California Scientific

Radio

Below are a couple examples of water-resistent audio gear. Like all Japanese electronics, this stuff seems to change weekly. The thing to do is google "marine audio" and look at a few sites. You'll pay about $550 - $650 for a CD/AM/FM unit plus remote control. If you get a car unit instead, you can get MP3. Personally, I don't think this is the way to go. You can get an MP3 unit and some Sony headphones for a lot less, and keep it in your tank bag or pocket. Or a mini-disk unit and a collection of disks - this is what I use, as it lets me record my records and CDs onto 3 1/2" optical media.

The Oregon Scientific MP120 MP3 / FM unit is waterproof and shockproof. 512 meg of MP3 storage. About $180.

The Sony RM XM10 remote control is water resistant, and compatible with Sony UniLink CD/DVD/Minidisk players. About $130. This connects to the radios with a cord, so the radio would probably sit in your left-hand glove box.

The Clarion M201 RCS is water tight, and compatible with Clarion XMD1 and XMD2 source units. About $130. 2 3/8" dia. Available in black. Comes with 24' connection cable. The radio would probably sit in your left-hand glove box.

The Sony S2 Sports minidisk recorder is water resistant. Minidisks are digital, and hold 74 minutes of music. The unit is about 4" x 4" x 1", and costs about $135.

Above is one rider's installation of a Clarion marine radio / CD and a Jenson CB radio. The speaker is a custom / home made job, which reportedly is audible at 130mph. I feel confident this claim is made on the basis of computer modelling - I refuse to believe one of my astute readers would violate the sacred speed laws of our land. Controls are remoted to the lid of the glove box. The radio / CD lives in the left glove box, and the CB lives in the left saddlebag. Also, there's a neat fit of an exponentially loaded 1/4 wave CB antenna.

Intercoms & CBs

I don't know much about this stuff. There are driver-rider intercoms, which work with cords. Some allow music inputs, some don't. There are also bike-to-bike intercoms which work on either CB band or the new high frequency FM band. Some include music inputs, some include rider-driver intercoms, some use noise-canceling headsets. Some intercoms are stereo, some are mono. Perhaps some of you can email me with your experiences and suggestions. This list is a pretty poor attempt at this instant.

http://www.mainelectronics.com/intercombike.htm#top CAN$80

http://www.graytronics.co.uk/ GBP160

http://www.autocom.co.uk/ GBP200

http://www.hjc-chatterbox.com/hjc50.asp $55

http://www.nadywireless.com/products/motorcylce_pg.html

NADY MRC-11 Bike-to-bike and rider / passenger intercom. Music input. About $65. Extra headset about $12.

Charlie Grey's CB installation. Cycle Gadgets GL1800 R-A-M mount fits the ST1300, about $65.

Earphones

Ear Plug Speakers - 26 dB noise reduction, 20-20,000 hz.

Challenger C (custom) ear plug speakers, $150.	Challenger G (generic) ear plug speakers, $100.

Sony MDR-EX70LP in-ear speakers. About $35. The only Sony closed-type earphones. Also available from Apple at only slightly inflated prices.

Etymotics ER-6 Isolation Earphones. About $130. 18dB isolation.

Etymotics ER-4 Isolation Earphones. About $265. 25dB isolation.

Koss 'The Plug' Isolation Earphones. About $15.