Bluetooth experiment:
There are quite a number of riders now who have asked
"can we get rid of the cords and cables" i can now answer
"yes ,this is possible " .At the moment there are some ridiculous
prices on Bluetooth communication equipment , so Im looking for a cheap way
around things , Be a little cautious with bluetooth it is not the panacea
of communications ills , A bluetooth network can only consist of a maximum of three
audio Bluetooth devices ie a cellphone ,a rider headset and a pillion
headset ! no more . though with data transfer you can have up to 7 devices
,
I have found a source of Bluetooth cellphone
adapters. These are designed to enable a non bluetooth phone to work with a
bluetooth headset , They plug into the earphone socket of the cellphone and this
can communicate with the bluetooth headset . These adapter units are
bi directional as compared to the bluetooth MP3 adapters that can only send
stereo music to a stereo headset .
Bluetooth cellphone
adapter NZ$42
Motorcycle helmet bluetooth Headset
The logical step is to use a cellphone adapter and bluetooth
headset combination to replace the wire from the radio to
the motorcycle helmet . so i did just that and here is a
couple of examples .
It just so happened that the bluetooth cellphone adapter has a 2.5mm
stereo plug , configured as tip audio out, ring audio
in, and sleeve common. I could plug this straight into the
WT419 radio mic/earphone socket .( the same connections as a
cellphone ) The handlebar PTT plugs straight into the 3.5mm
socket of the WT419 and the radio mounted on the 'bike.
Bluetooth cellphone adapter and WT419
headset harness modified to take the bluetooth cellphone adapter
I used the motortalkie bluetooth helmet headset to receive the cellphone adapter , and after "pairing" was able to hear the radio via the wireless bluetooth connection up to 20 feet away !!
I then modified a standard radio headset harness to accept the
bluetooth cellphone adapter by cutting off the headset cable and
replacing it with an appropriately wired 2.5 mm female socket . This was tested
and found to work well .
I am now looking for suitable inexpensive mono bluetooth
headsets with very good volume / talk time and the facility to plug
in an external motorcycle headset . this means I can have headsets
made to fit the bluetooth helmet unit The only disadvantage I see with
these units is that they are probably going to have to be charged
each night for use the next day .
Mono bluetooth headsets that "pair" with the cellphone adapter Stereo Music headset adapter pairs to bluetooth phone or MP3 transmitter
The bluetooth headset units i have examined , have varying
degrees of audio volume and with a motorcycle headset system we will need the
facility to control volume. it is recommended that earcushions be
worn on the helmet headset to optimise and make the most of the just
adequet volume of the bluetooth headset and the lower the volume we can run
the bluetooth headset , the longer the talk time of the device will
be. I have experimented with some stereo headset adapters with very good
sucess. They do have much better volume that the mono units and the volume
is controllable , they are made for listening to stereo music ( some newer
bluetooth cellphones have this MP3 facility termed A2DP and AVRCP)
The only problem with them is the microphone is inside the lapel
placed bluetooth unit and the stereo headset plugs into it ,
To use this headset on a standard "K" series headset ,I have to
remove the internal microphone and cable out to a 2.5mm mono socket attached to
the outside to enable the headset mic to be plugged in .
I hope to enable an inexpensive rider to pillion intercom by using two
helmet bluetooth headsets ,each paired to its own cellphone adapter
unit and then plug the two cellphone adapters together !! this will not
allow cellphone connection as well!
i have 200 Bluetooth cellphone adapters in stock ,I suspect they will be ( $42) each and I am still looking for an inexpensive, loud mono bluetooth headset with the facility to plug in a headset ( not hard wired) now we have a suitable model, the BTA420
I have just received a dedicated waterproof bluetooth headset and
a rider intercom headset unit, either can be attached to a motorcycle
helmet.
They are supplied with two earspeakers and a boom mic so will suit open
face and full face helmets . They have their own internal lithium
polymer battery and is quoted as having a 7-8 Hr talk time and
a couple of hours recharge time . I have fitted the earspeakers with
earcushions and find there is plenty of volume at 100 Kph under full throttle
conditions . The bluetooth unit pairs easily with my
Nokia cell phone and operates hands free on auto answer
Bluetooth on
helmet
Actual bluetooth unit with earcushions
Bluetooth remote PTT /headset
i have just received samples of a bluetooth based remote operation PTT unit and headset system . You plug the control module into the transceiver external headset socket and use a remote PTT button to operate the PTT and then a bluetooth headset to talk and listen on the transceiver . It is a class 2 device so has about a 10m line of sight range it now brings the wireless headset radio communication motorcycle system another step closer . I have tried it out on the kitchen table and it works well , though I find the little bluetooth headset supplied totally unsuitable for motorcycle helmet use , however in principal it works well . I now have to toss up wether I should bring them in as to wether they will sell or not . Im also somewhat concerned at the talk time of these small units typically only about 5 hrs though a only a 2 hour recharge time . you can be out on a bike for up to 8 Hrs
bluetooth control module , PTT button and Earphone , AAA battery The system plugged into a PRS transceiver
I will have to find more suitable bluetooth headsets for motorcycle use than the small one supplied !! typical battery life for the unis is ~ 7.5 Hrs each module
price for just the Bluetooth system will be NZ$150
Motorcycle Bluetooth headset (Mono) BTA420
This is a simple mono bluetooth headset with integral battery , external Vol up and Vol down buttons , Talk/pairing buttons. We chose this unit as it has a good size and shape but more importantly has a 2.5 mm female socket to enable implementation of a removable motorcycle headset with earspeakers and Mic . The unit has good audio output , infact we have imported some software modified versions whose volume level has been increased to cater for the potential noise in the motorcycle helmet situation . The mono headset will pair to the BL227 cellphone adapter thus one can have a true wireless headset connection to the walkie talkie ( or cellphone ) these can be charged via a computer USB port of the optional supplied 230 v Ac charger
BTA420- adapter cable and K series Headset shown close up off-on volup-down and pair/connect buttons
Headset pin out of the BT430
BTA-420
user manual
Feature:
1.
Talk button 2.
Lanyard loop 3. Status indicator 4. Volume buttons
+/- 5. Clip 6. Reset button 7.
Mini USB charging port 8. Headset
jack 9. Mute button
Charging your BTA-420
Plug
one end of the charger into your BTA-420 and the other end into an
electrical outlet. The red
status indicator lights up when charging begins, and goes off when the BTA-420
is fully charged.
Turn
on/off your BTA-420
To
turn the BTA-420 on, press and hold the Volume button + for three seconds (long
press).
To
turn the BTA-420 off, press and hold the Volume button - for three seconds (long
press).
The status indicator flashes blue
when the BTA-420 is on. When the battery becomes low, the indicator will flash red
slowly, and you will hear beep tones from the BTA-420.
Pairing
and connecting
Before
using your BTA-420 for the first time, you must pair it with another Bluetooth
device, such as a mobile phone. Take the following steps for most devices. You
can also refer to your phone user guide.
1.
Turn on both
devices.
2.
Place the BTA-420
in pairing mode by pressing and holding the Talk button for 8 seconds. Release
the button when the status indicator begins to flash red
and then blue.
3.
Use your phone’s
menu to search for Bluetooth audio devices and select “BTA-420”
when it appears on the display.
Note:
In some circumstances the pairing process can take up to 2 minutes to complete.
1.
When the phone
asks for a passkey, enter: 0000. The status indicator flashes blue
twice quickly, once the BTA-420 is successfully paired and connected. If pairing
fails, try again following the steps.
Using
your BTA-420
To
answer or end a call, short press the Talk button (less than 1 sec).
To place a call using voice dialing, press the Talk button once, and you
will hear a tone. If a call is ongoing on your phone, you can transfer the call
to your BTA-420 by a long press of the Talk button.
The following additional features may be available if your phone supports
the Handsfree Profile. Not all phones support the Handsfree Profile. Refer to
your phone user guide for additional information.
Call
Transfer back to phone
– To transfer a call from your BTA-420 back to your phone, press and hold the
Talk button. When you hear a tone, the transfer has been completed and you can
release the button.
Call
Reject – To reject
a call without answering when the handset is ringing, press and hold the Talk
button. When you hear a tone, the call has been rejected and you can release the
button.
Last
Number redial – To
redial the last number, press and hold the Talk button for 2 sec. When you hear
a tone, release the button and the last number has been redialed.
To
adjust the volume during a call, press the Volume buttons +/-.
To
mute the microphone during a call, long press the Mute button of the headset
once. When the headset is mute, the status indicator will flash red quickly. To
cancel muting, press the button again.
The headset like most CSR based Bluetooth headsets has differential audio output stage so the speaker cannot share the common earth (mic-) as is done with the microphone !! the speakers must be "floating"
This Mono headset will pair with the remote PTT units described above
Price $80 each BTA420 and adapter only ( K series headset extra $30 when purchased with this unit )
I have tried the Cellphone adapter plugged into the
WT419 and the Bluetooth mono headset in the helmet as a
wireless system and it works well at 70 Mph and been very
pleased with the audio There is obviously some DSP processing going
on in the bluetooth setup, as the audio does sound different and a bit more
punchy communications quality .
One has to pair the headset to the cellphone
adapter , press the acknowledge button on the adapter and away it
goes. you have the wt419 volume up only slightly of it will be too loud in
your ear on the bluetooth headset .
Introduction price on the wireless bluetooth headset system BT430 , BL227 and a PTT button all to suit the WT419 is $150
"Nordic RF based" Wireless Rider / Pillion system
This Rider to pillion unit is not bluetooth but 2.4 Ghz
digital audio based on the scandanavian Nordic RF
chipset NRF4201A . It has a control box mounted at the users reach for
control of the functions ,the interface unit is so you can interface your
cellphone and MP3 player , you can "pair" a second headset to the first one via
the control module and this achieve wireless rider pillion speech , music or
cellphone . The maximum number is 2 headsets and a base . You pair the
units by holding down the music button on all three at once until the
lights stop winking , then push each music button in sequence . I have yet to try these units with a pilllion at 110 Kph
to see if one can easily hold a conversation, if they pass the test I will import
them . If I do import them they will be around the NZ$330 mark .
( now have them in stock at $330 )
Digital Headset and audio Control Interface ( Bluetooth headset unit looks very similar )
BLUETOOTH Rider to Pillion intercom
Ok Here it is! a true Bluetooth rider to pillion system that is small enough to attach to the left hand side of a motorcycle helmet , Each unit can pair with a cellphone or Bluetooth AV dongle and an mp3 player for stereo music while riding , it only has a talk time of 3 Hrs due to the small internal battery 200 mA ( a problem with bluetooth units ) however we have worked a way to extend its talk time to over 20 Hrs by using an external USB derived power source that can be carried in the pocket The same charger can be used to charge the Bluetooth AV dongle as well. It is a class 2 device with a typical maximum range of 10 m, plenty of range for a rider to pillion system . The unit has more than enough volume for the noisiest helmet or half deaf rider too! The unit comes with a stereo headset and boom mic thus can be used in a full faced helmet and an open face helmet as well.
230 V charger , headset and Communications
module
module and AA battery ( SMALL!!)
experimental USB battery charger and Module , 20 Hrs talk time!! Bluetooth AV Dongle ( stereo)
I am negotiating with the manufacturer to do a bulk purchase , I will also look for a good source of bluetooth AV audio dongles to connect and MP3 player too I have no idea of price yet but it will be well under NZ $500
Want to go back to Motorcycle communications? ...... click here!
Pinfold Health Services Ltd,1172 Arawa St, Rotorua 3201,New Zealand. ph +64-7-3488850 fax +64-7-3486555 pinfold@xtra.co.nz