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ChatterBox FRS X2 Review
I have a Chatterbox FRS X2 unit. This is the one that has the standard FRS channels and 38 privacy codes. It provides an FRS radio, an intercom and auxiliary inputs for an audio device and potentially a cell phone. In general, I really like the unit – a lot. For me, it revolutionized riding in that my wife is a bit of a talker and it drove her nuts to sit on the bike with our heads two feet apart and not be able to talk. The intercom works pretty well and we were able to talk in a full-duplex manner (like a telephone) with only minor issues. I am also able to listen to a CD or tape while riding. If you install it the recommended way, there are a lot of cords hanging around your head which is somewhat inconvenient, but it works. If you want the executive summary, there it is. More detail follows. I purchased the FRS-X2 with a stereo, noise reducing headset, an extra noise reducing headset for the passenger, a headset extension cable (necessary for the passenger) and an audio cable. The system also comes with a rechargeable battery pack (standard cordless phone type battery), a battery charger (12 volt AC converter), a remote push to talk switch (there is also a PTT on the unit) and other various bits and bobs (as the Brits would say). I have two full-face HJC CL-12 helmets and the headsets are mounted in those helmets. A lot of what follows is negative. Don’t get the idea that I don’t like the unit – I like it – glad to have it – wouldn’t be without it. Just be sure to understand some of the issues and be a little bit creative. All of the problems that I mention below are solvable with a measure of patience. For people who have actually read this far, there is typically no lack of creativity. That being said, the communicator is a fairly good and inexpensive platform to start from. The helmets have speaker knock outs. so putting the speakers in the helmets was simple. The full-face mic simply sticks to the front of the helmet with Velcro. This has worked fine despite my initial skepticism about it falling off. The biggest problem is what to do with all of the extra headset cord. ChatterBox provides a popsicle stick to jam it up into the helmet - that means breaking the glue between the styrofoam liner and the outer shell. I had to be fairly aggressive with the wires in order to get this done so that the cord was truly out of the way. There is a black clip that comes with the kit. The purpose of the clip is to hold the connector to the helmet so it doesn't dangle. I ran with the connector dangling, taped, Velcro'd for awhile (OK, a long time) because no where in the instructions does it mention what the funny looking black clip is for. To me it wasn't obvious. Once I figured out what the clip was for, I would have to say that headset installation is easy and well done. The instructions for the unit are terrible. It’s mostly hit miss and guess and hope something works. For example, to turn on the intercom, the instructions say to press the intercom switch. I pressed it and was treated to unbelievably loud static. I thought I had a bad unit. I called Chatterbox support (the folks there are great by the way) and they patiently explained that what you really need to do is press and hold the intercom button until it beeps. Truthfully, it doesn’t take much to figure it all out and that was the biggest problem that I had. They suggest mounting the unit to the helmet. Not really a bad idea, because it isn’t heavy (I've ridden thousands of miles with it and never really noticed it) and having it right on your helmet makes the controls on the unit pretty easy to get at. The mounting bracket for the helmet leaves a bit to be desired and the unit actually fell off because the screws came loose. A piece of industrial strength Velcro solved the problem. The headset cords have eight-pin mini-din connectors and seem a bit fragile. VOX is the idea that the mic keys when you talk, no button pressing (push to talk). The VOX circuity on the unit is OK, but not great. You have to get used to slurring your first word to key the mic. The unit is full-duplex, so once the mic is keyed by one party, it stays keyed as long as one party or the other continues to talk. The VOX sensitivity is adjustable. One way to approach using it that worked pretty good was to adjust the VOX with very high sensitivity. This virtually keyed the mics during the entire ride and as long as you can stand a bit of wind noise (it's not all that bad), it worked pretty well. Over time, we have grown weary of the wind noise and have gone in almost the opposite direction. We rely less and less on the VOX and use the push-to-talk switches. The unit comes with a remote PTT switch. I usually give it to the passenger, and if we are in a conversation, the passenger can simply hold the switch open when talking, it works fine. There is also a push to talk switch on the unit itself, and if I want to initiate a conversation, I can reach up and press it. Mounted on the helmet, these switches are all very accessible and pressing them is really not problematic in any way. I never used the unit bike to bike as an FRS, but I did use it Bike to car. It was great – pack the wife and all but one of the kids in the car and me and the lucky kid on the bike. It worked reasonably well as I long as I used the push to talk rather than VOX. The VOX really showed it faults in this mode. Any FRS radio communicates with the FRS X2. As a side note . . . don’t go thinking that I’m a heel on this one (stick the wife in the car with the kids while I have fun on the bike). I have seven kids and we have a mini-van – that holds seven (I also have a 15 passenger van, but it’s expensive to run). Seven in the van and two on the bike let me travel cheaply. You can’t use the intercom and the FRS at the same time. If you’re in intercom mode, the FRS doesn’t work. If you’re in FRS mode and talk to your passenger, it works more or less like an intercom with caveat that you're you’re broadcasting over FRS. Not necessarily a huge issue, but an issue all the same. If you have an audio device hooked up (Walkman or otherwise), the audio cuts out when the mics are hot. This is fine and what you want. I explained earlier that one way to use the intercom is to key the mics all the time with the VOX setting so if you really want to listen to music, this was problematic. What it basically meant is that you were really either listening to music or talking, but not necessarily seamlessly doing both. On the other hand, you could easily leave the music on, and simply adjust the VOX – low sensitivity for listening to music, high for talk – a tap on the shoulder to turn up the VOX did the trick. The use of the PTT switches really reduces this issue. I think a better way to approach the whole scenario would be to mount the unit somewhere on the bike, not on the helmet, but within reach. The big thing here is that it would reduce the number of cords hanging off your head. A tank bag might be perfect, though I have not tried it. To a point, you need to be able to manipulate the controls while riding. If it’s by your head, that’s pretty easy. A Velcro mount on the top of the tank might work (losing major style points for the Velcro on the tank), but somehow I never got around to making it happen. I would also want to figure a way to tether it to the bike. I wouldn’t want a good bump to send the unit off the bike and on to the pavement - $200 down the tubes. Truthfully, now that I actually have a tank bag, I envision putting it in the tank bag on longish trips and keeping on the helmet for daily commuting. The battery lasted literally for days – people report 5-6 hours, but that was not my experience. My wife and I went for a 15 hour, 400 mile scenic ride one day and the battery never even showed any sign of dying. I took the bike for a week on a business trip and listened to music for at least 20 hours before having to recharge. We’re talking intercom and audio here so I don’t know if using the FRS would draw more power – but I am totally satisfied with the battery. If your buddies ride with CB’s, you’re still in isolation. This can be a real issue, especially in a group. In fact, I was part of a minor crash when riding with a couple of friends that was caused in part by an inability to communicate. The incident made me want to get a CB post haste. Chatterbox has one that is an integrated CB, Intercom and audio in - it runs about $500 by the time all is said and done. There are lots of cords – helmet to unit, unit to walkman, passenger headset to unit. I guess that isn’t really a lot different than an integrated system, but it is cumbersome. As for the music, it works pretty well. The speakers could be a little better quality, but they’re not bad. The huge gripe on this note is that the volume for the audio is only controlled by the audio unit (CD, MP3 or Walkman). It would be nice if the Chatterbox unit had an audio volume control as fumbling with the usually tiny audio control on a walkman at 70 mph is a bad idea. One problem I had with this is when a friend and I went on a long ride and needed to talk at a traffic light, the only option was to turn the unit off (I couldn't hear him because of the music) and then back on. I am also told that you can snip the speakers out of the headsets in put in almost anything else from another set of headphones to get much better sound. I believe it, but I have yet to try it. The advice says - DO NOT CUT the ChatterBox cable. Open up the speaker, unsolder (is that a word?) the crappy ChatterBox speakers and then solder in the better ones. I know a lot of you are looking for cell phone integration. Allegedly, this unit does it through the auxiliary port. When I researched it a bit, the supported phones were very limited. Suffice it to say, if you want this, you may need to mess with cables, adapters, cutting, soldering, etc. I know nothing about this and don't feel a need to run a cell-phone through the unit. ChatterBox may be willing to provide pin-out like information. If you REALLY want this, I would research carefully before investing. In general, I give the unit a 4.5 out of 5. The system provides a good, workable, communication solution for a reasonable price. It’s not perfect, but it isn’t bad. I have never used an integrated system like one that comes on a GoldWing, so I have no basis for comparison. As for price, to get everything I needed - the ChatterBox unit, passenger headset and extension cords, it was about $300. It was pretty much plug and play in that it took about an hour to get everything set up. Other tips:
When I was ready to buy, I scoured the internet and EBay and found this place - http://www.valueaccessories.net. They were the cheapest and they were VERY good to deal with. I called them, they knew the product, the answered all of my questions and shipped right away. They also have accessories inexpensively priced. If you buy the unit, you have to buy accessories – so you can get it all here for a good price. I don’t know these folks other than by doing business with them. If you explore the web site a bit, there are directions and options for external mounting (a RAM mount). The people who run the site claim to be riders and use the units. Grab another review on a scaled down unit here - http://www.bmwrsm.org/Adobe/hjccbrev.pdf Finally grab another long review here – If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to email me - scott@scottfinn.com
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