Music source for a motorcycle

[the_sanguine]

I want to get some kind of portable music player that I can plug into an intercom on a motorcycle. I guess the obvious choice is an MP3 player but I don't currently have a means of converting all my CDs to MP3 files (although I guess a friend could do it for me?

I've heard the iPOD is good although they're expensive and the battery life sounds a bit of an issue. Are there any other good MP3 options?

I guess I could just get a personal CD player although I would be limited to just 1 CD at a time.

MD I'm not sure about. Is there an increase in capacity on the horizon?

 

[hornydragon]

is this legal?
psooible if you have a computer with CD rom and USB MP3 can be done. 1 GB MD is on its way. CD will probably skip too much.

 

[the_sanguine]

It is legal yes. You can get an "Autocom" unit. the headsets plug into it as does your music source, GPS, mobile phone, inter-bike intercom etc. They work really well.

I only use a company PC at the moment but could buy my own.

I guess an MP3 jukebox would be the best bet? Can you get any portable MP3 players that can record MPs files from an audio input from a CD player?

 

[hornydragon]

Not sure, What sort of budget do have? as there are some fancy gadjets out there. Look at Archos and creative zen for more ideas

 

[the_sanguine]

I'll pay whatever I need to for the right piece of kit. I would pay the £350+ necessary for a 40Mb iPOD is it weren't for the battery problem. Although, I may be better off persevering with a personal CD player until a better alternative emerges....

 

[karkus30]

Originally posted by the_sanguine
I'll pay whatever I need to for the right piece of kit. I would pay the £350+ necessary for a 40Mb iPOD is it weren't for the battery problem. Although, I may be better off persevering with a personal CD player until a better alternative emerges....

Depends where you want to mount it, but if battery life is a problem then you could get a voltage regulator to convert the bike voltage to a suitable voltage for the iPOD. When intercoms were in their infancy, I did is exactly that, just bought a regulator IC from Tandy and built a simple circuit from the instructions on the packet. This was to convert 12v down to 9v and it worked a treat.

 

[the_sanguine]

Yes, That's certainly an option

 

[MarkE19]

I've got an iRiver iHP-120. 20Gb MP3 player and it can record to MP3 directly from an analogue or optical connection from a CD player.
The best price I found was £244.99 from Amazon or they now do a 40Gb iHP-140 for £379.49
The battery lasts up to 16 hours

Mark.

 

[the_sanguine]

Interesting. I've not seen that. I'll look into it

 

[leng]

As a long-term biker I personally would not do this for normal use. The number of times my ears have saved me in a nasty situation is beyond counting. I suppose it would be ok for motorway cruising but I certainly would not do it around town, legal or not.

 

[karkus30]

Originally posted by leng
As a long-term biker I personally would not do this for normal use. The number of times my ears have saved me in a nasty situation is beyond counting. I suppose it would be ok for motorway cruising but I certainly would not do it around town, legal or not.

I couldnt listen to music either. I need 100% concentration on the bike and thats exactly why I ride one, no distractions needed.

 

[VFRMan]

I have the Autocom Pro1 and iPOD in the tank bag, this is the best set-up I have found. Battery life usually last for two full days riding at a low volume (the Autocom provides some gain), just select " play All" and I get a random selection of 1600 songs

One other improvement is to have in-hear earplugs, these work very well with the Autocom, SPIII, Ipod and bike-to-bike set up.

 

[the_sanguine]

Cheers guys, it's looking like the iriver. can you run it from a 12v supply?

 

[MarkE19]

Yes you can. I've got a 12v 2mA power supply that charges the battery fine and assume it will run the unit directly ok. I don't think iRiver make any 12v power supplies for it so I just got a generic unit. I've only tried it the once to charge the battery overnight, but the real test will be at the end of June when I'm away camping and the iRiver will be my only source for music.

Mark.

 

[the_sanguine]

Is there a 12v in socket then that I can just run from a fused supply on the bike? Will that also charge the internal battery so that I can then take it out and use it as a walkman?

 

[MarkE19]

The iRiver just has the 1 power input. This is 5.0v and 2mah to be able to run the iRiver and/or charge the battery.

Mark.

 

[the_sanguine]

OK, so I need a little piece of trickery to step the 12v supply down to 5v?

 

[MarkE19]

Yep, but more commonly known as a 12v power supply

Mark.

 

[the_sanguine]

I don't understand, I have a 12v supply available from the bike and need to convert that to 5v for the iriver. How do I do that?

 

[MarkE19]

What you need to get is a 12v power suppply (with the cigarette lighter plug) that will output 2mAh @5v
You obviously wont have the socket for this on a bike so will need to cut that off and hard wire to the bikes battery somehow. You should be able to get this from Maplin, Keene, Tandy, Halfords etc.

Mark.

 

[Stuart Wright]

Another alternative might be the £130 Yamada portable DVD player. It comes with a lighter plug-in so you could easily convert that to use with your bike battery.
Stereo audio output is via a mini-jack.
You would need to factor in a £25 or so CD writer and your own PC. Or maybe get a £60 USB portable CD writer and plug it into your work PC if your bosses will let you.
Converting your CDs to MP3s is a piece of cake and I use Audiograbber. Registration is £30 ish.
So for £320 you get yourself everything you need to burn your MP3 CDs without the need to buy a PC and you have a dandy multi-region portable DVD player into the bargain.
Take a couple of leads and DVDs and when you stop in the hotel you can plug the player into the TV and watch movies in your hotel room.

 

[karkus30]

What you need to get is a 12v power suppply (with the cigarette lighter plug) that will output 2mAh @5v
You obviously wont have the socket for this on a bike so will need to cut that off and hard wire to the bikes battery somehow. You should be able to get this from Maplin, Keene, Tandy, Halfords etc.

Mark.

Just to correct you Mark, quite a lot of bikes do have a 12v socket. My last BMW had one and very useful it was too.

Make sure you waterproof the circuit board, if you go down this route. These chargers tend to run hot as they use a potential divider circuit ie a couple of resistors (proper regulator runs cooler), so careful with mounting! You will need an inline switch as well or you will end up with a flat battery. Its sometimes better to power from the supply to the brake light switch as this is only active with the ignition switched on. Always use an inline fuse of the correct size, dont want any burnt out bikes do we!

You could just swap your bike for a goldy or BMW tourer, you get a 5 CD changer, heated seats and backrest, reverse gear and auto hydraulic mainstand as well and at least 4 accessory sockets.

 

[MarkE19]

Just to correct you Mark, quite a lot of bikes do have a 12v socket. My last BMW had one and very useful it was too.

Good point, but in my days on bikes I never had the money for the type that have all the whistles & bells . On my wages at the time I was lucky if I got 2 wheels.

Mark.