"BT Com devices. Cardo Scala, Interphone F4, Sena

[BlueLghtning]

Highside pulled some of my posts about these from the old board.

We had some good info in here. It only pulled my posts though and what I wrote.

"
Hope this is the right area. But who is running the Scala Rider and what model and are you pleased with what you got. My wife and I have the multi-set Q2's. These are the only ones with the range (both headsets have Class 1 BT) to do bike to bike and not just rider to passenger. The team set is I think one Q2 and one just regular Scala with only a class II BT which is only good for about 10 ft, so only rider to passenger for that one. We really enjoy them. Let me find my writeup on them, and I'll link back to here. Its amazing how nice it is being able to talk to your spouse either on the bike with you or her on her own bike."

[BlueLghtning]

"
Nice Scala review Dan. My riding buddies and I have been using Midland talkies and the motorcycle comm kit for awhile now and they work great for close formations, but fall to the wayside at speed. We have been researching a better solution and this might be the ticket. I tried the FRS radios with the basic headsets and anything over 40mph sucked with those. You can ride all day at 75mph+ and carry on a normal conversation. Its amazing what that noise canceling technology does! Also the full duplex (like when you are talking on a phone) really makes it nice to carry on a conversation vs only one person talking at a time. Everyone that we let try them out is amazed by the sound quality."

[BlueLghtning]

"
the scala can only pair to 2 headsets at a time a primary and a secondary there is no option for a group broadcast to communicate with 4 or more people you would have to play telephone Yeah, that is a definite downside to the Scala's. I think that overall is a BT limitation, but the G4 claims it can pair up to 4 radio's but no mention if it can talk to all 4 simultaneously. The other issue with that is the 1st guy & 4th guy might get too far from each other to actually reach signals. One of my wish lists for all these new devices is for the ability to pair with say a BT enable FRS radio. You would loose the full duplex capability but say we were riding in a big group that was using a common FRS radio frequency, you could communicate with the group 3+ people just by having your head set paired up with an FRS radio."

[BlueLghtning]

"Camos came out with an FRS hub that hooked up to their devices and allowed you to hook in an FRS radio via wires, but when I wrote them asking if the BT hub/device would pair with a Scala headset, they said no. I don't want the entire CAMOS system and the hub was fairly expensive its self just to purchase out right and test. I think we are probably waiting for FRS/GMRS radios to catch up and start to use a standard headphone BT profile so they can pair with an basic BT headset. IF that was the case, it should be easy to incorporate."

[BlueLghtning]

or even a blue tooth adapter you could plug into the headset adapter of any frs radio with vox then pair the adapter to the scala THat would work too!

[BlueLghtning]

"
I told ya in the comparison chart it says How does it handle wet weather? q2 q4 Fully weather protected Weather resistant not a huge deal for me. I don't ride in the rain looks like the other I posted is the better option since it's available though. I will not buy one unless it has A2DP so the q2 is worthless to me I see it now, I glanced over the 1st time, so the Q2 is fully weather protected like its should be. For me that is a deal breaker since when we tour, we can't avoid the rain and I'm not risking a couple hundred $$$ on the side of my helmet. It looks like your requirement is more to use one to listen to music which is something I do on mine, but its not it main purpose so I don't blame you for wanting the A2DP. That should be a big requirement. I've heard that Cardo doesn't even build their units. They are sourced and bought elsewhere, so that may be a big thumb down for them in the future. I'm thinking the G4 might not be the best step in the right direction for them with its current specs. We'll see though. I have been reading a lot on that Interphone F4 you posted and that thing looks awesome. When its time to replace the Scala's, I'll be giving those a long hard look. It looks like it remembers 8 BT devices and can connect simultaneously to 3 devices. An example would be a cell, GPS, and a MP3 A2DP compatible player. That's perfect. The Q2's only connect 2 other devices and they don't remember other devices if you override something new. It also got great reviews on its distance and voice & sound quality. The only thing they all keep missing is the ability to use your own earphones. It does appear that the F4 uses a proprietary plug for its speakers, so maybe it wouldn't be too hard to unplug that and just make a plug to headphone jack adapter."

[BlueLghtning]

"
I have also done a little research on the chatterbox x2. They seem to promise a lot regarding larger groups and somewhere around 2 miles distance. Does anybody have any experience with these. Also do you think it is possible that they could pair up with other bluetooth headsets, say the Scalas or would they be impossible. I know they are a little more expensive but do you think they would be worth it. I have not heard that great of things about the CB X2's. It's just basically FRS/GMRS walkie talkies built into a headset. Yes, you can support larger groups since that is the basis of the FRS/GMRS frequencies. I doubt they'd pair up with other BT headsets."

[BlueLghtning]

"
looks like the G4 is in stock now! Think I am still going to agree with blue and go with the F4. Dan, what major differences did you see between the 2 models? some stuff I still like about the G4 # Includes an embedded FM radio with scan/seek features and 6 station channel memory # Individual audio sources - each G4 headset can conduct mobile phone calls or listen to Fm radio or MP3 audio independently http://www.revzilla.com/product/cardo-scala-rider-g4?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=Not%20Apparel&utm_keyword=cardo-scala-rider-g4 I gotta tell you the FM radio on the Q2's sucks ass. I wish it wasn't even there. It cumbersome as hell to use and to set the preset stations is a total PITA. It only picks up the strongest of signals when scanning (like maybe 5 stations). To actually find the station you want, the moon and stars have to be aligned just right so you can actually store it and then get to that station and then actually be able to listen to it when you want it. Oh yeah and don't accidentally overwrite that station because of the cumbersome way to store a station. Seriously, I'd rather have a little fm radio with a digital display that I could just pump music in if I really wanted to listen to FM music. Maybe the G4 radio will be better, but I doubt it. If they put the FM antenna in that little extendable antenna you might have hope, but who knows. Pretty much any little electronic device with a built in FM radio is not worth it. As for that last part, Any of these devices we've been looking at operate independently of each other. The only reason I think they are throwing that in there is for like the Teamset where only one of the units does all the functions and the 2nd one just pretty much communicates with the 1st unit. Between the F4 and G4, both units can stand totally alone and do everything and is pretty much a given at this point in all the new units."

[BlueLghtning]

Troy I know you have mentioned A2DP a few times. What type of reception shall I expect to receive coming from an Mp3 player is this like Bluetooth signal quality? Overall i hope the quality is pretty good but this would be the first time I've had a wireless setup (music) so unsure what to expect. I know with the Bluetooth on my current Rider I can hear thing's pretty good but mainly it's used for short turn by turn direction.I used the Phone once and the quality is decent there but Not really into the whole calling and riding deal since my attention should be focused ahead.I doubt I use the radio feature but it's there in case My player dies on battery. One thing about the scale rider i do like is the battery life is very good on these unit's. The A2DP quality should be pretty good. Really the limiting factor sound wise should be how good the speakers are. I wonder of Scala updated their speakers on the G4? I'm still not happy they don't just put in a female headphone jack so we can use our own headphones instead of the speakers.

[BlueLghtning]

"They do have the G4 manual online on that site. Reading it now - http://www.revzilla.com/files/scalarider_G4_manual_english.pdf I just noticed from the manual that what I thought was a sliding bar on the side of the unit is really the LED inbtween Button's A & B. I'm still reading, but I think I figured out how they set it up to talk to 3 & 4 riders. They put in a channel A & B that must be able to be activated together. We'll see. The other thing I'm not sure about is the 3 little buttons on the top of the unit? Can you actually push those with gloves on? The other thing I see is the MP3 input port is on the backside of the base facing your helmet? Can you really get a plug in there? One thing I'm liking is that they changed the charging to USB which is nice as it gives you more options and it still has an MP3 audio port for devices with no BT. Not sure if the F4 has that audio in port or not?"

[BlueLghtning]

"From the manual This is a plus!!!
Your scala rider G4 headset offers various audio status messages sent through your speakers. Among others, it will announce your connection state, e.g. whether you are in mobile phone or on intercom mode, it will confirm changes of such modes and more. By default the feature is ON, and can be disabled as outlined below. Priority list
4.3 AUDIO SOURCES AND PRIORITIES The different audio sources connected to the G4 are prioritized as shown below, i.e. the higher priority source will always override and interrupt the lower one. For example, incoming mobile phone calls will interrupt ongoing Intercom calls, while incoming intercom calls will interrupt the audio from the built-in FM Radio etc. Higher Priority 1. Mobile phone audio or GPS instructions (device specific) 2. Intercom 3. A2DP audio source 4. FM Radio (built-in) 5. Auxiliary Line-In Port (for corded connection e.g. MP3 players). Lower Priority There goes any hope about the FM radio. They should have just left it off. It has the same cumbersome way to scan stations and store channels. Useless feature.
NOTE: The sole purpose of the antenna is to increase intercom range between bikers. There is no need to open it when using your mobile phone, FM Radio or MP3 Player but you can do so without concern "

[BlueLghtning]

"So when I first read this part, I was thinking wow, they screwed this up. You can only use 1 BT device at a time. After reading through the instructions though, you can use 2, but there is a caveat. If you have a BT phone with an MP3 playing using A2DP and a BT GPS, you'd be set. You could connect those 2 devices and be fine. However, the same connection you use for your phone is also the same connection you use for any other A2DP device, so if you just have an MP3 player you want to listen to, then I don't know if you could connect your phone in place of the GPS or not? Basically, it only connects to 2 BT devices at any given time and says nothing about remembering past devices. This is where the F4 way out shines the G4. It looks like they sacrificed BT device connections in order to allow you connect up to 3 people.
Thanks to MDC technology the G4 offers parallel connectivity as follows: With up to two other scala rider headsets and with one of the following Bluetooth devices listed below*: ➤ Mobile Phone (either directly or via a GPS device) ➤ GPS device ➤ A2DP enabled MP3 Player or Adapter ➤ Bluetooth Adapter NOTE: If you plan to use your mobile phone while using a Bluetooth GPS device, then you should pair your mobile phone to the GPS and not to the G4 headset. If you use the audio in port to listen to an MP3 player, it disables your VOX feature? WTF?
NOTE: While listening to your MP3 player, the VOX feature is disabled This is basically how they accomplished the 3 or 4 simultaneous connections.
Your headset has two Intercom channels available for headsetto- headset connections. Therefore, your G4 can communicate simultaneously with up to two other headsets. If one of these other headsets is connected to yet another G4 headset, then all four participants can enter into a 4-way conference mode
9.2 BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY Your scala rider G4 can also conduct Intercom communications with earlier scala rider models in different configurations and you can always change your preferences. There are four other scala rider models available that your G4 can connect to, and each of these connections comes with specific characteristics and / or limitations. In terms of range, Intercom communications between your G4 and another scala rider unit is limited to the distance of the lesser-range device. For example, connecting your G4 with a Q2 unit will enable intercom distances of up to 500 m / 540 yards, which is the maximum rated distance the Q2 can achieve. In the section below you can find out how to pair your G4 with other scala rider models, such as the ôQ2Öö, ôSoloÖ ô, ôFMÖ ô, or a Driver unit of the ôTeamSetÖö. In addition, your headsets are also fully compatible with the Schuberth SRC-SystemÖ. For details, visit Some Limitations
d. Conference Mode Limitations Whenever you enter the Intercom Conference mode among three or even four participants (including yourself), the participants who maintain simultaneously two active connections will not be able to receive mobile phone calls or GPS messages as long as the conference call is in progress (see details in sections 9.10 b and 9.10 c) I'm diving into the crazy pairing modes now to see how they accomplish the 3 & 4 way conversations. I'm guessing this could get interesting!"

[BlueLghtning]

"Pairing up to 4 headsets. So this is a long drawn out process but I think they are making it sound worse then it is. I actually would love to have 4 G4's together to try this out and try a few other things. So basically they say that the rider/passenger on each bike should be paired on Channel A respectively on their helmets and the 2 passengers should be paired to each other on Channel B. The Passengers therefore become the connecting headsets to allow the two drivers to communicate with both ladies. Here is the entire process.
To converse in the 4-Way intercom conference mode, the four headsets must be paired as shown in the biker illustration above. All four units should initially be turned off. Step One: Pair Driver 1 to Passenger 2 via Channel “A” as follows a. Turn both headsets ON by pressing and holding the Mobile Buttons until the Blue Light flashes three times. b. Both headsets should now be flashing slowly in Blue. c. Press and hold CHANNEL (“A”) BUTTON on both headsets for at least six seconds until the headset’s BLUE or RED Light begins flashing rapidly, indicating that they have entered the Intercom Pairing mode. (See Intercom Channel Table for Pairing Light indication for each CHANNEL) d. Release the buttons and wait until both headsets display a solid light for two seconds, indicating that the two headsets are now paired for Intercom connections. (This may take up to two minutes) Step Two: Pair Driver 3 to Passenger 4 via Channel “A” Repeat the above pairing procedure between Driver 3 and Passenger 4 Step Three: Pair Passenger 2 to Passenger 4 via Channel “B” Repeat the above pairing procedure between Passenger 2 and Passenger 4 using the Channel “B” button. (instead of Channel “A” button as described in bullet c above). Your 4-Way Conference Intercom Pairing is now complete and ready to use. Here's how they describe to start a conversation. Now can anyone tell me what is wrong with these steps! LOL
Making 4-Way Intercom calls Once you have successfully paired the four headsets as described above, and all units are in standby mode, proceed as follows to start a 4-way Conference Intercom call: a. Passenger 2 should press Button “B” to initiate a call with Passenger 4. Wait until audio is heard on both headsets and proceed to the next step. b. Driver 1 should press Button “A” to initiate a call with Passenger 2. c. Driver 3 should press Button “A” to initiate a call with Passenger 4. Now the 4-way intercom conference mode is established. NOTE: If one of the headsets should disconnect or drop off from the 4-way call and fails to reconnect, repeat the three steps above in that precise order. So, Passenger 1 starts the conversation with Passenger 2 on channel B. Cool, no problem. But it says Driver 1 should then press the A button to start a conversation with Passenger 1. How does the driver know Passenger 1 & 2 are in a conversation and he's supposed to join? I would sure hope Passenger 1 could just as easily press their A button to start a conversation with Driver 1 after starting one with Passenger 2. And reading other parts of this, I think they can. Its just funny how they laid out these steps. It also says if you start a conversation with VOX, it opens up both channels. So Passenger 1 could start a conversation with both Passenger 2 and Driver 1 at the same time and then Passenger 2 could just press their A button to bring Driver 2 into the conversation. So with the above setup, Passengers 1 & 2 could actually sit there and talk privately if they want on channel B and each Rider/Passenger could talk privately on Their channel A's. What's stopping both Drivers from being connected on their Channel B's and having their own private conversations too? I wouldn't think anything, but it probably gets too confusing to explain all that in a manual. Also, There probably is no reason other then range that this wouldn't really work with 4 bikes or even 3 bikes with 1 of the people 2 up. As long as the middle 2 people in the group are the ones connected, I think they could keep the leader and follower in close enough connection to have 4 bikes all talking at once! :) I will admit this is pretty cool if you have a 3-4 group that you always ride with. The manual goes on to talk about how you can connect to other Scala units like the Q2. again the G4 will always be the go between between the other units, but that's pretty cool."

[BlueLghtning]

"Not really anything spectacular here, but another review of features here on the G4 - http://www.gizmag.com/scala-rider-g4/14051/"

[BlueLghtning]

"Okay, from the F4 Manual. This is my first concern below:
During Intercom communication, one of the two Interphone or INTERPHONE F4 devices has a greater battery consumption: this is due to the wireless recharge procedure that one of the control panels carries out in order to remain connected to the other. It can even lead to a difference in autonomy of 60/90 minutes. On long journeys, to optimise battery duration, we advise enabling Intercom mode only when you wish to communicate, remaining in stand-by or an alternative mode when not actually communicating. Now, on the Q2's staying connected manually does wear down the batteries much faster. I'm not sure if one unit suffers much more then the other or not as the manual doesn't state this. On a full days ride, the only time we've come close to running out of battery juice on the Q2's is when we've stayed manually connected for hours at a time like while riding through a state park, but again that was rare to actually have the units die before the end of the day. Hmm, looking at the below two sections, I'm a little concerned that you have to hold the MFB button for 3 seconds to establish an intercom conversation? From section 3.1 we see that pressing the MFB button and releasing it for 1 second activates a VOX call on your phone. To establish an intercom connection, you have to hold it for 3 seconds. That could turn into an irritating quirk. It looks like they have left the phone as the 1st priority of use instead of the intercom as far as starting a conversation. The Scala definitely has this beat by the fact they have 2 different buttons that do this.
3.1 Telephone function To answer a call: as a call comes in, the speaker produces a warning sound or the telephone’s ring: to answer, simply press and release the MFB button. To end a call: to end a call, simply press and release the MFB button. Vocal call: some telephones allow you to make a vocal call simply by pressing and releasing the MFB button. To refuse a call: to refuse the call, press and hold the MFB button for approximately 4 seconds. To refuse a call in VOX mode, follow the instructions given in the VOX FUNCTION section. Volume adjustment: to adjust the volume, press the buttons Volume + or Volume -, depending on the desired volume level.
3.2 Intercom function To enable intercom function: to enable the conversation in an intercom profile, press the MFB button on one of the two INTERPHONE F4s, and hold for about 3 seconds. An audible warning will advise you when connection has occurred. Conversation in intercom mode is full-duplex. To disable intercom function: to disable intercom function, simply press and release the MFB button. Volume adjustment: to adjust the volume, press the buttons Volume + or Volume -, depending on the desired volume level. This is a pretty cool feature for those that carry 2 cell phones (work and personal or something). You can actually have both phones connected and take a call from either one.
3.9 Telephone + Telephone (Dualphone) function This function allows for the simultaneous connection of two telephones. • As a call comes in on the second telephone, whilst a conversation is underway on the first, you can press and release the MFB button to interrupt the first call and activate the second. • You cannot refuse a call coming in on the second telephone whilst carrying out a conversation on the first. • To adjust the volume, press the buttons Volume + or Volume -, depending on the desired volume level. This warning is given a few times so if you have a cell phone with A2DP, you might not be able to hook up a music device it connects using that profile
N.B.: In telephones equipped with musical players, and therefore which include a Stereo (A2DP) profile, the Telephone + Stereo (A2DP) function coincides. As such, it may not be possible to connect a further Stereo (A2DP) player. This next section I think reveals a very strong weakness in the F4. It gives instructions how to answer a call VOX and make a call VOX, but there is nothing in the instructions that say you can initiate an ""intercom"" conversation using VOX? That might be a serious deal killer for a lot of folks. Especially since you have to hold the button in 3 seconds to establish a VOX connection. :banghead: Unless I'm missing it, the Interphone F4 does not allow you to establish an intercom conversation via VOX. You are forced to use the button every time! So you can answer and call on a cell phone via Vox
3.11 Voice response (VOX ) The voice response function allows you to answer a call without having to press any buttons. Enabling voice response: Press and hold the Volume + button for approximately 5 seconds. An acoustic sound will advise you that this has been done. Disabling voice response: Press and hold the Volume - button for approximately 5 seconds. An acoustic sound will advise you that this has been done. To answer a call: When receiving a call, simply say a word (e.g. ‘HELLO’) within ten seconds, to enable the line. To refuse a call: When receiving a call, simply allow ten seconds to pass and it will be refused. 3.12 Voice call The voice call function allows you to make a call without using the telephone keys. INTERPHONE F4 stereo is compatible with the voice call function of various different mobile Bluetooth« telephones: to enable it and access the controls, please refer to your telephone instruction manual. And at the very end, I see one more thing that I had read wrong. When they say 3 BT devices, they count the intercom as one of those! :( So you can't connect say a phone, GPS, & Music player and have your intercom. Of course, most GPS will host the phone through them, but it puts them right on par with the Q2/G4's in that respect. At least it does store connections up to 8 devices.
4 Bluetooth« specifications Bluetooth«: v2.1 EDR Supported profiles: Headset – Handsfree – A2DP / AVRCP / SBC Pairing: up to 8 devices Multipoint connection: up to three devices (e.g. 1 telephone + 1 intercom + 1 stereo (A2DP) So after reading all this, I'm really on the fence about the F4 as bike to bike communicator. It seems to do BT very well, but puts the intercom feature on the back burner."

[BlueLghtning]

"Hmm, found another device out there and the guy at WebBikeWorld that I wrote asking questions about the Interphone F4 said they'll be reviewing this new Sena SMH10 along with the Cardo Scala G4 in the coming weeks. Here's the Sena SMH10 - http://www.senabluetooth.com/index.php?tab_menu=features Here's the user guide - http://www.senabluetooth.com/downloads/manual/UsersGuide_Sena_SMH10.pdf It sounds pretty interesting and supports A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and the basic headset profile. It also says it can connect up to 4 headsets although it doesn't make it clear if you can talk to more then 2 at a time, but I'm going to guess it doesn't. Since it connects up to 4 headsets, I don't think it would have any problems connecting a GPS/Phone/MP3 all at the same time. I like the way its set up for changing the volume with the dial and being able to control an MP3 device with the use of the AVRCP profile. It looks very user friendly for gloves! http://www.senabluetooth.com/images/products/smh10/pl_smh10.jpg"

[West]

I just bought my Q2 multiset, and my question is, once its paired to my iPhone, can I use the iPhone as my MP3 player over bluetooth? Paired it today, and the only thing I can get it to do is the phone call side.

[BlueLghtning]

I just bought my Q2 multiset, and my question is, once its paired to my iPhone, can I use the iPhone as my MP3 player over bluetooth? Paired it today, and the only thing I can get it to do is the phone call side.

The Q2 doesn't support the A2DP stereo BT connection. The iphone is weird how its BT is set up though. I think at some point the iPhone has been upgraded to support A2DP, because at one time, it would at least to play the music over the headset BT profile, but it sounded like crap. I think you might be able to get a BT receiver that receives A2DP and plug it into the mp3 connection on the Q2 and you should be able to get BT that way? I know some people on AdV are using BT transmitters on stuff like a basic ipod to send out a BT signal and then use a receiver plugged into the MP3 port to receive that.

[TroyBoy30]

The Q2 doesn't support the A2DP stereo BT connection. The iphone is weird how its BT is set up though. I think at some point the iPhone has been upgraded to support A2DP, because at one time, it would at least to play the music over the headset BT profile, but it sounded like crap. I think you might be able to get a BT receiver that receives A2DP and plug it into the mp3 connection on the Q2 and you should be able to get BT that way? I know some people on AdV are using BT transmitters on stuff like a basic ipod to send out a BT signal and then use a receiver plugged into the MP3 port to receive that.

a2dp was added to the iphone with the 3gs. AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) was not so it won't change songs on anything over BT including the G4 unless you add a separate Bt dongle. I was going to pick up a G4 and still use my moster ez click remote that has a BT dongle to control song changes. It does look like voice dialing will work though.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_profile#Audio.2FVideo_Remote_Control_Pro file_.28AVRCP.29)

[West]

Yea I know the iPhone supports stereo Bluetooth now, its just weird that when I connect through the Q2, it wont play over the speakers, it defaults to the iPhones internal speaker. Calls and everything work fine. Thought maybe I just missed a setting somewhere. I guess i could always just use the plug to attach to the Q2 and listen that way, but honestly, the Bluetooth connection for music was one of the main reasons i bought the Q2.

[TroyBoy30]

the q2 won't do music over BT, only the g4 will. That's why I waited on the G4

[BlueLghtning]

Yea I know the iPhone supports stereo Bluetooth now, its just weird that when I connect through the Q2, it wont play over the speakers, it defaults to the iPhones internal speaker. Calls and everything work fine. Thought maybe I just missed a setting somewhere. I guess i could always just use the plug to attach to the Q2 and listen that way, but honestly, the Bluetooth connection for music was one of the main reasons i bought the Q2.

You probably should have researched that a bit more since that was the biggest downfall of the Q2 was not supporting BT Stereo profiles (A2DP or AVCRP). The new G4, F4, & Sena all support either A2DP/AVCRP or both.

The reason it won't play over the Q2 speakers is because the iPhone is attaching to the Q2 via the headset profile. Your iPhone supports several BT profiles. and some of them can be activated simultaneously. Before A2DP was added, it probably defaulted everything to the headset profile, but now that it has A2DP, it allows you to connect it to one device for calls and another for music at the same time.

Here's how its working. You sync the iPhone and Q2 and they sync up using a headset profile. That way only calls are sent over that connection. Now there is still an A2DP profile out there unused. Your Q2 still has the MP3 input via wire, and obviously you don't want to run a cord and I think if you do, it disables all BT profiles, so that screws you up even more. What you need is a BT receiver/dongle that will sync with the iPhone over the A2DP profle and plug into the MP3 input on the Q2. Now when your Q2 is in standby mode, it will pump in the music it receives over that BT dongle and give you pretty good sound since the MP3 input is stereo.

Let me look on the ADV thread, because one guy posted up he did just this with another device and it worked great.

[BlueLghtning]

Here's the ADV thread in question - http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=442304

Now this thread is mostly about people modding their Q2's to accept regular earphones like the ER6i's or Skull Candy, or what ever for better sound. The fact is that speakers in a helmet suck pretty bad for music. However, IIRC, somewhere in that thread, a guy talks about using a BT transmitter from like a GPS to send XM music over BT and a BT dongle plugged into the MP3 port on the Q2 to receive it via BT. This is something I've been wanting to try, but just haven't yet.

[BlueLghtning]

Okay, the one mentioned in this thread is the Motorola S705 - http://www.motorola.com/motoinfo/product/details.jsp?globalObjectId=152, but there are plenty more of these little devices out there that do the same exact thing.

Here its for sale for #40 - http://www.cellxpo.com/SbCategory-all-all-Bluetooth_Headset-S705.asp

http://www.cellxpo.com/images/32589.JPG

Basically it's a BT receiver that lets you plug in your favorite earphones into it. It even says it lets you wirelessly stream music from your phone, ipod to this device, and then into your favorite earphones. In this case, you are replacing the Q2 with your favorite earphones. The Q2's come with that wire with a standard earphone plug on one end and the mini plug on the other one that plugs into your Q2. So you sync up you iPhone and this little device. The iPhone stays in your tank bag or in a pocket where ever. You put this S705 device in your shirt pocket/jacket pocket and run the wire from it to your Q2. That's the only wire you have to run and it will be on you, so no big deal. You can now wielessly get music over stereo BT to your Q2, and since your Q2 and iPhone are still synced with the headset profile, you can still take and receive calls also which will override the music.

[West]

Yea, should have researched better, but I got such a good deal on the Q2, I figured i could work out the problems later. The little BT receiver looks promising, Ill have to do some reading on that thread and check it out. Thanks....

[TroyBoy30]

yea the whole purpose of the bt is so you don't have to use headphones! I already have headphones, why would I want to buy the g4 and still have to use them. that's the whole point of the purchase for me.

[BlueLghtning]

Yea, should have researched better, but I got such a good deal on the Q2, I figured i could work out the problems later. The little BT receiver looks promising, Ill have to do some reading on that thread and check it out. Thanks....

I don't blame you there as the Q2's definitely can be found cheap, especially since the G4's came out.

[BlueLghtning]

yea the whole purpose of the bt is so you don't have to use headphones! I already have headphones, why would I want to buy the g4 and still have to use them. that's the whole point of the purchase for me.

What part are you referring to? The guys modding their Q2's to accept headsets or me showing West the BT receiver that takes headphones?

For the guys modding them, aren't you the one that's always saying the ER6i's don't have any bass? You can't tell me you think the speakers sound any better? Unless it's just a short trip, I'd much rather listen to music through my favorite earphones rather then the crappy speakers. I would think you would also be the first one to want to use what ever headphones you find sufficient and being able to use those would be a plus? Either way, being able to plug in our own earphones into any of these units would be a huge plus to me.

As for the BT dongle. Yes, its primary purpose is to hook up earphones to, but that isn't what he has to do. All he has to do is use a cord from the BT dongle to the MP3 input on the Q2's and the Q2's suddenly become the headset piece. Yes, one more step you wouldn't have to do with the G4's, but neither West nor I own the G4's, so that is the best next thing.

[TroyBoy30]

no I have no desire to use my headphones. Why would I buy a $250 device that allows music over bt only to still use the headphones I am currently using? I can already do that! My main desire is music without wires. Talking to others, taking calls and hearing the gps is secondary. The music with no wires is all I wanted. If I want music with wires and can stick with what i have already! I take it you have not heard the g4 speakers. Even they are better than the ER6i's, even at highway speed!

[West]

I agree, I could care less about the phone portion, I just wanna have some communication with my pax and wireless mp3. I guess the Q2 won't let me do that natively with the iPhone, but the BT dongle looks like it will let me be wireless from me to the bike, which is a step up from what I had before. Question though Dan, using the Q2 Jack to connect to the dongle, does this override the BT pairing with the other headset (pax)?

[BlueLghtning]

I agree, I could care less about the phone portion, I just wanna have some communication with my pax and wireless mp3. I guess the Q2 won't let me do that natively with the iPhone, but the BT dongle looks like it will let me be wireless from me to the bike, which is a step up from what I had before. Question though Dan, using the Q2 Jack to connect to the dongle, does this override the BT pairing with the other headset (pax)?

No, because all the Q2 thinks is you have something plugged into the MP3 jack which is wired. It has no idea what it is and you aren't using a BT connection for that. The only issue you might run into is that when I got to reading more about that S705 is that it also sounded like it connected to phones to answer calls? I'm not sure why you would even want to use it for that, but sounds like it does it. The problem could be that when you sync up the iPhone and the S703, it might grab both the Headset profile an the A2DP profile at the same time if it isn't already synced with the Q2, which would screw you up trying to connect the iPhone to the Q2? You might be okay if you sync the Q2 & iPhone first and while those are connected then you sync the S703 and iPhone. That should work because the Q2 will have the headset profile on the iPhone occupied so only the A2DP profile will be allowed to sync with the 705? You might also see if there are any other ones out there that just do the A2DP and not the headset profile?

[BlueLghtning]

no I have no desire to use my headphones. Why would I buy a $250 device that allows music over bt only to still use the headphones I am currently using? I can already do that! My main desire is music without wires. Talking to others, taking calls and hearing the gps is secondary. The music with no wires is all I wanted. If I want music with wires and can stick with what i have already! I take it you have not heard the g4 speakers. Even they are better than the ER6i's, even at highway speed!

Because they sound better and at least the wires would just be tucked between you and the helmet and not dangling everywhere. I haven't had the opportunity to hear the G4 speakers. I know they got great reviews, but the simple fact is that the speakers still have to overcome road noise in a helmet. I'm sure the speakers are loud enough, heck my Q2's are loud enough, but I don't want to have overcome all that noise at the expense of my hearing. I don't care how good they sound, but road noise can be quite loud and that just means you have to have the music that much louder to hear it. I'd rather have the noise canceled out and the sound pumped right into my ears. If its anything more then just an in-town trip, I either have noise canceling earphones in or earplugs. There's no way with earplugs in that the music coming through speakers would sound better then having in noise canceling earphones. Maye I'm not the norm, but on a long trip, I'll take earphones any day over speakers to listen to music. Until they make little bitty wireless noise canceling headphones that sit in your ears, I'll have to deal with wires. At least if the device I'm plugging into is already on my helmet, I don't have far for the wires to go which is always a plus.

My biggest complaint right now is that because my XM is part of my GPS, I'm connected via wire from my GPS to my head and that's the part I hate. I'd be very happy to have a wireless connection from the bike to me. I think I'm going to look at that dongle thing just so I can put in my earphones and tuck the wire away on me. I'll need a transmitter on my GPS since its not BT, but that's fine too.

[TroyBoy30]

my wires are already tucked between me and the helmet. They run up my jacket. Maybe you need a less noisy helmet?