, but I don't see how this problem could be overcome without resorting to external loudspeakers.

Hi Andy:

Goodinr seems to be on the right track (at least, to the extent I comprehend his description - I am no expert in this subject), in the sense that he is taking the little speaker that you mentioned and mounting it against the shell of the helmet, rather than wearing it over his ear.

What I am thinking is this: Most helmets have an inner foam structure that is about half to three-quarters of an inch thick. My concern is that if the user is wearing an earpiece or earplug, and they get a head impact, the inner foam structure could wind up pressing the device against the person's skull. If, however, the speaker is mounted on the helmet (as opposed to being mounted on the head), then there is no risk of the speaker getting caught between the inner foam liner and the skull of the wearer. This is because the speaker would be separated from the user's skull by the thickness of the inner foam liner in the helmet. The risk of the speaker being pressed against the skull of the user would be minimized by the presence of the foam liner between the user's skull and the inner surface of the helmet shell.

I don't think it is necessary to spend a fortune to accomplish this. It's quite probable that off the shelf equipment - perhaps even the device that you posted a link to - could be fitted into the helmet in such a way that it is attached to the inside of the shell (not the inside of the foam liner, or the head of the user).

I hope this explains the point I am trying to make better.

Michael

 

[goodinr]

Earpiece

As mentioned in several of these posts I wear a Nolan flip lid and the little speaker in its bag sits in a recess in the foam where the helmet straps mount.
This seems like the best possible place to mount it to avoid injury if god forbid I have a get off. Ron.
Luckilly this is also the point where it is the loudest.

 

[Taff]

Different helmets are built differently obviously, but I tried doing just that (ie sticking the small speaker between the helmet shell and the inner foam) last year, with no joy. I managed to take trhe cheek bone section of the padding out no problem, but the problem I found was that the back of this foam section had a hard back to it, which then did not lie flush with the helmet once the speaker had been attached. I suppose I could have butchered it to make it fit, but then you risk ruining a good helmet, if things go pear shaped.

In the end, the wife sewed it onto the inner fabric but in the small groove between where the cheek bone padding and rest of the helmet padding meet - if that makes sense. It was uncomfortable for the first few days, and it is a bit "Heath Robinson" but it works, and now i don't even know its there.

 

[metro]

Hi Michael;

Was a bit tired last night when I posted, I am not having a go.. I actually think you are making a valid point relating to highlighting the risks.

I can't justify £x00s for an audio integrated helmet just so some mad cow can shout at me for going the wrong way.

The only experience I have with my Schuberth Concept helmet is that my Autocom supplied speakers (I don't know if you would describe these as 'thin') felt like they were pressing through my skull regardless of the fibre inner, as the only mounting point is in the ear 'dent' in the polystyrene. I cannot imagine a blow to the side of the head would have enhanced the experience. I found the earpiece more comfortable, but don't see that any impact damage would be particularly affected by the absence of the helmet liner between it and my head. Either option is introducing a hard object between helmet and head with is probably not 'a good thing', so the retro-fit option (head or helmet mounted) would seem for me to be the riskier route, although I would also hope that the helmet did in fact absorb some of the impact as it is supposed to. On the plus side, the mono option would reduce the risk by 50%

As I would wear earplugs anyway, the risk neutral option for me is to convert these to earplugs with speakers. I would rather not go deaf from riding the bike, so that balances the risk of earplugs of any description being forced further into the ear canal and possibly rupturing an eardrum. Hell, that could happen to me 30 metres down in the Indian Ocean, but I'm not going to stop
diving either.

The external speaker option is a non-starter for me, I would not know where to mount the sub-woofer.

My last word on the subject

Andy.

 

[PanEuropean]

God forbid, maybe we have this to look forward to:



<a href="http://www.hostdub.com/PanEuropean:milclark:full"><img src="http://www.hostdub.com/albums/PanEuropean/milclark.jpg" alt="hostdub.com"></a>

I have to buy a helmet this week that supports two-way audio via Bluetooth. I'm going to head over to the local BMW store here in Switzerland and see how much they want for their latest and greatest helmet with the integrated Bluetooth audio. I have a feeling that the price will be close to what I paid for my last motorcycle... Will keep y'all advised.

Michael

 

[goodinr]

Bluetoth helmets

looking round hein gericke today and Nolan are now selling a range of helmets called e-com with built in space for a bluetooth set up. looks very good and much cheaper than BMW helmet.
These come in flip front design as well as normal, may be worth having a look at. Ron.

 

[PanEuropean]

Hi Ron:

I saw one of those Nolan helmets - with the provision for inserting Bluetooth kit - at my Honda dealer last week. I was curious about it, but it seems that Nolan has not yet released the electronics. They designed the helmet with the appropriate provisions, though.

Michael

 

[lynck49]

Came across this thread whilst looking to resolve how to get speech from my 2720 whilst waiting for Touratech to deliver the proper headset at the end of June. Anyway, got the bits and pieces suggested above, the ear piece fits like a dream (in System 5 helmet) and after a bit of bending and twisting I managed to get the speech to stay on and not crackle/cut out. But, to avoid messing about every trip, where can I get a "small brass washer (very small)"?

 

[shready]

To get the audio from my 2610 unit I use the car adapter/speaker and stuff it in my tank bag.

Turn the volume up and everyone hears it. Job done

 

[Flying banana]

The solution to the problem I use is a flat ear piece that I got from Intaride for use with PMR radios. it is about two inches in diameter, and wafer thin, and comfortable. I use it recently when i went to wales for the GS 'do', and it was fine for the eight or ninie hours I was riding at a time. I have a BMW System 4 lid, which admittedly does have cut outs for ear pieces.

The ear pieces can be bought separately for not a huge amount. Highly recommended, FWIW.

Cheers

 

[rc mad]

i bought the maplin setup as suggested earlier in the thread, bloody painfull even after only 5 miles, so i did the goodinr mod (without the lil bag)

i'll do a little how-to thread somewhere

 

[samtheeagle]

Helmet Speaker Recommendation

Guys,

I just purchased very thin helmet speakers from Sierra-MC Electronics.
The model is "IMC-HS-200". Cost $35 USD (plus $5 to ship to myself in the USA). Here is the linky:

http://www.sierra-mc.com/products.asp?cat=82

The speakers are VERY thin. Overall size is 2 1/4 inches in diameter. The speaker unit itself is 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The speaker unit kind of looks like a big coin (1 1/2 inches diam.) with 1 small coin (5/8 inch diam.) pressed to it's back. So the width of the speaker is really only about the width of 2 coins pressed together.

I'm surprised to find it to be pretty loud. I wear earplugs and have been listening to tunes on my ipod (which is reputed to have a low volume output). They have put out a decent volume that I have tested so far up to about 45 mph. I think you will need an amplifier for highway speeds.

These things are so flat that I am not in the least worried about an accident.

I have to say that I am VERY pleased with this product and it is miles and miles ahead of the "blaster" speakers I bought from Aerostich several years ago.

One note on helment installation. My helmet does not have much of a recess at all for my ears. However after doing some web research I was surprised to read on either JM or Autocom website that they RARELY modify the foam my cutting or melting. Instead they tend to simply compact the foam using a nice hard round object. I used the end of my 12 mm wrench to mush the foam down and I was surprised at how easy this was to do. I easily compacted the foam so that the helmet feels just like it did withOUT the speakers installed.

This setup rocks so hard, I'm kicking myself for not having done it earlier.

- Sam