Two Way Communications While ATVing

The General forum is where users can discuss any topic regarding Motorola communications equipment - hardware, software, etc. There are also several focused forums on this board, so please take the time to ensure that your questions doesn't fall into one of those categories before posting here!

Moderator: Queue Moderator

Post Reply
Jim1348
Posts: 542
Joined: Sun Aug 15, 2004 7:52 am

Two Way Communications While ATVing

Post by Jim1348 »

My wife and I are ATVers. Yesterday, for example, we rode our ATVs most of the day and talked again about how nice it would be to have the ability to communicate while riding. I would love to find something that have native Bluetooth built in. We are bother licensed amateur radio operators, so a couple of ham rigs would work. What I have found, however, seems to be a lack of reasonably priced choices of devices that have Bluetooth built in.

So far, I have given some thought to the following:

-FRS/GMRS radios: Motorola does make Talkabout MU350R (I am inclined to prefer VHF, though, if I go analog.)

-MURS: Legal, license-free, this would seem to be a reasonable choice. I am not finding MURS radios, at a reasonable price, with native Bluetooth, however,

-Amateur VHF/UHF: Again, I am not finding native Bluetooth. Otherwise, 2 meter simplex would seem to be a good choice.

-Motorola DTR550s: I have a pair of these. They work well, but they don't have Bluetooth

-Nextel Direct Talk: I have five of these. One I have, the i580, has Bluetooth, but an earlier version of Bluetooth.

-Beartooth: I have looked at https://www.beartooth.com/ So far, however, I haven't been able to find any reviews of these since they have been available.

-Sonnet: These aren't available, yet. If they do what they claim, it could be a good choice. https://www.sonnetlabs.com/

-Gotoky: These also aren't available, yet http://www.gotoky.com/highlights

-LINC: These are also not available, yet. https://www.fantom.io/linc/

-Garmin RINO: These have always struck me as interesting, but overpriced, transceivers. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/576031

And, I should mention, too, that at the risk of pointing out the obvious, we ride in some very remote areas. As a result, neither AT&T or Verizon has solid coverage in all of the places we ride. We actually carry Verizon smartphones, but I also have an AT&T hotspot with we in case we need to make a wifi call of text.

So, to summarize, what I am looking for is something that could either be in a pocket or backpack, connected via Bluetooth, to our helmet speaker and microphone, that would allow comms while ATVing. (I also know that there are Bluetooth push to talk switched that can be mounted on handlebars.) It seems like it shouldn't be that difficult, but I am really not finding a lot of viable choices right now.
User avatar
d119
Posts: 3532
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2002 4:00 pm

Re: Two Way Communications While ATVing

Post by d119 »

Sena 30K.
User avatar
SteveC0625
Posts: 467
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 9:46 am
What radios do you own?: CDM's, CP's, CM's, and more

Re: Two Way Communications While ATVing

Post by SteveC0625 »

With the new FRS/GMRS rules that just went into effect on the 18th, you can legally run up to 2 watts on 1-7 and 15-22 now as FRS. 8 to 14 are still 0.5 watt, however.

Those Bluetooth Motorola TalkAbouts may be more attractive now.
KitN1MCC
Posts: 1890
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2002 4:00 pm
What radios do you own?: ht1550 XLS,6 MT-1000,

Re: Two Way Communications While ATVing

Post by KitN1MCC »

My RTV has VHF and UHF XPR2500 in it
Jim1348
Posts: 542
Joined: Sun Aug 15, 2004 7:52 am

Two Way Communications While ATVing

Post by Jim1348 »

I am still researching, but the more I think about it, the more I am wondering if VHF with a digital modulation might be the best way to go. For simplex use, would APCO P25, MOTO TRBO/DMR, NXDN, Icom Death Star, and Yaesu System Confusion all perform equally?
User avatar
Bill_G
Posts: 3087
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:00 am

Re: Two Way Communications While ATVing

Post by Bill_G »

Since you're putting the radios on ATV's, that probably means you're traveling to areas you don't know super well, at least from the radio spectrum POV. So, I would stick with plain old conventional analog FM so I could be a good radio tourist, and monitor all traffic before transmitting.
olderookie
Posts: 208
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2003 12:38 am
What radios do you own?: APX6000, XTS5000, Astro Saber

Re: Two Way Communications While ATVing

Post by olderookie »

following
Post Reply

Return to “General Motorola Solutions & Legacy Radio Discussion”