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Charging bluetooth helmet kit
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 5:45 pm
by guest2826
Hi all
New RTLC owner here, though I've had a couple of the older RTs in the past amongst a large number of other bikes.
I've decided to buy a new helmet, the BMW Airflow with the BMW Bluetooth kit fitted, so that is all on order. The BM com kit is pricey I know compared with other systems but having read extensively on the subject it seems to be the only one likely to work fully with bike's audio and nav.
Anyway my question is about the fact that Bluetooth systems, BMW or otherwise, need charging after a few hours. That may be okay for a day trip but what do you do on a longer journey? My dealer told me that it can't be charged up whilst riding by simply plugging into the bike's 12v socket on the go, which if true seems a bit daft.
I see only two options. One is to find a mains socket somewhere in a hotel etc. when parked up. But what if you have no such access, for example if camping? The other is to use a direct battery connection and charge it from the bike when parked. I have fitted a DIN socket direct to the battery for my battery charger which I could presumably use for this purpose, but would I risk flattening the battery if left overnight say?
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet com
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 6:00 pm
by STeinar
You can charge it when riding the bike, but you can't use it and charge it at the same time.
So - if empty - switch it off and plug the mini usb cable into a 12v->usb charger - and charge it when riding.
The battery on bmw bt unit is a 2000mAh Ni-mH and I would not leave it on charge from the bike - during the night.
It will probably take about 3-4Ah from the batter - and then you have some 8Ah left in the bikes battery.
It might work, but I would not do it ???
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet com
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 6:37 pm
by guest2360
I very much doubt if the kit will work at all well in an Airflow helmet. The boom is going to be in the wind most of the time and all you will hear is a roaring sound. On top of that the Airflow is made for hot climates. I owned an Airflow 1 once. Managed to use it once.
I spent 7 years as a BMW Parts Manager and in all that time never sold an Airflow helmet to anyone in UK. Best of luck, maybe they have changed.
On top of that you might not have been told that you will only get GPS prompts to one helmet and the kit does not mute the music when you speak to your passenger, you need to press the mute button on the left panel.
If on the other hand you ride solo, most much less expensive systems will work.
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet com
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 8:02 pm
by stelyn
RTman10, is spot one and knows his stuff, and re the charging , I use a Scala twin set setup, takes just a couple of hours to re-charge and lasts about 6 hours ( I don't ride continuously for that long ) have re charged up no problem off the usb and main supply......... 
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet com
Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 12:06 pm
by guest2826
RTman10 wrote:
I very much doubt if the kit will work at all well in an Airflow helmet. The boom is going to be in the wind most of the time and all you will hear is a roaring sound. On top of that the Airflow is made for hot climates. I owned an Airflow 1 once. Managed to use it once.
I spent 7 years as a BMW Parts Manager and in all that time never sold an Airflow helmet to anyone in UK. Best of luck, maybe they have changed.
On top of that you might not have been told that you will only get GPS prompts to one helmet and the kit does not mute the music when you speak to your passenger, you need to press the mute button on the left panel.
If on the other hand you ride solo, most much less expensive systems will work.
Thanks RTman but I've decided to go with BMW. The Airflow helmet has I understand been modified over the older version and, they claim, is designed specifically to take the BMW Bluetooth kit. I only use open face helmets, not just in warm weather, and have done for decades so no change here for me. I don't really want to make phone calls and I ride solo. Glad to get away from the phone, though I do carry mine but then I can choose when and where to make a call.
I'll report back here on how well the BMW system functions, especially considering the Airflow helmet and the points you raise.
My question though was about how users charge up while on a tour, which is a general one for all Bluetooth systems, not just BMW. This seems a bit of a problem to me.
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet com
Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 12:12 pm
by guest2826
STeinar wrote:
You can charge it when riding the bike, but you can't use it and charge it at the same time.
So - if empty - switch it off and plug the mini usb cable into a 12v->usb charger - and charge it when riding.
The battery on bmw bt unit is a 2000mAh Ni-mH and I would not leave it on charge from the bike - during the night.
It will probably take about 3-4Ah from the batter - and then you have some 8Ah left in the bikes battery.
It might work, but I would not do it ???
Thanks STeinar. So if I'm using it on the bike whilst riding and am on tour for more than a day, it seems the only options are either recharge from my 12v/USB socket whilst riding, in which case I can't use it for nav or audio, or when parked up for the night to find a mains outlet if it's too chancy to recharge from the battery. Neither solution is ideal, for example if camping there may not be any mains available.
Progress eh?!
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet com
Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 12:35 pm
by guest2826
stelyn wrote:
RTman10, is spot one and knows his stuff, and re the charging , I use a Scala twin set setup, takes just a couple of hours to re-charge and lasts about 6 hours ( I don't ride continuously for that long ) have re charged up no problem off the usb and main supply.........
Thanks. I am aware of course that it is chargeable from the mains. But you can see from other responses that you can't charge it from the bike and use it at the same time. It's either/or. So my question was what people with Bluetooth kit do on a tour. I guess if you know you won't have mains charging available, say when camping, that leaves the only option to charge when riding and put up with not being able to use it.
Another possibility is if you are parked up for a shortish time, say for a meal break etc. for an hour or two, then you could probably risk charging from the bike's battery. But that isn't long enough for a full recharge.
There seems to be no ideal answer to this, unless you know for sure that you will be staying in places where mains is available.
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet kit
Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:53 pm
by richardbd
Why not buy a separate rechargeable power pack like a Power Monkey.
Use that to charge the BT unit overnight and recharge the Power Monkey from the bike when riding during the day?
Doesn't seem that complicated to me...
notnot
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet kit
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:07 pm
by guest2826
Now that's a good idea which hadn't occurred to me. Never had one of those rechargeable packs before but thanks, I'll look into it.
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet kit
Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 10:24 am
by halflife1973
richardbd wrote:
Why not buy a separate rechargeable power pack like a Power Monkey.
Use that to charge the BT unit overnight and recharge the Power Monkey from the bike when riding during the day?
Doesn't seem that complicated to me...
notnot
That is exactly what I do. Works s treat and added bonus that I can charge the phone from it in the evening.
Sent from my SM-G901F using Tapatalk
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet kit
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 9:36 pm
by OrangeOkie
Re: Charging bluetooth helmet kit
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 8:48 pm
by Alf170
Power monkey Discovery for me, works a treat.