Which radio for bike 2 bike

[bluepassat]

I think there may be some confusion here about powering radios from the bike. The wintec cannot be powered though the autocom unit like some other radios (those supplied by autocom) but they can easily be supplied through a seperate 12V supply using a battery eliminator (supplied with the radio)

The Wintec is a very good bit of kit, works well with Autocom kit200 (Active Plus) or Smart 7 and Autocom will supply the leads to connect it. It will give much better range than the ICOM & Kenwood if you (illegaly) unlock it and increase the powere output.

As far as I know, the only supplier of Wintecs in the UK is Intaride. The wintec will usually work over about 4 miles but it depends on the location, buildings etc. Keep the aerial upright for max range.

Of all the riders I know the combination that works best is autocom and Wintec.

Hi does anyone know if The wintec radio is easy to connect/tune into, the Icom F22sr or Kenwood Tk 3201 straight out the box or is it more involved

regards

 

[RayS]

Kenwood TK-3207

The Kenwood will give you better sound quality, speed rating and a better distance between the bikes but it can NOT be bike powered like some people are saying on here.

Rich

As somebody else has already said, this is "absolute bollocks" as the battery eliminator plugs into the Kenwood in place of the battery. I used it that way with Starcomm.
Re the query about Tuning the Kenwood in - it isn't necessary as the Kenwood has 16 switchable fixed frequency channels, 8 of which are the same as all pmr radios.
If anybody is interested ijn the radio and bits, send me an email on [email protected] or pm me on this site.
Cheers
Ray

 

[JayGee]

Hi does anyone know if The wintec radio is easy to connect/tune into, the Icom F22sr or Kenwood Tk 3201 straight out the box or is it more involved

regards

The wintec has a nice little screen to show you which channel and CTS (Sub channel) you are using so it's easy to set to the same as other radios. Two people I ride with regularly have Kenwoods and they work well with the Wintec. Some of the Kenwoods have a default sub-channel, i.e. Channel 3 always uses CTS/sub chan 13 unless you go through a complex set of button pressing on the Kenwood with no feedback apart from bleeps whilst the wintec gives a clear visible indication on the screen. If you buy a Wintec from Intaride they can guive you a list of the channels/sub channels that ICOM & Kenwood use by default .

It sounds a bit complex but in reality is dead simple and Intaride are very helpful.

I've used my Wintec to communicate with all sorts of different radios and it's always been very successful.

The Autocom system seems to be the most succesful intercom into which to plug the radio, there are cheaper but I've found them all to be inferior. I do a lot of observing for the IAM and have to deal with a lot of different equipment but (IMHO) Autocom + Wintec is by far the best combination.


Let's not give GSRich too much aggro., he sounds like he might have some links with autocom but has posted some very helpful comments in the past and I think his statements about bike power are referring to the ability to power through the autocom. I'd have thought a seperate switched supply to a battery eliminator is always possible.

 

[ovenpaa]

This has proved to be a facinating and very helpful thread, however I have a couple of questions.

We use a Starcom rider/pillion system and it works, in fact it works very well, this means the wife can chatter away for hours at any speed in any conditions. Now she is moving to her own bike but still needs the ability to babble So my questions are:

I will need a PMR for my bike, but do I need a second Starcom unit with PMR on her bike or can we just use a PMR ideally hooked to her existing headset? Can they be set to work like a Starcom, ie, no PTT and can you talk over each other like a Starcom or do you have to wait until one person has finished talking?

Cheers

 

[GSrich]

As somebody else has already said, this is "absolute bollocks" as the battery eliminator plugs into the Kenwood in place of the battery. I used it that way with Starcomm.
Re the query about Tuning the Kenwood in - it isn't necessary as the Kenwood has 16 switchable fixed frequency channels, 8 of which are the same as all pmr radios.
If anybody is interested ijn the radio and bits, send me an email on [email protected] or pm me on this site.
Cheers
Ray

Ray I was meaning with the Active-7 or Active Plus can not bike power the Kenwoods before you fly off the handle. I know the Kenwoods can be bike powered I fit them to enough bikes at work!!!!! So I think the "absolote bollocks" bit was not needed and better things could of been said to be honest!

 

[GSrich]

The wintec has a nice little screen to show you which channel and CTS (Sub channel) you are using so it's easy to set to the same as other radios. Two people I ride with regularly have Kenwoods and they work well with the Wintec. Some of the Kenwoods have a default sub-channel, i.e. Channel 3 always uses CTS/sub chan 13 unless you go through a complex set of button pressing on the Kenwood with no feedback apart from bleeps whilst the wintec gives a clear visible indication on the screen. If you buy a Wintec from Intaride they can guive you a list of the channels/sub channels that ICOM & Kenwood use by default .

It sounds a bit complex but in reality is dead simple and Intaride are very helpful.

I've used my Wintec to communicate with all sorts of different radios and it's always been very successful.

The Autocom system seems to be the most succesful intercom into which to plug the radio, there are cheaper but I've found them all to be inferior. I do a lot of observing for the IAM and have to deal with a lot of different equipment but (IMHO) Autocom + Wintec is by far the best combination.


Let's not give GSRich too much aggro., he sounds like he might have some links with autocom but has posted some very helpful comments in the past and I think his statements about bike power are referring to the ability to power through the autocom. I'd have thought a seperate switched supply to a battery eliminator is always possible.

Cheers mate, Ray did fly off the handle a bit lol. As for links Autocom I work for them so I try and help you guys out as much as I can

 

[beemerboy9]

Absolute bollox but not really surprising considering you are a competitor of Intaride!
The radio in question has a 12v thing that takes the place of the radio battery and connects directly to any 12v source!
I know because I have one!

Hey, dont jump down the throat of a helper!
What Rich meant was that it should not be powered by that particular bike-powered Autocom unit. You are absolutely correct that it can be powered from a separate supply.

 

[JayGee]

....
I will need a PMR for my bike, but do I need a second Starcom unit with PMR on her bike or can we just use a PMR ideally hooked to her existing headset? Can they be set to work like a Starcom, ie, no PTT and can you talk over each other like a Starcom or do you have to wait until one person has finished talking?

Cheers

I don't know enough about Starcoms to answer all your question but maybe can help a little.
Certainly you'll need a PMR radio on each bike and PMRs are simplex, i.e. only one can talk at a time so you can't interrupt nor talk over someone. You do, indeed, have to wait for one person to finish talking before you start. In fact you need a fairly good protocol to use them successfully. I always use a PTT rather than VOX activation, that way, you can't transmit by mistake but that's just my preference.
You can use any of the suppliers boxes to link PMR and headset but I suspect that if she's already got Starcom headsets then you'll need a starcom box (not a full intercom box). You can buy very simple headsets and ptt from Maplins that will work with a PMR but I know people who have tried them and then gone to buy Autocom kit. I also know one or two with Starcom kit which also seems quite good.

 

[ovenpaa]

Thanks JayGee that does help a bit, I assume that as long as I don't want MP3 players, Mobile Phones and GPS and so on (Always have the volume turned off anyway) I can just use a PMR, Headet and PTT plus some method of charging, and if it is a reasonable PMR sticking it in a tank bag would be fine? Is there any advantage to fitting an external arial?

 

[JayGee]

... Is there any advantage to fitting an external arial?

I don't think it's necessary but it can increase the range. The range is qukte good if you can mount the PMR with its built in aerial vertical and not surrounded by metal. I have one mounted in a plastic top box and it works really well. Having said, when I fit it to my other bike it's horizontal under the seat and still works well enough. realistically, the range is more affected by buildings etc.

 

[Greg Masters]

Is there any advantage to fitting an external arial?

But the disadvantage is that it is obviously illegal!

No legal PMR radio has a removable aerial.

Greg

 

[(RIP) Shenzi]

Hey, dont jump down the throat of a helper!
What Rich meant was that it should not be powered by that particular bike-powered Autocom unit. You are absolutely correct that it can be powered from a separate supply.

Fair enough! Apologies to GSRich!

 

[GSrich]

No worries at all

Rich