Intercoms
 

Intercom and radio ideas? Links please.

Sampson Racing Communications
 

Some people use a unit from an airplane. I know that I've seen all the components on ebay, but I don't how to put the system together. Maybe somebody could chime in.

Here you go.

http://revolutionmarine.com/shopsite...intercoms.html

I installed one of those RM setups. There were a couple of things that I didn't like about it. First of all, the head set jacks were very cheesy. We did not trust them to last for long. I guess the two knob controller comes from an airplane and doesn't react well to water. Overall, the whole kit felt like it was something that I could put together in my garage.

can the intercoms communicate from boat to boat??
Looking for something along the lines of the 900 units for snowmobiles and motorcycles with helmets.
Would be great to have everyone able to talk with-in a group on the weekends or during a poker run.
Run down river, people get late, run slow, people have to wait up for them. Would be great to just say 'Hey, you OK' and keep running.

The revolution system is a closed system. You could interface it with a VHF or cell phone though. There are also self contained FRS systems out there. They mount a small radio on the helmet.

We sell the units made by AVCOM and have had great luck with them. Again, you could interface it with a VHF or cell phone.

Chris Reindl
(513) 706-3199
[email protected]

I bought a 4 place unit from Revolution Marine and installed it myself in my 38 Cigarette. I used it last summer for the 1st season, and other than the wind noise that I got, when I was standing in the direct path of the wind, as opposed to sitting while driving, I was extremely satisified with the quality of the product and their customer service.
I called them and told them of my concern and they said that a throat mike rather than the boom mike would be a better bet for my application. They were extremely helpful and offered to upgrade my system to throat mikes.
When I bought mine I asked for 2 black faceplates and 2 white ones and they said "no problem" and supplied what I asked for.
Cord: I don't know what you want, but the controler and the jacks worked perfectly for me, and if you think you can build a better system " in your garage"- have at it, and put it on the market. Did you call Revolution Marine and tell them of your concerns about their product?

Nope, I only installed the system for a friend. I wasn't the only one with this opinion. Several of us agreed.

Yes, those throat mikes do work extreamly well. It's a bit disconserting first putting them on, but I was amazed how realistic the sound was.

This is the brains of the RM system. It's standard box from a small aircraft.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2457438679

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2458385987

Racing Communications
Kraig, 800-990-9941

If you like doing the wiring and mounting everything yourself check out this site.

http://www.fly-bluesky.com/intercoms.htm

It would seem to me that if this is truely the "brain box" and it is used in the aircraft industry, that It would make a fail safe marine unit.
Mine is mounted in a safe and secure location within reach on the "dash" and shielded from the elements. So, in my opinion, whether it's in an airplane or my boat would make no difference.
By the way the Revolution Marine unit has ports for using the marine radio thru the headsets, which you could use to communicate with other boats also, and a port to connect to your cell phone. Mine also has a port to hook up to all the alarms on your motor so you can monitor the motors while you are wearing the headsets.
As you can tell, I'm sold on my unit and am extremely happy that I bought it .
.

We use the Revolution Marine system in the race boat and I am extremely happy with the results. I also installed the system myself and I found NOTHING cheezy about it....some people might say that I am biased...fine....but... there is nothing like racing 50 miles and being able to communicate w/your throttleman like he is sitting next to you on the beach. The system is crystal clear and has taken the abuse of multiple race teams without failure. The race course is the proving ground and Revolution Marine has proved the quailty and durabliity. Not to mention....you could buy 2 RM systems for what you would pay for one of the others.....

Cords just stating his opinion. If you've ever met him you'd know that he's not bashing anything. He's picky about his equipment. He's also quite industrious, and can build things in his garage that most of us can't.

If anyone has any comments or concerns email them to [email protected]. Good or bad he's always looking for input on his products.

Brian

Last season we were having problems with the old intercom system in the Corsa. After talking with ATodd with Revolution Marine, we decided to try it. We received it in time for the Milwaukee race. In fact, Cord was there and helped with our installation, so mine may be the system he referrs to. I'm not sure which part he thought was "cheesy", but I can tell you the Revolution Marine Intercom system worked perfectly. In fact, the throat mics were the answer to problems I've experienced with a number of other systems in other boats, including my own. I can also tell you that we've had our share of spray and roostertails slamming into us. Water never kept Ernesto and I from talking to each other.
As for the "brains" or the control unit, it may be some variation of an aircraft unit. For that matter, the intercom system in our firetrucks is very similar to the Revolution Marine system. Water never seems to bother that system either, even in the best of water fights. (not that two firetrucks have ever taken part in a water fight...).
Bottom line is, I've tried a number of different intercoms. This one works. The Revolution Marine intercom system is race tested, and race proven. It can be plugged in to your VHF for ship-ship &/or ship-shore communications as well as to your stereo.
In fact, I became so sold on the unit that I became a dealer, and Revolution Marine became a sponsor.

Cord,
I talked to Gordo and he said you helped install his system. You're right on the money on the headset/throat mic harness. We put that throat mic harness together with the plastic junction box just to get Gord and Q on the water and racing. Both Gordo and Q gave us feedback right away about the box being heavy and clumsy (sp?). We listened to them and we have since gone to a very clean and durable molded "Y" connector. I'll post the pics.

now instead of the juction box, the throat mic plugs into the recepticle in the side of the boat. Then the headset plugs into the small 3.5 mm silver connector shown in the throat mic picture.

When using the earplug kits for racing, the earplugs plug into the same connector in place of the headset.

Regarding the cost of a marine system vs. an aircraft system, most of the cost of the system is in the cable harness which allows for all of the options, and in the headsets and throat mics. The electronic box itself is less than 20% of the cost of the system.

There is no doubt that there are some electical gurus out there that can piece together a system for less money, and that's ok. We target the customer that wants an easy to install, turn key, and tested system that has proven its value on the race course and on the poker run circuits.

Thanks to all of you for your input!

Todd Wondrow
Revolution Marine Inc.

Headset

Thanks Todd! For the record, I was trying to NOT rip on your system. It's just that the jack left such a negative impression, that it degraded the whole system. I'm glad you guys changed it. On the positive side, I liked the engraved face plates. I thought the wiring looked neat and professional. The wiring had a nice "expensive" feel to the insulation. And the throat mikes work awsome! :cool:

How do the throat mikes attach? Are they voice activated or push to talk?

The throat mic's have a elastic band that go around your neck. I used one last weekend at Derebery Performance and was amazed. There is no external noise at all, no wind, just clear voices. Very nice system.

Cord,
Thanks, and no need to go on record with anything. Our Motto "We listen - We learn - We fix"

Without a feedback loop, no products or services would ever improve.

Now let's see about getting one of our new 2 man throat mic systems in that cat of yours. Just think of all of the positives:

1) It will save you a bunch of gas money (No need for all of those trips to Radio Shack)
2) You won't burn down your garage from the soldering iron being left on.
3) You can spend all of that "would be" R&D time watching American Idol with your sweetie.:confused: Wait a minute, Forget number 3
4) You can spend all of that "Would be" R&D time working on the boat to make it go faster.:D

Todd
Revolution Marine Inc.

Padraig,
They can be adjusted to be voice activated, but we recommend that they be left in the always live position. That works great because there is no external noise to listen to when nobody is talking.

For those that have never used an intercom system you would be amazed at how much conversation takes place once you install one. When we run poker runs there is constant talking to the driver about where people are in relation to us, allowing the driver to concentrate on looking forward driving the boat. That may not sound like much but most of the poker runs we attend have from 80 -120 boats doing a grand prix start from a pace boat and it can get dicey.

MnFastBoat also has a great question on the boat to boat communication. Our system comes standard with a marine radio receive interface that just plugs into your external speaker jack and you can listen to clear radio reception (and your stereo for that matter) in your headsets. Add the optional 2-way communication, like RMPRam has on his Cig, and you can also transmitt by just pushing a button mounted to the steering wheel or elsewhere. Your throat mic acts as the marine radio mic so the transmission is clear and wind free with no need to duck below the windshield for fairing.

Visit www.revolutionmarine.com if you're interested in more info. We are adding new info daily and will have a bunch of new systems posted in the next few days.

Todd Wondrow
Revolution Marine Inc.

Todd, I love you man! lol. I was actually toying with putting one on the snowmobile. The problem is that the control box would get all snow covered and would proably corrode. Hmmm....

Are your two place systems expandable?

All I can say is that we experienced our first ride with an intercom on Joey Skrocki's old AT, and my wife has informed me that the next boat *will* have such a system, period. Sounds like I'll be giving Revolution a call when the time comes...

Cord,
The harness with the 2 man system is not expandable, but the harness can be replaced and all of the other components can be used. Our 4 man systems are all upgradable to 6 man without replacing the harness.

2 man throat mic system complete and ready to install is $1049, while the 4 man system is introductory priced at $1650 and will eventually sell for $1699.

On the snowmobile deal, I don't think anyone would want to hear what I have to say when I'm blasting the MXZ across the washboard. Maybe we could design a foul language filter for that? I'll get working on that!

Thanks,
Todd Wondrow
Revolution Marine Inc.
www.revolutionmarine.com

Todd,

Thanks for the email and literature. Will the PTT button work on the Raymarine RAY45 vhf radio?

Your price of $1650 is for 4 headset, all wiring & jacks, throat mics, stereo input, vhf input and alarm ground input?

Can you have more than 1 PTT mic for vhf?

Can you use the headset without the throat mic if you want?

Thanks,
Randy

I have an aviation set up thats portable works great I have less than $500 in the entire setup , I have boom mics not throat mics get a little wind noise but not bad at all. You can get the throat mics pretty cheap through Gulf coast aviation or sportys pilot shop. They do interface with a marine radio that has provisions for it. Crazyhorse has a cheap hand held that he plugs into his set and it works great!!!