need some info on communicaters guys. My parents have an old set of communicators that work great when they are riding double. however this year mom ha decided to buy here own sled and learn how to ride. I dont blame her one bit. the communicators they have r out dated and dont work very well when they r on seperate sleds. Now they need a really good set that will still work if there happens to be 5 or more sleds in between. Money isnt an issue, my dad realizes that he will get what he pays for in most cases. its kinda of a safety issue so that dad can still be in contact with mom while riding. So do any of u guys use comunicatores or know of any really good set out there?

any info will be apreciated. thanx

Good question Dawg. I've been considering them myself and look forward to the info.

robert lyons of hardcoresledder.com rides over 8000 miles yearly and his wife is with him for over 5000 of those miles. they use the collett 800 i looked in royal distributing website and they are not there but they are in the royal catalogue. i went to the collett website and i see they have a 900 out now looks good.

Well I don't want to question a "Guru" like yourself Paul, but I thought that the Collett unit always was marketed as a "Collett 900" referring to it transmitting on a frequency of 900 Mhz. Their other units transmit on 49 Mhz, thus the name "Collett 49." ( I have one of these units and I was not satisfied with it at all. )

As far as communicators go, if I was buying today to replace the 4 we allready have and aren't too pleased with, I'd consider the units that transmit on FRS (Family Radio Service) Frequencies. These have access to 14 channels which they further split with upper and lower channels inbetween the 14. These have a 2 mile range with very little noise on the air. This means they would work well in a sled riding situation where you can get seperated simply by allowing a safe following distance. We have these but not set up for sledding. We use them when working on the trails or driving down the road. They have a tremendous range and offer clear communication. They also come in units that mount directly to your helmet. I would probably buy these if we were to replace the 4 + 1 that we need as a family.

The radios I'd really like to buy have 15 channels. 7 of those are FRS Frequencies.
The other 8 are on different frequencies that have a 5 mile range as oposed to the 2 mile range of FRS radios. The name for the channels these radios escapes me for the moment but I will post it when I remember. What would make these so expensive is that they don't come in units that mount on your helmet. So on top of the $110 to $280 ( This unit had a GPS location system that would show you the location of the unit you're communicating with.) you would have to buy the ear and mic components that mount in your helmet.
That would set you back more than the radios.

In summary, you get what you pay for.

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

Jeff

hey paul, is there any way of me getting a hold of this robert lyons guy.

thanx guys, keep the info coming

I run Chatterboxes and have been for 4 years now. They aren't the top of the line unit by anymeans, but work fairly well, most of the time.
If I was buying new, I would probably upgrade to something else, like Trailblazer is talking about.

Either way, they are a great safety device, that I had riding without.

FishHog

trailblazer,
they could be 900's which means you are on the money, i could be wrong.

puppy-dawg,
to get hold of robert lyons go to his website and he has an access there.

hey now, whats up with that puppy-dawg stuff paul, remember its not the size of the dawg in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dawg.
:p

thanx i'll get a hold of him there

puppy,
see i don't anyone to think that you are just an old porch laying hound. this way everyone will know you are full of vim and vigor. LMAO.

oh i see, i guess maybe i am a young pup. i am only 23 and yeh there is lots of vim and vigor in this body. just ask my girlfriend. hehe

Originally posted by dawg@Aug 7 2003, 09:01 AM
hey now, whats up with that puppy-dawg stuff paul, remember its not the size of the dawg in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dawg.

:doh: Must be a toy poodle owner.

no way would i own a toy puddle. wish i had a bull dog though but right now, we have a toy palmeranian. he is scared of anything smaller than him, but nothing bigger than him. dont ask me why, i know it doesnt make sense. his name is Tyson. ???

Hihihi lol.....I think that all those small dogs are like that. :D But when the bigger than him start to run to go see him they just run away and yelling as hard as they could....

Last year I was asking the same question. I never did buy one but if I was going to it would be Collet's new "Platinum 900." :)

Here's a link to there site. Collet Communicators (http://www.collettcommunicators.com/) SWRules

thanx for the the link sno n yet, looks like thats the one we need.
thanx again, nate :)

Collett discontinued the normal 900's a couple years back and were unloading them on their website. My dad, myself and a friend took advantage and have not been unsatisfied.

They are nice and clear and have fairly good line of site range, however, in the woods if you get any distance between you (1/2 mile or better, roughly) they fade quick. The voice activated mics can be a biatch to adjust, but if you take your time to figure out what works well, it's a piece of cake.

Battery life is excellent on duracells, even the cheap chinese rechargeables they send you work well. Sound quality from the speakers is great too.

It's a whole new world riding with someone you can talk to.

i think the new 900 will recieve and transmit up to 3 miles {maybe 2} but that has to be on a wide open space like a lake.

i dont think buying batteries will be a problem because the new 900 comes with a rechargable battery pack.

I have the regular Collett 900's. I have been satisfied, could they be better?? yes, but so cant everything. I would recommend buying new rechargeable batteries every year, they last a real long time when new, but they go dead quicker now that they are two years old. When you install them, and I cant stress this enough FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS, it is very important you do so. The one thing I do is use NGK spark plugs, but they recommend Champions because they put out the least RFI (radio frequency interference). This will increase the range alot over the NGK equipped Machines. In the wood they may only work 2-300 yards apart, but in more open areas with a clear LOS I have had them work a half mile or better with NGK's. If you ride with your riding partners they will be fine, if you ride a MachZ and your buddy has a 71 Nordic and you are always 5 miles ahead dont waste the money.

i am thinking of getting a set of them,
i want the ones you can use with your cell phone. :D

that would be the platinum 900. the exact set we are getting. looks real good to me.

I just purchased 6 of the 600's from Collett. $129 a piece. Go to the web site and click on the clearance sale button...

we called last night but there was no answer. think we may go with the clearance items too, if they have anything left. were they the platinum 900's or the regular 900.

OK, here we go .........

I've had a set and I don't use them anymore. What really bugged me was the VOX (voice activation) set up. If you have the setting too sensitive, they trigger too easy, if two sets "activate" at the same time you get that wonderful blood curdling SQUEEEEEEEEL in your ear. If not sensitive enough, you're yelling into the mic, transmitting intermittently. We all know that noise on a sled is anything but consistent. Through some trails maybe, but as speed varies, so does the noise, calling for another adjustment on the VOX setting, and of course, relative volume setting. Take these variables, toss in several others in your group trying to adjust for perfect and the result is a pain in the azz. Even if you are fortunate enough to ride with a group who have mastered this technical challenge, you will undoubtedly, through the day, encounter a bunch of "just got 'ems" who are either arguing or pointing out the "bunnies and the bumps" talking over each other causing yet another SQUEEEEL. By noon, they are always shut off, just hanging on your helmet taking up space.

The only thing I liked about the communicators was the GWB, saved my azz once, ALMOST makes it worth it.

Gimme hand signals and responsible riders who take care of the sled behind them ...... any day.

Just my opinion.

BTW, if anyone would like my communicators, (original style) with the helmet speakers, make me an offer!

Flame suit on and zipped up......

I bought the new collette 900 platinum's last year and they work great. The new rechargeable battery pack works real well. I'd plug it in overnignt after every ride and never had a problem with it.
You'll never get up to 2 miles of distance though, that's the only drawback. A mile apart is probably the best (average) that you'll get. Sound is very clear and the VOX work real good after you set it up.

thanx guys for the info, we have a set of platinum 900's on the way.

nate

MikeD,

I'm not going to flame you by any means. I too had the same problem. It took us a good day to get them figured out. But now, I never adjust my VOX. The odd time when I really get on the throttle, it will crack open, but rarely. Thats where I like it set.

To communicate, I always start with "Hey", most of which doesn't transmit, but activates the VOX, then maintain a loud talking to communicate. Works very well for us. I hate riding without them now. The safety factor alone is well worth it.

Granted, if you get into a real congested area, where everyone has one, sometimes its better to shut them off.

I can't see trying to adjust it all day long, especially with gloves on. No wonder your frustrated.

I would encourage you to give them another chance. I think the safety factor alone is well worth any minor hassles they cause. But thats just my opinion.

FishHog

my thoughts exactly fishhog, well said. somethings just take a little time to figure out. :)

Now I have a question.
I purchased a set of 4 Maxon hands free communicators part number 49-HX.
Are these any good?
They seem clear enough but havent tried them out on a longer distance yet.
Scott in KW.

are they running on 49 megahertz. if so u may want to get some different for riding on snowmobiles

We did a mass purchase from club members 2 seasons ago-we bought the Collett 900s. Tested them out with a buddy in Mayville (Chataqua Lake) last season they worked great he rode lead and I followed. When I blew up the engine on the Wildcat, everybody came to a stop right away............I think the FCC has rules against some of the words that hit the airwaves that day........ :hallo1:

The Platinums are supposed to have a link in for cell phones. Don't need to be on the phone when I'm riding........one of the reasons I ride-no interruptions...... :sly: ....I can always stop and pull the helmet to make a call. Also, Collett will supply, free, to your club, a groomer beacon-we got ours last year and installed it on the groomer.

Sounds like you guys have all settled on the Colletts. They are a fine radio as long as you run a quiet helmet and a quiet set of pipes. ALL THE TIME.

I like the new Chatterbox's the best. They have a Push-to-talk (PTT) feature that, IMHO, puts them way out in front. They are also FRS compatible. They also have the cell phone feature along with a feature that allows you to hook up your favorite music input. You can talk to the folks with the hand-held FRS radios if there are any in the group. I have one NIB for sale. Also have 2 older ones.

Why the MFG's don't get together and make them compatible with each other is beyond me. My wife and I have run with radios for about 5 years now and wouldn't be with out them. The one time that we were without them, (antenna broke) she ended up tearing a ligament in her knee after hitting a huge hole in the trail. Couldn't stop in time to warn her. I never hear the end of it either. :angry: It was my antenna that broke while dinking around jumping bumps in the woods.

Here's a link to the one I run.Chatterbox GMRS X1 (http://www.hjc-chatterbox.com/gmrsx1.asp)

Collett 900 is the way to go . The 49s by collett are not good. I and 12 other buddys have been running the 900s for like 6 years now. I trade every other year to get all the updates they get better & better each year . Once you use them you won't ride without them. The trick is to set them up right when you are ready to ride so they don't click on & off from motor noise when you give your sled the gas. They Beep if a groomer is coming if the groomer has the beacon in it. I can't tell you how many times they got me out of a jam. If you order them order them through a snowmobile club. That way you get 2 chanels private and international at no charge.