I had high hopes… I really did. But I think this needs to get chalked up as a fail.
Here’s the problem I’m looking to solve (in a rough order of importance):
- Talk to Ennie on the back of the bike
- Hear the GPS’s directions
- Listen to music (either from the GPS or the iPhone)
- Answer quick phone calls
- Talk between bikes (if Ennie’s on her own bike)
- Wired (*)
The current Autocom was starting to sound scratchy so I wanted to investigate other options.
I ordered up the G4 from Amazon and received it today. First off it didn’t come with the latest firmware. No problem — just plug it into the computer and update it. The updater was quite poor and it didn’t really want to update the second one until the third or fourth attempt. But eventually I was able to get them both updated.
Next, I picked one of the headsets and paired my phone. It worked and I was able to make a call and listen to music. It sounds pretty good.
Now pair the Zumo.
Phone unpairs. Grrr. Ok, in fairness the manual says that if you want both GPS and Phone pair the phone to the GPS and the GPS to the headset. Now I can make phone calls but not play iPhone music, only mono Zumo.
If this is where it ended I’d be OK.
Now lets fire up the other headset and check out the intercom.
Nope. It didn’t work.
Ok… let’s turn off the music.
Nope.
The headsets were said to have shipped already paired to each other. Let’s re-pair them.
After all that I was able to talk between headsets.
Until I started the music. Then I can’t use the intercom.
Fail.
When you have a chart that looks like:
- Mobile Phone audio or GPS instructions (devicespecific)
- Intercom
- A2DP audio source
- FM Radio (built-in)
- Auxiliary Line-In Port (for corded connectione.g. MP3 players).
(1 is highest priority and 5 the lowest) you would think you can have multiple bluetooth connections. (e.g. a phone and/or GPS and at least A2DP source) Nope.
If this were it I might be OK with it.
The manual described things like sharing the GPS between the headsets but it never told you how that might work.
Then I realized that every time I did anything with the second headset (like turn it on or off or turn on the intercom) that you would get a LOUD CLICK. Painfully loud in fact.
That’s when it all went back in the box to ship back to Amazon. At this point it’s clear that is has enough problems that solving them will take more pain that I want to devote to it.
* – Why wired? One less thing to have batteries to run down. I have a massive generator on the bike that can power everything. It’s simpler to have it power everything that needs power.
I guess if Uncle Sam paid for the card, he may as well ship it too!
:
member I get for free). And at the end of it I have a completely unencumbered physical artifact I can do just about anything with.
.
for my drives and do that. I have supreme faith in the Pelican product line — but I don’t like the cost. This isn’t irreplaceable stuff, just stuff I don’t really want to get broken.
and popped out the appropriate foam bits (well, mostly — more on that later) and I had cases for the drives! I even had a $10 coupon card from them! Each case was right around $20 instead of $100. Net savings of $160.
