Fantastic Communicator - read review for some very useful info...
Written: Mar 01 '02 (Updated Mar 01 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: FRS seemelss transmission, no interference, excellent clarity, use walkman, cel-phone etc
Cons: took some work to get it perfect, needs the high speed mic CHECK SERIAL NUMBER!!
The Bottom Line: Absolutely packed with functionality and perfectly designed plus Top-notch customer support Chatterbox has made the FRS-X2 the BEST
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| nick1326's Full Review: Chatterbox Chatterbox FRS X2 Communicator (2 mi. R... |
Without a doubt, te Chatterbox FRS-X2 is the best communicator I've tried so far, however at first it certainly wasn' - it took a little work to get there. Read the review, get a feel for what we're dealing with and I promise that you'll find the FRS-X2 is certainly the best communications solution available today - you work hard for those dollars, so before you invest in garbage, read up, check 'em out and make a better decision:
As a member of 3 different sport riders groups, putting on a combined 20-25,000 miles a year in sport touring, it would be an understatement to say that we put our radios through their paces! Whether sport touring and just group riding, having a communicator is a real pleasure - it adds safety, by allowing riders to relay traffic situations and scenarios that are happening in real time. They also eliminate the need for hand gestures and guess work (you know, "what the hell is he trying to say????") it facilitates keeping the group together (I need gas guys, let's pull over next exit) this is a gerat example - how hard is it to get the whole group to stop when you have 25 bikes riding and yuo're at the end!!!! lastly, it allows a group to chat while riding, and keep their heads up (using VOX not push-to-talk of course) and this contributes to the overall enjoyability of the ride! A great investment indeed!
Initially, my group started riding with cheap FM-band Maxon communicators. They were an inexpensive solution for sure, however thay had huge shortcomings which I'll address now:
1) They used FM band - FM is chocked full of static and interference, plus these particular models liked to pick up 4900mHz cordless phones signals - NOT GOOD
2) They only had one speaker - not TWO - imagine listening to your walkman with one speaker in! Doesn't matter how good the speaker quality is, its gonna sound like garbage!
3) The unit was not helmet mountable, which made for sometmies awkward adjustment (IE having to reach into your tank bag to adjust VOX level, volume, etc)
4) most importantly, the units were made with cheaper parts and would pick up horrible wind noise when traveling faster than 65 mph, and we usually travel well over 80/90.... So with all the hassle of using these communicators, we were forced to step back, reconsider and begin shopping for the best solution out there - listen folks, over 200 men and women shopping around and researching and we all came up with the same product in the end - the Chatterbox FRS-X2
The FRS-X2 is a great lightweight radio which literally addresses all of the problems we had with the other Maxons above. First, inherently, the FRS band (family radio service) is a much less frequented band of transmission and therfore from the get go, radio interference problems are literally washed away - you will virtually NEVER get any kind of static and interference on this band - a GREAT reason to use it!!! The only other traffic on this band from consumer products is from similar motorcycle communicators and walkie talkie type units - typically used while skiing out west, for avelanche danger prevention and enhanced communications between skiers.
The X2 utilizes 2 speakers which is a tremendous improvement over one, BELIEVE ME! Forget the fact that the X2 is comprised of much higher quality componentry, just the stereo effect alone is a huge improvement - this baby is GOLD! ANother great feature for creature comfort is that you can use external accesories such as a waklman, discman or MP3 player radio -- No worries either, whenever you transmit or someone speaks to you, the music will cut out and the communication will supercede everything - after the talking is done, the music comes back on. You can also choose to ignore incoming signal with the flip of a switch, for those long stretches of highway where you want to relax and not hear the chatter (a great feature). Believe it or not, you can even plug in your cel phone!! The plug is made for Nokia 51 and 61 series phones (IE 5180 etc) however Chatterbox will be making different plugs for different brands - let me tell you, this is a GREAT idea - I can't even tell you how many times I've used this to call for directions or make restaurant reservations on the road - this is one of those products where I've later said to myself, "MAN the amenties and conveniences of modern technology!" This is an awesome product to enhance to biking experience.
The most important consideration to these radios however (especially for sportbikes with loud whiny exhausts and high speeds- just the way we LOVE IT BTW) wind noise can quickly become a problem - and unfortauntely this CAN be an issue with the chatterbox, but they've fixed it, so read on.... Originally Chatterbox released the FRS-X2 early because of HUGE demand for the next generation of product (which superceded its cruder predecessor, the "FRS"). While the FRS-X2 had a ton of better features than the FRS, chatterbox kept the same basic circuitry archtiecture, and did not make the wind noise problem any better! When we first got the units we had issues beyond 75 mph - so we were back to (almost) square one; Despite having allevaited all the other problems, we couldn't get around the wind noise issue! I'm happy to say, Chatterbox HAS created a great solution to this by the introcudtion of an electronically-noise-reducing headset, a great intuitively designed piece based on aircraft-made communications systems which NEED to get around noise problems.... THe noise-reducing headset had a high-quality designed microphone whose signal is then filtered through the noise-reducing chip built into the FRS receiver box. The result is remarkable! We have succesfully and easily talked during quick jaunts in EXCESS OF 120MPH!!! Yeah, seriously - I don't know ANY other radio that can handle more than 100 - let alone 120! This thing kicks some serious sportbike booty! The only trick, AND READ CAREFULLY - is that is you already own and FRS-X2 and want to upgrade to the noise-reducing headset, you NEED to make sure you have one of the newer FRS-X2 units, which have the chip built in: THE SERIAL NUMBER MUST START WITH "FN" AND NOTHING ELSE!!!! If you own on of the earlier units (as I did) it WILL NOT WORK with the headset - it won't reduce any noise electronically! The good news is, you need not trash your unit - simply send it back to chatterbox and they will replace the box with a new unit FN serial number WITH the chip FOR FREE! I've even included the contact info: talk to RYAN at CHatterbox: 1-888-452-2269 - he's a great guy, extremely knowledgable in the whole product line and he'll help get you straight! I was THROUROUGHLY IMPRESSED with the courteous service and customer care that chatterbox provides - if you have any objections at the higher cost, let this example demonstrate what you truly get - the care they provide for customers is just one of the many examples of "you get what you pay for" associated with this awesome product!
Installation is a breeze - everything is nice and low profile is fits nearly perfectly in all the helmets I've owned, from HJC to SHoei to Arai - the Shoei and Arai have perfect little "pockets" which let you mount to speakers in just the right position to hear perfectly WITHOUT putting any pressure on your ears or head - this is a great part of the speakers and helmet together.
lastly, and the best part - if you own the FRS-X2 simply call Ryan if you are having wind-noise problems and they will give you a break on the cost of the noise-reducing headset, which is a really great deal! To get back to the features, the radio also offers you the ability to set up chat groups (a smaller group within a riding group) and you have the option to set up many differet chat groups which you can toggle in and out of easily by using the simply and well laid out buttons on the box. Lastly - the box is designed to be helmet mounted- it is fairly lightweight, unobtrusive and makes it ALOT easier to adjust or tweak settings like VOX level and VOLUME without fumbling through your jacket and your tank bag to get to other radio units which aren't helmet mounted! This again reinforces SAFETY FIRST which is a welcome feature in my book - since as bikers, we already accept that what we're doing in inherently dangerous - you might as well reduce the risks as much as possible - this radio is "heads-up" all the way and for me, that just sealed the deal - it is the BEST THING OUT THERE!
A tip on VOX settings, if you are having problems where the radio won't turn-on the microphone while talking OR the mic won't turn off after your finsihed (or turns on by itself) you obviously have the VOX set wrong (either too LOW/not-sensitive OR too HIGH/over-sensitive) so you should be aware that if it isn't working right, YOU have the VOX level set wrong - the unit has the best VOX control I've yet used (VOX, FYI, is Voice-activation, meaning you don't need to push to talk, you just start talking and the radio automatically turns itself on to transmit, and turns itself off as soon as you are finished) I find the VOX should be between 11 and 12 oclock (position wise for the VOX knob) Another TIP is to BUY THE UNIT WITH THE BOOM-MICROPHONE SET UP...there are two versions - one unit is meant for full-face helmets (it has a disc shaped mic) and then there is the OPEN FACE style unit - this one comes with a boom microphone, similar to the hands-free headsets you may use at work on your telephone there) I RECOMEND THE OPEN_FACE MIC STYLE - EVEN FOR FULL FACE HELMETS - I use full face helmets 90% of the time, and the boom microphone is actually LOWER PROFILE and you can move it around on-the-fly to get perfect pick-up - trust me, buy the OPEN FACE STYLE.
FYI, the only different between the X1 and X2 is the X2 had 2 mile range and X1 has 5 mile range - truthfully, you DONT NEED 5 miles range - 2 miles is plenty (FYI the maxon was QUARTER MILE range asn that was plenty usually) The X1 drains alot of battery juice to allow that 5 mile range, so I think the X2 is alot more efficient and therefore BETTER - PLUS the X2 is alot cheaper, so you can use the saved money to buy the noise-reducing headset AND STILL come out
having spent LESS money than on the X1 unit WITHOUT the headset.
I've tried to pack as much information in here as possible - if you found it very helpful, and I hope you have, PLEASE RATE IT - I love to hear your feedback and espeically take pride in helping you guys make decisions. Try reading some of my other revieews (mostly cigars and motorcylces, 2 GREAT things on this planet) and add me to your web of trust, as I write frequently. Hope this helps, and certainly check out this great motorcycle communicator - chatterbox makes excellent products, their service and customer support is truly the cream of the crop and the functionality is absolutely top notch! Thanks and enjoy your ride!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
nick1326
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Location: Long Island, NY
Reviews written: 232
Trusted by: 93 members
About Me:
Music, Motorcycles, Drumming, Surfing, the finest cigars and living life to its fullest...
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