gary@infopro.UUCP (Gary Huska) (04/20/85)
Myself and two other hams who are motorcycle riders
have been trying to come up with a reliable way of
communicating with 2 meter hand helds while
riding. Restrictions: We do not use or intend to use
either windscreens or the "full" type helmets, but the more
open 3/4 type helmet with plastic faceshield.
We have tried the following:
Originally used Maxon FM two way radios modified to
fit the helmets. These operated on the 49 mhz channels,
and use a boom type electret mike element. Voice quality
very good; VOX not used.
Problems: The range of these radios reached up to
1/2 mile, but only when under ideal, ie, engines off,
conditions. With the engines on and riding on the road,
range was at best aprox. 500 feet,due to ignition noise -
difficult to eliminate. Also, wind and engine noise
reduced intelligability as road speed increased.
Next, we tried 2 meter HT's , reasoning that the higher
power would also increase the range. Electret boom
mikes were also used again.
Problems: Only one boom mike setup was specifically designed
for the HT it was used on(IC-02AT Headset). The others were a
boom from the Maxon radio and a Radio Shack type mike.
The audio was very bad on these other units as driving speed
was increased; the previous Maxon setup had much better
voice quality. The problem seems to be in the type
of biasing and interfacing of these other mikes.
The range was increased, but speach intelligability was
much worse than the Maxon. Also, wind noise was still
a problem in the one HT which worked the best.
There are various commercial radios specifically for
motorcycle use, mostly variations on the Maxon radio
with microphones meant to be mounted inside a "full"
type helmet. I am aware of a microphone/speaker system
manufactured by Honda Motorcycle which consists of what
appears to be some type of noise cancelling mike for
faceshield mounting, meant to be used with a CB radio
mounted on their bikes. I do not know if this has
been successfully used for Ham radio applications.
We have had many suggestions ranging from using aircraft
style throat mikes to wearing full helmets and using
windscreens all the time. As stated earlier, we do
not like either the full helmet or windscreens.
The mike element will be exposed to the airstream and
road noise, so would have to be some kind of super
noise cancelling type.
I would welcome mail from anyone who has actually solved
this problem or is in the process of experimenting with it.
73's,
Gary M. Huska KA2TQD, 242 Lake Shore Drive, Parsippany, N.J. 07054
{astrovax, clyde, harpo, whuxcc}!infopro!gary