FM Radio

[Burger]

Can anyone suggest an FM radio for the bike other than the Honda RDS one? I'm not even sure that I really want to listen to music while I'm travelling but as I now have my Starcom installed I thought I would look into it. I have an MP3 player but the buttons on it are fiddly without gloves. They would be impossible with gloves, and the Honda RDS radio looks the same. That plus the fact that I really don't like it's positioning. Ideally I would like something that can hidden but leaves me with easily (gloved hand) accessible volume, station up/down and power on/off buttons. Does anyone know of anything?

Thanks,

[tdeboeser]

I've been looking at something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-PYLE-MARINE-BOAT-AUDIO-AM-FM-RADIO-CD-PLAYER-STEREO_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ31275QQitemZ4579 615588QQrdZ1

There are many different models on ebay, last week there was a model with a bigger remote. Don't know what it was called. I have a mp3 player with a radio, but the radio isn't all that great. And I enjoy local talk over music. This with a Hidden antenna (also on ebay) is what I'll prob end up with. plus there are hacks on the net about hooking a mp3 player to the aux/cd-changer on car stereos.

HTH,

Tom de

[Burger]

Apart from price, the only reason I'm against the Honda unit is because of the controls. I don't really want such a switch unit sticking up over the left controls, and especially not one with what look like, loads of fiddly buttons. I'd like to lose the unit somewhere and just be left with a means to control volume, perhaps station up down and on/off with handy sized, glove glad, buttons. Perhaps I'm mis-judging the Honda unit and someone with it could comment?

Regards,

[SpEd]

I am using this on my ST. I use an MP3 player plugged into this amp (http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider.html), then come out into a Sony headset which I trashed and velcro'd the speakers into my Sy-Max. It works pretty well, plus it has a volume control as a bonus. Just my 2 cents.

http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider/amplirider1.jpg

[Blue STreak]

XM, XM, XM. I don't know what you mean by 'travelling' but there are large parts of the U.S. where you'll get no listenable FM signals. I love my XM radio.

[crazykz]

I looked into putting a radio on the bike and realized for me it wasn't worth it but Kenwood had a setup that would work and they also have a marine waterproof remote that flat mounts to a panel. Sorry I'm giving you no links but if you dig around Kenwood's site they have it or just google for some of those keywords to find it.

Also I emailed Kenwood my needs and in about a week I actually got an email with a full explanation and set up. I was pretty impressed.

For commuting I'm using a little Sony $30 walkman that is just a radio am/fm/weather has big buttons for 5 presets. Not much for traveling but for commuting daily it works great.

Curt

[Burger]

Thanks Curt, that could be just what I'm looking for. Frustrating really because I'd searched for marine radio solutions but hadn't come across Kenwood until now. That remote is perfect. Just the right amount of info and buttons. The only potential problem I see is the size of the head unit. I'm guessing it would need to stay pretty level to play CD's, and so the only place it could go would be the top box or perhaps one of the saddlebags... seems a shame.

Ideally, I'd like an FM radio unit that is controlled through a simple remote. In fact, exactly like the Honda unit but without the size and fussiness of it's remote control.

Speaking of satellite radio, can someone in the know tell me the status of this in the UK. I think it exists right? Are there any units suitable for mounting on the bike?

Thanks as always,

[tdeboeser]

Is my post blocked LOL :D? My ebay link is to a Pyle marine cd/fm/am radio, with a nice wired marine remote. Along with this (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TT2C2-TUNE-TRAPPER-HIDDEN-AM-FM-Motorcycle-ANTENNA_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34284QQitemZ458 1077473QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW) hidden antenna. Should work nicely.
For about $150 US. Not bad.

I still have a little problem with paying for radio, but I also prefer my local talk station.

Tom de

[Burger]

Hey, did anyone see Tom type something? :D

No Tom, your posts not blocked and I did look at the link you posted. Perhaps I'm too fussy because while it's definitely an option, I don't like the remote much. Looks like it would still be fiddly with glove clad hands. The Kenwood models that Curt hinted at appear to have a much simpler remote and it's black to match all the other plastic fascias on the bike :)

Both though have functions I'm not looking for such as CD players, which make the 'base' units much bigger than I need them to be.

I'm still undecided, but like the way this is going.

Regards,

[Redeye]

Dave, which Kenwood model were you interested in? I'm going through the same search process :(

[crazykz]

Here's a spreadsheet I put together when I was investigating a radio for me bike.

I wanted a lot of things and they are all listed on the sheet. It might give you a good place to start. I was going to put it in the front left fairing pocket though. I think most of them will fit but connectors out the back of the unit might be an issue.

Sorry I had to zip the excel file so I was allowed to upload it.

Curt

[Blrfl]

I still have a little problem with paying for radio...
Folks said the same thing when cable TV first appeared. :)

For many years there's been a satellite music service called DMX (http://www.dmxmusic.com) that's essentially a larger version of what XM and Sirius are, just without the compact receivers. (It used to be that the only way to get DMX was via satellite, but they now sell part of their lineup to cable companies.) I'd always wanted DMX but couldn't justify the expense, so when it came time to dump cable for DBS, the selection of music channels available was high on my list of considerations. (DISH Network won that battle.) A year or so ago, DISH added the music channels from Sirius to its own 60 channels, so I've had the opportunity to give it a long evaluation. I like it just about as much as what DISH offers (the down sides being that it has DJs who get on and yak and there's no Hawaiian music channel; the up side is more channels). When I start driving the car again this winter, I'll probably put a receiver in and wire the bike for it as well.

From a financial and practical standpoint, satellite radio makes a lot of sense for me: I like a wide variety of music, and a whole lot of it can be piped into my ears for less than the cost of a CD every month. I don't have to buy and store CDs, rip them to MP3s and keep my players fully loaded. And I get exposed to a lot of things I never would have bought or even heard of otherwise.

--Mark

[Burger]

Dave, which Kenwood model were you interested in? I'm going through the same search process :(

Well, these are the two I found after Curt pointed me in the Kenwood direction...

Kenwood Marine Systems (http://www.burmarc.co.uk/Press%20release/kenwood%20press%20release.pdf)

Regards,