helmet radios

[Max Speed]

Ok I know a long time ago this was talked about but I have to ask. I and my wife need new head set radios for our helmets for talking bike to bike. The ones we have are 12 years old and need to be replaced. The ones we have are Collett's but I know there are other's out there. I know there is a company called Chatter box out there to. Here is my question. How good are the Chatter box radios? Do any of you use them and how do you like them. Before I drop $260.00 per radio I want to keep an open mind and look around. Because things change and get better or worse over the years and if something is better than what I know about I would like to know to look at it. Thanks for your time guys I know you can help point me in the right direction.

[300Busa]

Chatterbox is good, but check ebay before you buy from them.

[Charlesbusa]

I've used chatterbox for a couple years now.

Negstives;
VOX(voice activation) sucks big time at speeds above 45mph.
Unless you have a helmet sock, at speeds above 45mph you have to duck under your windscreen to be heard over the wind noise.
Speakers for music have no bass to speak of.

Positives;
Blue tooth has no wires
Its battery powered, so you are not wired to your bike.  You don't have to unplug every time you stop.
Range is good and talking to someone in the canyons is easy.
You can connect your MP3 player to it.
Speakers are super thin and its easy to fit them in your helmet.

[mospeed]

me and the wife us chatterbox also. we loved them. but like Charlesbusa said is true. she rides with me but there are no wires between us so that is nice. also, the battery life is quite good. we bought some Cobra GPRS radios from Walmart so we can communicate if we have a car riding with us.

we liked them for the no wire ability.

[Don Hardcastle]

You can get the Chatterbox GMRS X1 package for $239 plus shipping on ebay...NIB.


Don

[Super Trucker]

Be careful where you buy the chatterbox at (e-bay), unless the person you buy it from is an authorised dealer, chatterbox will not honor the warranty.
Good Luck

[Don Hardcastle]

(USN05LE @ Dec. 31 2006,16:16) You can get the Chatterbox GMRS X1 package for $239 plus shipping on ebay...NIB.


Don

According to the listing, he is an authorized Chatterbox dealer.


Don

[Max Speed]

Hmmmmmmmmmm Sue and I ride around 70mph all the time. Having to duck under your windscreen to be heard over the wind noise would suck for sure. We next to never have a wind problem with our old Collett's. I will keep watching for new posts for any new ideas. I have a few months before I have to make a buy. All I can say for sure is we will have new this riding season. Thanks to all for all the input to this point. Any new ideas please post up.

[MrGxr]

I just got a chatterbox for Christmas.... easy install and as long as I am not going above 25mph you can hear me.
I ride with WAG and his Wiff and can hear them with no issues at any speed.
I am installing a peice of foam over the mike to see if it helps with wind noise.
It seems to be totally dependent on your helmet as to the VOX and wind noise. I ride with a KBC Airborne II with all vents open and stock windscreen... there is a lot of air moving through the helmet, but that is the way I like it.
I'll let you know how the foam addition works after I test it out at speed.

[Wag]

Yeah, my wife and I use 'em all the time and we have very few issues with them. Over about 80 mph, we have more trouble countering the wind noise. The speakers are a little cheesy in terms of their ability to carry decent music BUT at speed with all the noise of the road it's really hard to tell anyway.

We're a little disappointed that MrGxr's is having problems at the moment but I think with the foam rubber on the mic, it may solve the problems.

--Wag--

[frisbee]

Foam over the mic will help also you can get a helmet sock that goes around the bottom of the helmet and around your neck . It blocks the wind pretty good. I like them but for music there is NO bass.

[MC MUSTANG]

I used chatterboxes for years but because of the vox and the difficulty hearing at speeds, after awhile the unit on my helmet was nothing more than a radio input.

I switched to autocom and won't look back. My autocom is wired directly into the bike so there are no battery issues and I can hear very clearly... only one wire from the bike to my helmet...
Down side is cost... but I understand that chatterbox is coming out with a bluetooth unit.. which sounds awesome.

[MrGxr]

(frisbee @ Jan. 01 2007,15:39) Foam over the mic will help also you can get a helmet sock that goes around the bottom of the helmet and around your neck . It blocks the wind pretty good. I like them but for music there is NO bass.

Does the helmet sock prevent the flow of air through the helmet... well I guess it would have to... then I might ask... how much does it affect the flow of air through the helmet?
The reason I ask is that I need to have plenty of air flow in the helmet or its just way to warm to wear...

I am really hoping the foam over the mic works.

[TallTom]

I am also going through the same process of buying a bike to bike set up. And so far Collett seems to be stacking up pretty well against the chices. I wish they were blue tooth caablebut maybe you should consider the new Platinum 9000 units. From all I read they seem to do pretty darn well.

I am also interested in how you guys rate what you have used.

[Max Speed]

Like I said Sue and I have the Collett 49s and they have been great they are just physically worn out after 12 years. Im starting to lean to the Platinum 9000 units. They posted on their web sight they are sold out until March of this year. I think I will wait and see if they are going to offer something of newer design, if not it looks like the 9000 Platinum for us. Thanks one and all for all the input to help us.

[hayabusa99b/w]

[frisbee]

(MrGxr @ Jan. 01 2007,15:38)

(frisbee @ Jan. 01 2007,15:39) Foam over the mic will help also you can get a helmet sock that goes around the bottom of the helmet and around your neck . It blocks the wind pretty good. I like them but for music there is NO bass.

Does the helmet sock prevent the flow of air through the helmet... well I guess it would have to... then I might ask... how much does it affect the flow of air through the helmet?
The reason I ask is that I need to have plenty of air flow in the helmet or its just way to warm to wear...

I am really hoping the foam over the mic works.

Yes it blocks alot of air and and wind noise. If you are riding in a hot area you won't like it.

[Rhythm]

Here's what I use when using my headset for audio only. It aint cheap, but I promise it will overcome the windnoise associated when riding your bike or sitting on the wing of an airplane when traveling.

Don't mess with the rest of the cheezya55 portable audio headset amps!  Combine this little baby with one the suggested helmet system above and you will be fine.  

Headset amp