I thought I would share with you my findings on using the Uclear HBC200 intercom... A number of my friends have all bought these units and found them to be pretty good at communicating as a group - we researched the market and found the Uclear to be one of the few systems that could accommodate 8 riders, all talking as an open group.
The system isn't perfect, riders drop out as the range increases, but overall we have found them to work well. The unit also links to my satnav, and to my phone, via dual bluetooth connections.
One area in particular has caused a problem, which is the generic problem of wind noise as speeds increase (i.e. over about 60mph). Whilst the Uclear helmet speakers are adequate at lower speeds, they can't really cope with the increasing wind noise, which I personally find particularly tiring on a long trip. The solution is that I ordered the optional Uclear earbuds - these have tiny inline microphones situated just below the earbud itself (i.e. avoids the need for a boom microphone). Whilst this improves the ability to hear riders talking whilst at higher speeds, its still not as good at cutting out wind noise as the cheap foam earplugs that I normally use. The trick was to buy a pair of the foam earplugs - the yellow ones that they give you on airlines (3M 'Classic' earplugs)- not the more bullet-shaped rubbery ones that you can also buy), then use a small drill bit to drill a small hole right through lengthways - and then insert the end of the Uclear earbud tip into the foam plug. Hey presto - you have about 80-90% of the benefit of wearing earplugs, with the ability to listen to music / talk to friends as well....The additional side effect was that for some reason, the quality of the sound has also increased vs the standard earbud sound.
The system isn't perfect, riders drop out as the range increases, but overall we have found them to work well. The unit also links to my satnav, and to my phone, via dual bluetooth connections.
One area in particular has caused a problem, which is the generic problem of wind noise as speeds increase (i.e. over about 60mph). Whilst the Uclear helmet speakers are adequate at lower speeds, they can't really cope with the increasing wind noise, which I personally find particularly tiring on a long trip. The solution is that I ordered the optional Uclear earbuds - these have tiny inline microphones situated just below the earbud itself (i.e. avoids the need for a boom microphone). Whilst this improves the ability to hear riders talking whilst at higher speeds, its still not as good at cutting out wind noise as the cheap foam earplugs that I normally use. The trick was to buy a pair of the foam earplugs - the yellow ones that they give you on airlines (3M 'Classic' earplugs)- not the more bullet-shaped rubbery ones that you can also buy), then use a small drill bit to drill a small hole right through lengthways - and then insert the end of the Uclear earbud tip into the foam plug. Hey presto - you have about 80-90% of the benefit of wearing earplugs, with the ability to listen to music / talk to friends as well....The additional side effect was that for some reason, the quality of the sound has also increased vs the standard earbud sound.
