Motocomm Riderlink ORV-1 & ST-1 Communication System

Motocomm Riderlink ORV-1 & ST-1 Communication System - PRODUCT REVIEW

by Dezertjeepin

RIDERLINK ORV-1/ST-1

PRODUCT REVIEW

Introduction
Usually one of the first modifications that people do to their side by side's is put on an aftermarket exhaust. While this definitely adds power, it generally adds quite a bit of noise at the same time, making communication between the driver and passenger a yelling competition. Add an opened up intake system and its even worse. A company called Motocomm has provided an inexpensive solution to this with their Riderlink ORV-1 or Riderlink ST-1. They started producing quality, affordable communication systems since their first product released in 2000. Now they have grown to many different products for just about any riders needs.

What comes in the Riderlink ORV-1 Kit
The ORV-1 is the Riderlink ST-1 kit they have already been producing, but add noise canceling race style headphones and you have the ORV-1 Kit.

What's Included

Riderlink ST-1 Unit w/ FM tuner
(2) Race Style Headsets
(2) Helmet Mounted Headsets
(2) Styles of Microphones
Coiled Passenger Extension Cable
Strait Passenger Extension Cable

Push to Talk button
PTT Extension cable
GPS/Radar Cable
MP3 Player Cable
Cell Phone Connection Cable
(4) Different 2-way Radio Cables

The beauty of ALL Motocomm's products is that they come with EVERYTHING you need! Most of the more expensive alternatives only come with one headset and you have to choose if you want a boom style microphone for open face helmets, or soft wire mic for full face helmets. If you count both the helmet headsets and race headsets, it comes with four! Not to mention the helmet headsets come with BOTH boom mic and soft wire mic. They also provide the connection wires for just about any kind of 2-Way radio you can find.

Click on images for large view

Benefits of the ORV-1
One of the things we love about a communication system is that you can talk to each other at full speed without screaming. And that is just the tip of the iceberg! When you add communication to other vehicles with a 2-way radio, and music in your ears, it brings a whole new enjoyment to riding in a SXS, sandrail, or motocycle.

We'll start with the rider/passenger communication. There is three different microphone sensitivity selections (off/low/med/hi). This turns the microphone ON and allows you to talk to each other. Simply talk into the mic and the other person can hear you without having to yell at them.

Lets add music... With the ST-1 unit, you can turn it on two different ways. Rolling the volume button on turns on JUST the earphones so you can listen to music (MP3 or built in FM tuner), but the microphone stays disabled. This is good when you are riding alone because it saves the battery by not listening to the mic all the time. If you have the MP3 cable plugged in, it overrides the FM tuner and plays the MP3 in your ears. When just the microphone is in low/med/hi you can talk to each other, but also listen to the MP3 player. All the inputs on the ST-1 unit are labeled. The MP3 plug is on the side. Using the supplied MP3 cable, plug it into your ST-1 unit as well as your preferred MP3 player and your good to go. Don't have an MP3 player? The ST-1 unit has a built in FM tuner (with NO display) that has up and down buttons to select each radio frequency that is in range. If you want to talk to your passenger, the MIC switch needs to be on and you can roll the volume switch to turn on the FM tuner to listen to music. The best part about having a communication system as opposed to just headphones in your ears is that when you want to say something to your rider/passenger you start talking and it keys in the mic, the music cuts to a faint background noise and lets the other person hear you over the music.

Are you cruising around with other vehicles? Lets add a 2-Way radio. Now this feature is really cool. The kit has all the cables (included) to use a 2-Way radio (not included) to communicate with other people. There is four different types of connections for just about any name brand 2-Way radio. Connect the 2-Way radio to the ST-1 unit and find a spot for the Push-To-Talk button with running the coiled extension cable in mind, and you are connected to other riders. When you start talking and it keys in the mic, you and your passenger are the only ones that can hear each other, but when you push the PTT button and start talking to key in the mic, anyone in your group can hear your voice. The passenger also has the option to push the PTT button if they have something to say as well. When someone else comes over the 2-Way radio the music cuts down so you can hear what they are saying, just like the rider/passenger communication. The rad thing about this is that if you have buddies in a Jeep while you are in your SXS or on your motorcycle, you can talk to them as well (if they have a 2-Way radio on the same channel that is). This system is not limiting to how many people you can talk to either. You can have a group of 30+ riders and you can all talk to each other.

You can also add voice guided GPS and radar warnings, but thats more for riding motorcycles on the street. If your addicted to your cell phone you can add that to the mix as well, but don't we go out riding to get away from those things?!?!?!

All these features are jammed into a 2 inch by 4 inch little black box ran by 2 AA's. This is what makes this system the most versatile system you can find. Since it is ran by 2 AA's, you can put this system into ANY vehicle your little heart desires. Jeep, Side By Side, Motorcycle, Mountain Bike, Scooter, even if you wanted to walk down the street with a helmet on your head you can use this thing, its pretty amazing. Two AA's isn't enough you say? I disagree. The ORV-1 got left on for three days between testing and the batteries still worked. This is after using it all day the first day, leaving it on for three days, then using it all day for a second time and it still had juice to go.

Helmet Headset Installation
The helmet headset is pretty straight forward. It consists of putting the earphones in the ear pockets of the helmet and mounting the microphone to the front of the helmet, all while running the wires behind the helmet padding. If your installing it in a dirtbike style helmet you can use either the boom mic or the soft wire mic. You might get a better response from the the boom mic, but it takes some room away in the chinbar area and is a little more difficult to get on and off. The soft wire mic is much easier to get on and off because it is out of the way, but you have to talk a little louder to key in the mic.

Race Headphones
Put them on, Turn them on (no extra batteries needed), USE THEM! Its that easy. BTW the velcro adjuster strap goes on TOP of your head and the metal part goes around the back of your head. It took me a minute to figure that out. I was wondering why the cable was sticking in front of my face!

Pictures

Click on images for large view

Since this unit is all in one, it fits nicely in any center console or compartment

PHOTO GALLERY

Conclusion
WOW!!! This system is awesome. I have friends that have spent upwards of $600 for a communications system for their motorcycles, and that is for a single headset and communication box. This system has more Bang-For-Your-Buck than any other comm system on the market, no joke. My ONLY gripe about the kit is that when you hook up your MP3 player to the unit, the volume can't be more than 3/4 or so. If you put the volume up all the way (which is pretty loud but tolerable if you like loud music) the sound quality goes down significantly. The speakers start crackling like they are going to blow (but they're not going to). Don't get me wrong, at 3/4 volume or so they sound great and are plenty loud, and after testing at freeway speeds on a motorcycle you can still hear it clearly, but it would be nice to have a little more volume in my ears at 80+ mph. For the price of the unit, I think (but I could be wrong) that an extra $50 price tag for better speakers would be well worth it, and still far cheaper than any close competitor.

If your in a SXS, sandrail or Jeep and want a race style communication system without wearing a helmet (but still want the option to) and you want to talk to other vehicles, your going to be out $500 WITH buying a name brand 2-Way radio. If you already have the 2-Way radio, or just want rider passenger communication, the ORV-1 kit alone is $450. If your more into ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time) and wear a helmet every time you hit the trails with your SXS, you can save a little by buying the Riderlink ST-1 kit (no race style headphones) for just $200 plus ~$50 for the 2-Way radio.

For more information about Motocomm's products check out there website or give them a call.

Motocomm
1145 12th Avenue NW
Suite C7
Issaquah WA 98027
USA
Phone:1-877-624-6869
Website: www.motocomm.com

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