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I had been using a Camos BHS600 bluetooth setup to listen to music & GPS from my Archos 5 Internet tablet while riding. Recently, I had the misfortune of cutting the cable on the control unit. They no longer make the BHS600, so I started doing some shopping. My needs were fairly basic:
I read a pile of reviews, and found there was some nice stuff in the $160 range. One place mentioned the Parrot SK4000. It was popular with people like me that did not need an intercom. I read some mixed reviews on it at places like Amazon, but found some actual user web page reviews dealing with it. What confused me was the price range- anywhere from $55 or so on ebay to $200 at other retailers online. I was wondering if you got the whole thing for the $55. Turns out you do- apparently it is also discontinued, but still has a good bit of support. The company is from France, but they have a USA website & forum. I got mine here at Mobile City Online.
Here's a pic from their website of most of what you get:
It also has a home charger, 3.5mm input coiled cord (for MP3 player), and a few install accessories plus an allen wrench.
The specs are impressive:
I took the plunge and bought two, since I have two helmets, plus I can always have one for spare parts if needed. Here are my impressions:
The battery took over 5 hours to charge.
The base was very easy to clamp onto my Zox modular helmet. The Camos used a cheap metal clip and this is what ended up cutting the cable when it slipped off the last time. Parrot gives you an allen wrench to tighten the clamp and it really stays put once in place. They give you extra rubber pads if your helmet is too thin.
The battery door screw on the handlebar remote does not work with the supplied wrench. I had to use a small allen wrench to remove & replace the screw. The CR 2025 battery supplied worked fine.
Once charging was complete, the unit came set up in stereo out of the box. Apparently older versions defaulted to mono, but once you set stereo it stayed that way.
It paired to my older Nokia phone quickly, and then downloaded my contacts (this is used for voice calls while riding). I was able to make a call to my wife's cell phone since it was in my contact list as a mobile. When I tried our home number, it wouldn't dial. I found this was a user error on my part, as I did not have the home number set up as a landline in the phone, and had no "mobile" number for home. Call quality as noted in the reviews I read was great- I think a lot of this is due to the fact the mic is right behind the lower part of the helmet, which sees little wind, especially behind a Windjammer. The foam of the microphone sits against the edge of my mouth, but it wasn't too irritating. I had never installed the mic on one of the Camos units I used.
I had more of an issue with pairing the Archos tablet. It did so quickly at first, then the music started cutting out. I felt this was due to the wireless router nearby or some other type of interference, as I've noticed this in my driveway with the Camos.
I updated the firmware from 1.14 to 1.15, and then the Archos would pair but not connect. After a power cycle from both it reconnected and did so w/o the music dropping out as it had before.
On the road test, I found like others the volume wasn't quite loud enough, so I used some Velcro stuck adhesive to adhesive for the speakers (I was able to use the Camos speaker Velcro which was still in the helmet. This put the speakers a little closer to my ears and fixed the volume problem. The handlebar remote is easy to use, but if you have large hands it uses grip space, so you may not want to use it. With the remote, I can adjust volume, switch sources, switch tracks on my playlist (forward or backward), and make/receive phone calls. Most of the functions are duplicated on the puck on the helmet (like they were with the Camos), but I liked the handlebar remote.
The unit has a wealth of options, such as automatic volume control. It seemed to work, as when listening to the radio and riding, I noted the volume went way down while at a stop sign.
One other tip- if you want to read how to use it, download the manual from their site (PDF link). The booklet they give you is just too small to make out the details.
Overall, I'm pleased with this device and it is well worth about $60 shipped.
- Bluetooth stereo audio (A2DP)
I read a pile of reviews, and found there was some nice stuff in the $160 range. One place mentioned the Parrot SK4000. It was popular with people like me that did not need an intercom. I read some mixed reviews on it at places like Amazon, but found some actual user web page reviews dealing with it. What confused me was the price range- anywhere from $55 or so on ebay to $200 at other retailers online. I was wondering if you got the whole thing for the $55. Turns out you do- apparently it is also discontinued, but still has a good bit of support. The company is from France, but they have a USA website & forum. I got mine here at Mobile City Online.
Here's a pic from their website of most of what you get:
It also has a home charger, 3.5mm input coiled cord (for MP3 player), and a few install accessories plus an allen wrench.
The specs are impressive:
- Bluetooth stereo audio (A2DP)
- Cell phone via bluetooth in addition to above (the Camos would also do this but I never tried to pair the phone)
- FM radio
- Aux input for an MP3 player or similar
- Handlebar remote with several functions
- NO INTERCOM (not a factor for me)
I took the plunge and bought two, since I have two helmets, plus I can always have one for spare parts if needed. Here are my impressions:
The battery took over 5 hours to charge.
The base was very easy to clamp onto my Zox modular helmet. The Camos used a cheap metal clip and this is what ended up cutting the cable when it slipped off the last time. Parrot gives you an allen wrench to tighten the clamp and it really stays put once in place. They give you extra rubber pads if your helmet is too thin.
The battery door screw on the handlebar remote does not work with the supplied wrench. I had to use a small allen wrench to remove & replace the screw. The CR 2025 battery supplied worked fine.
Once charging was complete, the unit came set up in stereo out of the box. Apparently older versions defaulted to mono, but once you set stereo it stayed that way.
It paired to my older Nokia phone quickly, and then downloaded my contacts (this is used for voice calls while riding). I was able to make a call to my wife's cell phone since it was in my contact list as a mobile. When I tried our home number, it wouldn't dial. I found this was a user error on my part, as I did not have the home number set up as a landline in the phone, and had no "mobile" number for home. Call quality as noted in the reviews I read was great- I think a lot of this is due to the fact the mic is right behind the lower part of the helmet, which sees little wind, especially behind a Windjammer. The foam of the microphone sits against the edge of my mouth, but it wasn't too irritating. I had never installed the mic on one of the Camos units I used.
I had more of an issue with pairing the Archos tablet. It did so quickly at first, then the music started cutting out. I felt this was due to the wireless router nearby or some other type of interference, as I've noticed this in my driveway with the Camos.
I updated the firmware from 1.14 to 1.15, and then the Archos would pair but not connect. After a power cycle from both it reconnected and did so w/o the music dropping out as it had before.
On the road test, I found like others the volume wasn't quite loud enough, so I used some Velcro stuck adhesive to adhesive for the speakers (I was able to use the Camos speaker Velcro which was still in the helmet. This put the speakers a little closer to my ears and fixed the volume problem. The handlebar remote is easy to use, but if you have large hands it uses grip space, so you may not want to use it. With the remote, I can adjust volume, switch sources, switch tracks on my playlist (forward or backward), and make/receive phone calls. Most of the functions are duplicated on the puck on the helmet (like they were with the Camos), but I liked the handlebar remote.
The unit has a wealth of options, such as automatic volume control. It seemed to work, as when listening to the radio and riding, I noted the volume went way down while at a stop sign.
One other tip- if you want to read how to use it, download the manual from their site (PDF link). The booklet they give you is just too small to make out the details.
Overall, I'm pleased with this device and it is well worth about $60 shipped.
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