Product Review

I just returned from a very nice 65-degree November ride. They are always great at this time of year. As a NASCAR fan, when a winning driver is interviewed, they often say how sweet the win is because you never know when the next one may come. Rides at this time of year are the same. You never know if it will snow the next day and end the season. At this time of year, it is usually a choice of riding or bow hunting. I usually choose the ride since I’ve already done well hunting.

Safe Rider work has slacked off, but about the time you are reading this we will have our scheduling meeting and Christmas Party. Our annual training day and Board meeting is set for February 17.

This being a slow month for anything else to report, I thought I would do a product report. You may remember that I have talked in the past about communication systems for motorcycling. I have used them for at least twenty some years. They add to the safety and enjoyment of riding. The progression of systems goes back to the Chatter Box. It was a battery powered unit in your pocket with wires to the rider and passenger. The next version was Auto Comm. It was a bike mounted and powered unit with coiled cables to plug in to helmet headsets. For rallies with Curt Gran, we even had an add-on to connect two-way radios for bike-to-bike comms with push to talk buttons. Very high tech for 2007.

Next, along came Bluetooth. The Sena systems were as good as it gets. A rechargeable helmet mounted unit did away with wires! Shawn and I, along with some of our riding partners, have used Sena for many years. This past year my Sena was acting up. I had trouble being heard by others and connection to my bike radio started to act up. On the ride to Harrisburg for Meeting of the Minds it got even worse, so I decided it was time for a new set up. There are really only two top brands in the market, Sena and Cardo. The newest models are the Sena 50S and the Cardo Pack Talk Edge.

I did a lot of research and talked to users of the Cardo. I read reviews of both and watched a lot of You Tube stuff. The features of each are comparable. Both use the new Mesh technology. The price for a dual unit set-up is also comparable, about $600, depending on where you buy it. The deciding factor for me was the desire to try something new and the fact that Sena claims to be water resistant and Cardo says waterproof. Since I tend to ride in the rain a lot, I decided to go with the Cardo Pack Talk Edge. This might explain the problems with my Sena, riding in all that rain to and from MOTM. I bought mine from Revzilla, an authorized dealer in case I had any problems. They have good customer service.

Now to the nuts and bolts of the Cardo. The two units come pre-paired to each other. First pair the unit to your phone. Next download the free Cardo Connect app. This will let you control the system from the app for sound levels, connections to other riders, set FM radio pre-sets, set direct dialed phone numbers, and many other features. Since you don’t always want to be pulling out your phone, all of the functions of the Cardo can be done by voice commands. The next thing was to connect the unit to my bike radio by Bluetooth. That was pretty simple and the sound from the JBL speakers in the helmet really is great. I had some concerns about connecting to Sena brand two-way communication, but that also proved very simple. I don’t have time here to go into all the other features, but you can look them up. I have not had much time to ride with more than one other person, so I look forward to next season to give the system a really good work-out. One really impressive thing is the battery life. I have used it for over 600 miles without a charge and since when it shuts down it tells you what the battery level is, there is still 50% battery left.

Enjoy your Christmas season and have a Happy New year. I look forward to seeing many of you at Officer Training in February.

Ride Safe, 

Gary