Riding with Radios

I finally bought a new set of radios that I found at WalMart and then ordered ( off E-Bay ) helmet headsets for each of us. We have had the chance now to use them both on a few rides now and I must say they sure make communication easier while riding. It takes a little time to get them set up to where they are comfortable for each rider but the effort is well worth it. Each of our radio set up's have a radio ( Cobra - Microtalk PR 4500 WX ) and a helmet headset. Allys helmet is a full faced helmet so her headset was slightly different then mine. My helmet which is open faced has a boom mic and attaches on the side of the helmet using velcro. The speakers ( two ) mount inside the helmet by removing the adhesive plastic from each speaker and sticking them to the inside of each ear location inside the helmet. Many helmets now days have communications areas near the ear portion that is designed specifically for this purpose. The nice thing about these speakers and the mic's is that they are attached by adhesive but also contain velcro for easy removal.

There are three wires running from the helmet to the radio and an additional wire which runs to the push talk button. The helmet wires can be grouped together and run out the back of the helmet to the front of the bike where the radio is located if you mount it inside a windshield or tank bag. Or you can simply stuff the radio inside a jacket pocket. Each wire set also has a quick disconnect plug so when you want off the bike you simply unscrew the plug which disconnects you from the system. Or if your going to be close to your bike you can do what I do, simply remove your helmet and place it on the handlebars and your effectively disconnected from the entire radio system. The push to talk buttons can be attached to any place on the handlebars or grips. They come with a velcro band making them easy to strap on and remove. I am in the process of  mounting mine ( using velcro ) to the inside of the start button / kill switch housing. Ally uses hers on the left side grip. Its all a matter of choice and where it is most comfortable for you.

The Cobra radios themselves are a good quality radio. Are they top of the line ? No, but I feel you get more then your moneys worth out of them.  I really like the National Weather service forecasts and alerts for bad weather which are featured on the WX featured Cobra microtalk radios. Especially while traveling in the Mountain areas that we travel in. The report typically comes out of your regional airport or local NOAA weather station. It also gives current conditions in the region. It is a simple push of a button to get onto this frequency and hear the forecast. The PR 4500 has a 16 mile range and they work well indoors in such areas as flea markets or shopping centers. Sure helps to be able to track each other down using these radios versus running all over hoping to find one or the other. :). The radios have the standard FRS / GMRS frequencies and there are 22 channels. They also have 38 private frequencies which can allow you to further select a frequency that no one else is using. Only once did we ever hear someone talking on our channel and that was for a brief moment. We got no static while using the radios and when not transmitting they were silent. When either of us called the other a beep came through alerting you the other person was about to speak. This is a nice feature so if you do hear some interference from large power lines or whatever, you know the other person was not trying to call you.

It has VOX capabilities ( hands free voice activated transmitting ) as well as a roger feature and call button. The Roger feature is actually quite nice as it emits a beep when the other person is done talking letting you know they are done. The call button is to call or page someone when you want to talk to them. Otherwise, you can have the phone sitting on the counter at home and if someone is outside and calls you, you hear the beeping tone. This feature is rarely used on a bike.  Battery life was very good as we went the entire day on one charge. The PR450WX radios come with a table mounted base charging system that you simply set the radio in. No wires to hook up directly to the radios which makes it nice. These radios also have a battery saving mode wherein if no transmissions are made during a short period of time they power down and go into a stand by mode, preserving battery life. If you press the push to talk button or if your partner calls you, it automatically powers up and sends or receives a transmission.

The clarity and quality of the voice inside the helmet is exceptionally good. Actually, the quality is great. I can hear Ally perfectly well and her voice comes across loud and strong through the helmet speakers. I was quite surprised over the quality of the sound. The microphones also do very well at picking up your voice with clarity.  My open face helmet boom mic carries little to no wind noise with my voice whenever I transmit. I am very happy with the quality of the headsets and each component ( speakers & microphones ).

There is one problem I discovered when setting up the radios and that is the plug. The E-Bay vendor advertises their headsets to work with a vast amount of Cobra radios. This is true but on the PR4500 ( and a few other Cobra models you have to make an adjustment of the plug itself to work. If the plug is pushed all the way into the radio to its full lock position, the headsets will NOT work. I found through trial and error that the plug on the headsets are a just a touch to long. So I trimmed a small piece of plastic ( about an 1/8 th of an inch long ) from some scrap plastic I had and then inserted that over the plug. This brought the contacts on the plug into direct contact with the internal receptacle of the radio jack and made the radios work. I then glued this small piece of plastic onto the headset plug so I wouldn't lose it. A small rubber O-ring or anything else that is approximately an 1/8th inch long can be used. I found that using this modification the plug did NOT have any tendency to come dislodged and jump out from the jack. It was quite an annoyance to have to do this modification as I much prefer a plug and go type installation, but it beat having to try and get the E-Bay seller to take the headsets back and then try and find a headset that would work. There are very few headsets on the market that have the single prong plug setup and if you do find them they are ridiculously priced. I am going to be contacting the E-Bay seller and letting him know that this problem exists. Some vendors really appreciate the input and make changes, others could care less and are in it for a quick buck. I will at least do my part and give him the benefit of the doubt since he obviously supplies the motorcycle community with headsets off his e-bay listings. 

Overall, I am happy with the performance of the entire package ( despite the initial plug issue ). Now that we are used to using radio communications while riding I think its going to be hard to take rides without them. They just add a lot to the biking experience for us both and have really come in handy. Several times during our last ride I had to ask Ally " do we turn right or left here - or - this lane I think ends in a mile so lets move over one lane now while we have a break in traffic ).  One communication that was very helpful was when I was able to call out gravel in a few turns during our Clinch Mountain ride. She was able to set her turn up around that curve to avoid the gravel before she got there. I also alerted her as to when we are going to be making a turn or she alerts me when she needs a bathroom break. While we are mainly silent on the radios while riding, our trip through the Clinch Mountains was much more fun using the radios as we could call out scenery to each other.      " Look at that house up on that hill on your right. Check out the scenery on your left up near the tree line ". It made the cruise a lot more fun as we were able to share everything we seen with each other during the cruise versus afterwards ( hey did you see that one house up on that hill ? - nope -, I missed it. :) I think this setup would be awesome for group rides as they can allow everyone to communicate with each other and allow the leader to call out turns, stops, etc. to the other riders. It can also help when one of you near the back is caught by a traffic light or is having a problem with their bike. It can also be beneficial to be able to communicate to the leader to adjust his speed so you can catch up or stay with the pack or simply you need a rest or a bathroom break. Obviously there would have to be rules set to insure radio silence at all other times otherwise group rides with everyone talking would get very annoying.

While our Cobra radio setup works great, there is one more option available to bikers and that is the Nady radio system. The Nady radios come in two different setups. Rider to passenger intercom system and the bike to bike system. The Nady system carries much more technology and offers you several options. For the high tech biker the Nady FRS radio has a special jack that accepts auxiliary inputs.  This jack allows you to plug in your GPS system such as a Tom Tom or Garmin unit or you can plug in your MP3 player and listen to music while riding. I have not tested the Nady system nor have we come across any bikers who own one so getting good unbiased input and complete details has been difficult. But I am strongly considering the Nady radio setup for the future. Until then we are quite happy with our Cobra radios.

 

  Photos of the Cobra Radio System & Headset Setup

Cobra PR 4500 Radios w/charger stand Front of Radio
Open face radio headset and boom mic Closed face speaker mic setup for full face / modular helmets
Mic is attached inside this modular helmet on the front near the mouth Speaker inset in helmet
Push to talk button Boom Mic mounted on outside of helmet