imagineer Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 This idea has been rolling around in my head for a while, and last week I finally found an open evening to make it happen…install a hands free Bluetooth speaker in my helmet. The idea is more about being able to answer calls than to make them. We have a new driver at home and I don't want to miss a call if there is an emergency.Years ago I got a Motorola Model T305 Hands Free speaker for use in my car, but only used it a few times. (I think I got it from Woot.com for $19). Anyhow, I opened it up and soldered extension wires for the speaker and microphone. There is already a sewn pocket in the helmet for a speaker so I just ran the wires between the shell and the foam panels, then looped the speaker into the pocket. The microphone was a bit of a challenge. There are removable foam sections to each side of the chin bar. I had to cut a small hole in the rigid plastic backer and stuff the microphone into the foam. I can feel it while wearing the helmet, but it’s not uncomfortable. The housing of the T305 is held to the left side if the helmet using 3M VHB tape. If you are not familiar with VHB tape, it’s the strongest foam tape on earth (or at least it seems to be). The 4 wires that are run into the helmet are inside of a section of heat shrink tubing to help protect the fragile wires. One note, the microphone from the T305 is tiny and just about impossible to re-solder, so I used a larger microphone from an old cordless phone instead.Bottom line, the darn thing works surprisingly well. If I receive a call, I just tap the main button (which is easy to hit even with gloves) to answer. To make a call while riding, I just tap the same button and speak the name of who I want to call. The T305 asks me to confirm the name (yes or no), then my Blackberry dials the number. Because the microphone is stuffed inside the foam, wind noise is not a problem. To hang up, I hit the same button again. To charge it, there's a mini-usb socket on the end facing backwards. Its meant to take 12v via a car cigarette lighter, but I'll use a generic 12v wall power supply wired to the contacts on the car charger plug for now. Having the pod hanging off the side of the helmet looks a little goofy, but $19 for a Bluetooth helmet isn’t bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_some_dude Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Looks pretty cool! Good Job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleaveTheGreat Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Nice. I've been thinking about doing something like this for a while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrown57 Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 I don't know whats betterThe fact you made this or the fact your screen name is imagineer Planning on looking into this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagineer Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 your screen name is imagineer It's what I do . . . spend most of everyday, either at work or at home, thinking up stuff to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magley64 Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 good work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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