Helmet Radios & Comms: MotoComm MC554 Headset/Mic

[Boneman]

Just took a nice 3 day ride with some friends from Port Angeles WA, up and around the Olymic National Park and down the coast Hwy to Astoria OR. Since this was our first 'major' ride (1000+km), I thought it would be nice to get some radio's and headsets/mic's for the trip.

I DON"T like FRS radios becasue of the poor range not to mention all the other yabbos yammering away on damn near every channel. So I wanted something a little more 'industrial'. A few years back another friend and I each purchased a MotoComm MC-554 helmet headset/mic kit to use with our Motorolla UHF radios. We only really tried it once around town and it was ok.

So for this trip I ended up purchasing 4 Motorola SP10 VHF radios off eBay.



These are industrial 1 watt portable radios (aprox 1 mile range) with the CTCSS (Private Line) board installed so you can use the one channel (151.955 MHz), but set a specific "private code" so that your radio will only un-squelch/un-mute if it receives the proper CTCSS tone. Since there are something like 30 different tones to choose from, the chances of someone else using the same freq and same PL tone is few and far between.

I got my friends to each purchase a MC-554 Full Face Headset/PTT System.



The two speakers fit flush inside your helmet and self attach to the liner by means of velco backing and the mic gets velcro'd to the inside chin area of your helmet.

The wiring (that has a quick disconnect) then hangs out the back of your helemt about 6". You can easily tuck in and tidy up all the extra wiring into the lining of your helmet.

The PTT switch wraps around and mounts to your left handle bar grip. Then you simply plug in the MC-554 into the radio and presto, instat communication between riders!!

We all put the radios in our tank bags for easy access (turning on/off and adjusting the volume). With this setup you had to remember that you were 'attached' to your bike via the cords! You could have put the radios in your jacket or on your belt if needed, but you are still attached via the PTT cord.

COST:
The cost was very acceptable IMHO. I was able to get the 4 radios, each with batteries (already had a charger) for $70.00 US.
The MotoComm MC-554 Full Face Headset/PTT System goes for around $50.00 US. So you are looking at around $70 per rider.

It was great being able to communicate back and forth with my friends while riding, especially when navigating in town. It made navigating that much easier and less stressful. It also helped if you got seperated or needed to stop for some reason.

PROS & CONS for this particular setup (Motorola SP10 + MotoComm MC-554):

Pros:
- easy to install, setup and use
- no interferance with other radio users (private)
- long range (aprox 1 mile depending on terrain)
- long battery life. Each charge would last a whole day and then some!
- great to be able to communicate with friends/riders in your group

Cons:
- Almost unuseable/unauidable at highway speeds. There is just too much wind noise to be able to clearly hear one another. Really need a noise cancelling mic.
- have to remember to turn off radios when off the bikes (breaks, end of day, etc.)
- each rider has to have the same setup in order to communicate (same radio freq anyway).

[Hellgate]

Very cool Boneman. Too bad there was too much wind noise to hear at speed. Never the less I bet is was nice to have around town instead of yelling and hand signals.

[Boneman]

Originally Posted by Hellgate

Very cool Boneman. Too bad there was too much wind noise to hear at speed. Never the less I bet is was nice to have around town instead of yelling and hand signals.

It was very nice. In fact, it was a lot less stressfull, especially if one fell behind or got stuck at a light/in traffic. At speed we learned to keep things short and LOUD! We would just say things like "NEXT EXIT", or "GAS".

My friends were a bit skeptical about the whole radio thing. They thought I was spending their money for them, lol. But by the end of the trip, they all said that having radios was better than they thought and was a real highlight.

[OkieDavid]

Thanks for the thorough review. I've experienced the same issues with speakers and I'm still looking for the right setup. Your com setup is reasonably priced and gets the job done. I've been scared off by the price of most and I'm still looking for a way to listen to tunes. With my half face helmet I can get by with earbuds but my full face doesn't have the space and pulls them off. So far EVERY in helmet speaker I've tried works fine at slow speed (under 45mph) but you lose everything by 55mph due to the wind noise.

[schleppy]

As crazy as this sounds, did you try wearing earplugs? They may cut out enough wind noise that you could crank the volume a little more and actually be able to hear.

Just a thought...

[Boneman]

Originally Posted by schleppy

As crazy as this sounds, did you try wearing earplugs? They may cut out enough wind noise that you could crank the volume a little more and actually be able to hear.

Just a thought...

Lol, Lol..our 'ears' were not the problem mate (we were infact wearing ear plugs). The problem is the wind rusing past the mic. When you key the mic, it picks up all the wind noise rushing past the mic and transmits that along with your vioce. So what you end up hearing sounds like someone talking into a hair dryer. Very hard to make out, no matter what the vloume and regardless of earplugs.

[OhSixFZ6]

My buddies and I are thinking about this as well, but we're going with THROAT MICS because of the wind noise. And earphones that go in the ear.

[Boneman]

Originally Posted by OhSixFZ6

My buddies and I are thinking about this as well, but we're going with THROAT MICS because of the wind noise. And earphones that go in the ear.

I will caution you about throat mics. I have a lot of experience with throat mics (back in my Airsofting days) and the cheap ISAURS ones don't work well for a lot of people. A good majority o the people using them, their transission would be inauidable in the best of conditions. They would work well with some people and not at all with others.

I would reccomend getting into the higher end ones like the LASH system for ones that work worth a damn.

It would be a good idea though if you found some that worked well for you.

[KindredGhost]

hey fellas,
that headset looks extremely close to the "Tork" brand stuff. I had a few problems with them, like the mic wasn't welded very well, I took it back to cycle gear and they swapped it out. I'm yet to try it again.

But when it was working, it seemed ok. I didn't take it up to freeway speeds, but there was alot of "wth did you say?" kind of chatter.

As far as the wind goes, Tork makes a passive mic that straps to your throat. It's the same stuff the military uses. I'm not sure how much it is, but chances are it's probably a grip of cash.

Well... that's my .02.

KG

[OhSixFZ6]

Originally Posted by Boneman

I will caution you about throat mics. I have a lot of experience with throat mics (back in my Airsofting days) and the cheap ISAURS ones don't work well for a lot of people. A good majority o the people using them, their transission would be inauidable in the best of conditions. They would work well with some people and not at all with others.

I would reccomend getting into the higher end ones like the LASH system for ones that work worth a damn.

It would be a good idea though if you found some that worked well for you.

Yeah i wasn't thinking of spending anything less than $60 and I'll be willing to pay double that as long as its good quality....