Review: BikerCom - Ultimate Motorcycle Communication Gear? #1 |
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File under Bluetooth Gadgets Product Review
Author: Mike Werner
Location: Normandy, France
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| Read the special articles on Bluetooth and motorcycles: |
Wireless motorcycle communication gear, mostly using Bluetooth  , comes in two flavors; stand-alone and hub. Stand-alone Bluetooth gear is mounted onto your helmet, and possibly your pillion's helmet, and allows you to communicate with your pillion and a Bluetooth equipped mobile phone and maybe some other devices. You can also communicate with a GPS, as long as it's equipped with Bluetooth, and usually it means you need to pair your mobile phone with the GPS, not the helmet. In other words you're self-sufficient, but limited in functionality.
The hub communication gear is a central box, that's mounted on your motorcycle, and "sits" in the middle of your communication hub. The hub interfaces with a variety of gear, like phone, music player, and bike-to-bike walkie-talkies. With a hub you have a lot more functionality and possibilities. But hub systems are obviously more expensive and not that easy to take from bike to bike. But the quality is superior over stand-alone units, and you can use it for almost anything.
There are not that many hub manufacturers around. Here is a "very" detailed review (so detailed I had to split it into three parts) of the latest hub communication system on the market, OpenRoad's BikerCom .
Open Road Solutions is a Taiwan based company dedicated to developing a motorcycle specific communication hub equipment. Since it is one of the latest entries in this market, it has all the bells & whistles you'd want for your gear.
NOTE: This is a very detailed review with many photos. Most photos are clickable (you'll see a magnifying glass at the bottom of a photo) to get a bigger version allowing you to study the detail. But it does mean that this page will load slowly, so be aware.
NOTE2: Below in the article I refer to some of the photos shown. Each photo has a "Figure #" below it, and inside the photo there are often numbers used for explanations. When referring to a photo in the review, you will see this: (#X-Y). The X determines the Figure # (photo number), the Y the number found on the photo. In most case you can click on the (#X-Y) to have a small window open with that photo. This will save you many trips up the page.
NOTE3: There seems to be a problem with FireFox 3 running the photo window/zoom. After 2 or 3 times opening a photo, your screen will shift and you will no longer be able to click on anything. The only thing you can do is re-load the page. I'm working on it!
A first look at the devices
Usually the most exciting thing is the box the unit comes in. It usually tells you a lot. I'm a firm believer in BBSBBigger Boxes Sell Better. A marketing philosophy that says the bigger the box, the more the customers believes they have purchased something substantial.. Here's what it looks like:
Figure #1 - Front of the box
This is the front, and here's the back:
Figure #2 - Back of the box
Once we unwrap the box, this is the content:
Figure #3 - Content:
- The Hub unit (the core of BikerCom) that is mounted on your motorcycle
- Two headset units that are mounted onto your helmet
- Charger for the helmet units (#3-2)
- Velcro helmet & device attachments
- Two Helmet headset unit travel pouches/carry cases
- Push-To-Talk (PTT) cable and PTT button
- Power cord and fuse to hub (#1)
- Bike-to-Bike leads (K and L types)
- Audio leads (3.5 mm jacks)
- Nothing... I skipped a number
- Allen/Hex key
Figure #4 - Control Box
This is the main unit, the one that gets installed on your motorcycle. It's the hub part of your configuration. The unit has several buttons and LEDs:
- The cable and connector that goes to the power cable (#3-7)
- Button for enabling the rider's helmet headset connections
- Power on indicator (HHR means Helmet Headset Rider)
- Button for enabling the pillion's helmet headset connections
- Power on indicator (HHP means Helmet Headset Passenger)
- Power button for the whole unit
- Power on indicator
- Button to turn on Bluetooth enabled device connections
- Power on indicator
- Button to turn on Bluetooth mobile phone connection
- Power on indicator (MPR means Mobile Phone Rider)
When you turn the control box over, this is what you see:
Figure #5 - Control Box Connectors
- The cable and connector that goes to the power cable (#3-7)
- Connects to the Push-to-Talk (PTT) button
- Connects to the Walkie-Talkie
- Connects to auxiliary connections without Bluetooth (eg radar detector or GPS)
- Connects to another auxiliary connections without Bluetooth (eg radar detector or GPS)
- Connects to a non-Bluetooth audio/music device (like a CD player)
Now, let's have a look at the helmet control unit:
Figure #6 - Helmet Control Unit
This is part of the unit that gets attached to your helmet:
- The unit itself
- Fast release clasp from the unit holder (allows you to release it from your helmet)
- Multi Function Button
- Status indicator
On the side of the helmet control unit are some other parts:
Figure #7 - Helmet Control Unit - Side View
- Volume UP button
- Charging port
- Volume DOWN
Here's the Helmet Control Unit on its own:
Figure #8 - Helmet Control Unit on its own
This is the unit that you can release from the helmet. You can store it in the carrying case (#3-5)
Figure #9 - Noise Filter Unit
The noise filter is an optional extra, and can be used if a) there's too much electrical noise coming from your engine and/or b) to connect your walkie-talkie to an external antenna, allowing you to increase the broadcast range.
Depending on your walkie-talkie, it should be a good idea to use one. Walkie-talkies are notorious for picking up engine electrical noise.
- The Noise Filter Unit
- Connector to the PTT switch and to the Control Box PTT input (#5-2)
- Connector to the power cable
- Walkie-Talkie charging/power
- Connector to the control box power cable (#5-1)
That was a quick view of all the elements. Now comes the hard part, putting it all together:
Click here to continue reading part #2 - Installing the units
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