May 18, 2013 - Can you hear me now?

I freely admit to being a gear junky and as such I’ve just acquired a couple of cool new items in anticipation of the upcoming summer touring season. One that I’ll mention in this report is Uclear’s HBC 200 Bluetooth helmet set that’s now residing in my new Shoei J-Cruise open faced lid.

This is my first shot at using a Bluetooth system and I was amazed at how easy it was to install. Besides communicating with other riders you can use it to independently manage your phone calls, MP3 player, etc. There’s also the optional setup of running through a GPS so I paired mine with my old Garmin Zumo 550.

My phone is a simple TracFone, the type for which you buy airtime in blocks and there’s no monthly service fee. The GPS accesses the phone’s directory and all you need to do is press whichever one you’d like to call. For dialing there's a button that pops up a digital display screen to use for manual entries. When calls come in a pop-up icon plus an audible signal notifies you. Before answering the caller's ID is displayed at the top of the screen along with two buttons below, answer and ignore. I'm guessing but I expect it only displays callers names of those listed in your phone book, others are probably displayed as unknown. 

All calls are routed through the GPS which also holds a ton of MP3 music, especially if you stuff an 8-gig SD card in it. Besides providing for the music and phone system that’s enough memory to store all of the USA and Canadian maps. Incoming calls override the music if it’s playing as do GPS route instructions so you’re never in danger of missing a call or important turn. Voice levels are clear and easy to understand without static. I’m not sure how they managed but wind noise doesn't seem to pass through into phone calls which is really amazing. 

The Uclear combo speaker-microphone tucks neatly into the Shoei's speaker cavity

When installing it’s necessary to ensure the mikes which are part of the speakers are aimed in the same direction – there’s no boom sticking out which I really like. The speakers are fairly robust and look like they'll handle a fair amount of use. In my Shoei J-Cruise helmet I had to carve out two small notches in the plastic speaker cavities to accommodate the tiny mike's projection - it's about the size of a pencil eraser. I used a high speed Dremel Tool for this and it only took a few minutes.

Pairing the Bluetooth devices was as simple as turning the GPS on and letting it detect the phone, etc. This is a short fast routine that it performs each time you turn it on and only takes a few seconds.

MP3 music is crisp even at high speeds but of course that’s dependent on whether or not you’re riding a fully faired bike, etc. Music selection can be made by genre`, artist, album, etc, and there are pause/play/scan controls. Music volume is independently controlled via the touch screen and there’s no lack of it.

Uclear's Bluetooth receiver

For those people who choose to use the Uclear without going through a GPS there’s a mouse-looking control that mounts on the helmet. Most operators should find it simple enough to use although I like using the Garmin’s touch screen better than poking around on the side of my helmet.It has a blinking blue LED that signifies power is on and also blinks a code when pairing occurs. The unit runs for several hours on battery and the recharge time is barely 2-hours. A small charger is included with the package as are a couple of different mounting setups. 

Overall this seems like a good system, well thought out, self intuitive and reasonably priced. It’s available in a single helmet format or double if you carry passengers. Can you hear me now?

LL75