INTERCOMS

[90treelad]

We use BT2. Does anybody else use them. whats the range on yours

[jil6939]

Just wondering if you were asking because of trouble at the weekend as we also had no range at the weekend but normally its not a problem and in fact the Cardo system we use has a better real world range than most. I couldn't work out what the problem was, perhaps local transmitter or weather?

[Nobbymogs]

i think every one had the same probs, we seemed to loose ours over hills

but they are still good bits of kit

Nobby

[jil6939]

I wonder what was going on there then as in the past we have coms over hills in ditches and even when i have driven out of sight of Rob to go round another way but this weekend i could have shouted further????

[will_warne]

We had exactly the same problem with ours - we wondered if they needed re-pairing. I thought it might be the terrain until Dan pointed out that several times we had bad signal when we had line of sight contact....

[JST]

ours were the same, loosing the pairing over hills etc, didnt have that problem last year there

[treebloke]

i think every one had the same probs, we seemed to loose ours over hills

but they are still good bits of kit

Nobby

What they like upside down Nobby?

[Nobbymogs]

What they like upside down Nobby?

they work fine i think

but he could still make out me shouting Oh F$CK

[Jake Lloyd]

Round 2 was Tim & I's first test of the Cardo Q2 headsets

Very good range with only a slight loss when i was out of eyesight. Went a bit crackly but we could still speak.

Very impressed and will never do a event without them again

B)

[Dave W]

Kind of related to this, I was put off using bluetooth headsets when lots of competitors using them when we were in Australia kept complaining about losing comms altogether when they were out of line of sight as it seems to me that's when you need it to work at it's best !

The problems seemed to be at their worst when there were groups of competitors together, i wonder if people in the UK are experiencing more problems with them as the number of competitors near you increases. After all, they all operate on the same frequency so even with a digitally modulated signal they will still interfere with each other to a certain extent.

We opted for a vhf radio solution using a vhf handset and a plug in headset with vox for the navigator and me using the main set in the cab. This worked really well apart from the problems with vox sensitivity - after your navigator has just run 50 metres carrying a winch rope, strop and blanket they have a nasty habit of breathing hard enough to trigger the vox making it sound like you're receiving a dirty phone call in the cab and ruling out any comms from driver to navigator.

Since the Muddy Truckers we've decided to take another look at comms and we've got two issues that I'd be interested in hearing others solutions/views on.

The first thing is how the hell you actually wear the kit. It's easy when you're wearing a helmet as you can fix everything to the helmet but what do you use if you haven't got a helmet ?

The second consideration is the technology. As I've said the VHF had some drawbacks, not the least being the lack of duplex comms and the limitations of vox. On the other hand it has an incredible range (we've used the handsets to cover 20 miles in Australia and they'll easily cover 5 miles in a built up area) so you can always hear the other person. They also have the advantage of being usable for four way comms for when you're running in a team event.

If someone can convince me I should give bluetooth a go and can point me in the direction of something to strap it to my head, I'd be grateful !

Am I right in thinking that Cardo can handle 4 way comms btw... something along those lines was suggested on one of the bike web sites selling them ?

[Mark90]

Two low cost options that you can modify to mount BT headsets if you're not wearing a helmet.

Head Torch

Ear Defenders

[Dave W]

I'd seen people wearing ear defenders but I just assumed they had all been in the same team as MDM, hadn't realised they were using them for comms !

[treebloke]

Just watched B'ham give Wolves a hiding but we are still top . Got wondering what system the ref and linesmen use. They run around four hour n half all over the pitch so must be quite reliable.

[jil6939]

Dave, The Cardo system does seem to be the best at the moment but as with all things the technology keeps moving. The range on them is def much better (well out of sight no problem)as is the battery life. We have been using them on peltor ear defenders as they were available at the time but i shall be adding more holes to them as the outside noise was dulled to much.We had no problems at round one and im sure most were using bluetooth there as well so i think there was some other outside interference. If you speak nice to Gwyn Lewis he has a set made up on peltors he may or may not let you try before you buy,depends on how good you sweet talk Oh and you can do coms with outside pairs also but only one at a time ie you have to press a button to switch from one person to the next ,not a three way conversation. Hope that helps.

[Nobbymogs]

we have been using the Cardo for the last 5 events now and i have to say they are the best 200 quid we have spent no more arguing or lost voices or costly mistakes made, and before treebloke says except when you have a dull moment and go down the hill and go petetong :lol:

but at the weekend the systems wernt the best but they were still well worth having

Nobby

[jil6939]

we have been using the Cardo for the last 5 events now and i have to say they are the best 200 quid we have spent no more arguing or lost voices or costly mistakes made, and before treebloke says except when you have a dull moment and go down the hill and go petetong :lol:

but at the weekend the systems wernt the best but they were still well worth having

Nobby

Did you get them off Gwyn for that money as he said he would send me a tenner for every time i mentioned Cardo and he owes me 40 quid now Cardo 50 better go he will be on the phone in a minute

[treebloke]

we have been using the Cardo for the last 5 events now and i have to say they are the best 200 quid we have spent no more arguing or lost voices or costly mistakes made, and before treebloke says except when you have a dull moment and go down the hill and go petetong :lol:

but at the weekend the systems wernt the best but they were still well worth having

Nobby

We also had a few problems with Cardo comms. We also had a few rapid decents afer the rope snapped several times but managed to stay upright B) .

[BennyB]

I use the cardo system, i also wanted a mounting solution other than a helmet.

After much searching i found a suitable mount, this is based on a stripped Bowman headset (available from ebay)

They look like this:

And when stripped of boom mic and standard speaker, they allow the cardo unit to be bolted directly to the side (using the standard mounts).

Unlike ear defenders they allow and were designed to allow unrestricted hearing.

If you would like photo's of my modified head bands let me know and i will take a few.

We used them for the first round of the Challenger 4x4 Clubman event and found them to be very comfortable and they stayed in position well.

[RedLineMike]

I'd seen people wearing ear defenders but I just assumed they had all been in the same team as MDM, hadn't realised they were using them for comms !

that may have been our team at the muddys, we use the cardo sets that gwyn lewis sell in a pair of cheap ear defenders

[Dave W]

Those Bowman headsets look ideal, just ordered one to try. Best of all it still leaves the choice open as to whether we use radios or bluetooth as it will work with both.

[BennyB]

If you search the web, you will find wiring diagrams so you can wire the unit for a 2 way radio (if appropiate)

I have both the cardo bluetooth headsets and also a 2 way radio fo rwhen longer distances are needed, although you need to swap headsets over.

[dan s]

I use the cardo system, i also wanted a mounting solution other than a helmet.

After much searching i found a suitable mount, this is based on a stripped Bowman headset (available from ebay)

They look like this:

And when stripped of boom mic and standard speaker, they allow the cardo unit to be bolted directly to the side (using the standard mounts).

Unlike ear defenders they allow and were designed to allow unrestricted hearing.

If you would like photo's of my modified head bands let me know and i will take a few.

We used them for the first round of the Challenger 4x4 Clubman event and found them to be very comfortable and they stayed in position well.

photos please

[BennyB]

Photo's as requested (i hope )

First shows Cardo unit mounted to the bowman,

Second showing base mount,

Showing mounting bolts'

Lastly (sorry for bad focus) showing side on veiw'

The only thing i havent taken a photo of is the speaker but it fits perfectly in the standard speaker location. The zip tie in the photo is holding the speaker cover on (to allow easy removal for use with helmets)

[dan s]

how much are the bowmans and any idea where i can get 1 from other than ebay? thanks

[BennyB]

The only place i found them (without them being fully rewired) was on ebay, although there are some army surplus stores selling them.

They sell for around £20, from ebay.

There are some simular units for sale (brand new) but again they are from ebay (search for 'Bowman Style Headsets' or 'Cavalvy Elite'), they are mostly from Hong Kong. I looked into them but decided the second hand/surplus bowmans are better suited (as all of the electric's are removed)