I have been wondering now for some time about trying out PMR radio for use on the Wing.
I have seen comments for and against PMR radio on motorcycle forums and there does appear to be truth in the old saying ‘You get what you pay for’, which translates to ‘The most expensive the radio the better the quality’.
I have bought some PMR radios and with assistance from my good friend and Guru on these matters, Nigel, we have interfaced them with the Autocomm on our Wings and are trying them out.
At the end of the day the object of the exercise is to see if the PMR radios, at a fraction of the price of the Honda CB radios , are any better in sound quality and useful range, or have any benefits which Wingers may choose over CB radio.
CB radios are used on many older wings, as on American imports, in particular, it came as standard equipment. Many UK Wings have either been retro fitted with the Hondaline CB costing an arm and a leg to purchase, or have been fitted with an aftermarket CB and a specially made CB interface box, which likewise costs an arm and a leg to buy.
The research that I intend to do will focus around the Midland G7 PMR radios, as I have bought a pair. These are a popular set to try out, being both tough and well equipped with useful extras. They have the added advantage of also being useful afterwards as a decent pair of walkie talkies .
There is plenty of information about the Midland G7 PMR radio available on the internet and it seems that the electrical interface issue has been addressed by other bikers who don’t want to pay the very expensive cost of a motorcycle dedicated headset for the radio, when we already have most of what is required for the headset already being used for our intercom systems.
The tests will be carried out to see if the PMR radio is useful for day to day riding with a group, or couple of bikes together.
I would welcome comments from anyone who has experience of any form of PMR radios when used with motorcycles, and especially any improvements to the radios or the way they are used which might improve their range or usefulness.
Dave T