Intercoms

Hi Mike,

I have the Cardo Scala Rider Q1 rider/pillion set for when I go out on the Triumph with my wife - at this point you probably think I am completely mad paying 200Gbp to hear the wife talk and owning a Triumph!

I bought it last year for the wife's first trip to the UK and the IoM. It fits very neatly and unobtrusively in our Arai helmets. Fitting was easy enough but took longer than the 20mins stated in the instructions. The only thing we don't like is the VOX activation of the intercom, it takes too long to re-establish the connection and what ever we want to comment on is then a long way behind. That said there is a permenantly "on" function that wasn't really explained in the instructions which we now use so problem solved. The voice quailty is fine up to 80-90mph (any faster and she keeps quiet so I can't comment) and background noise is kept to a minimum. As you are probably aware it has an inbuilt radio and bluetooth connection possibilities for a mobile phone, mp3 player, satnav etc.

We tried the system out on the local roads before the trip and all was well. Unfortunately one of the modules played up during our trip, firstly the on/off button refused to work properly and secondly the first time it got wet it emitted a continuous long screech and then packed up for good. The module was replaced without question and since then everything has been ok.

All in all really worth the outlay and makes the journey much more pleasant.

Dave

Most of these systems appear to fall between two stools. One either has to choose a Bluetooth headset system with limited communications ability (max 500 metres?) or alternatively "faff about" with a wired "autocom" type system so you can use a Walkie Talkie". What we need is something with the best features of both - a solution which you can leave securely on the bike - wired through a switched circuit which neither drains the battery or takes 15 minutes to switch on properly, and can communicates with a Bluetooth headset? I appreciate that there are problems with pairing headsets but surely this can't be beyond the abilities of the brilliant scions of British Technology Perhaps the club should fund a research scholarship?