matt_not_andrew
New Member
Quick review of my new Midland BT1 single Bluetooth system.
Bought for £75 from Midland Direct, UK last week I’ve been trying out the functions and am very impressed so far.
Alan UK Limited, Midland BT1 Single and Midland BT1 Intercom
I was looking for a way to control my music from my Nokia N86 as I ride. Before I go further, please take responsibility for your riding blah blah blah. I am not to blame for anyone crashing their bike while listening to music or reprogramming their GPS.
Back to the review; my options at the time were to use the phone in a handlebar waterproof case (Hein Gericke GPS handlebar mounted bag from 2010 catalogue) with the power lead running into the case and the remote control running out to my previous Midland 3.5mm headset (flat speaker setup with spiral headphone lead installed in my helmet). While this was a good setup it left wires running from my helmet to the handlebars and the remote control was fiddly with bike gloves on.
The next option was an Autocom/Starcom wired system which some friends have. I am led to believe that the audio quality is excellent and they are installed under the seat/in a tank bag wired to the bike with all the audio inputs/outputs you could ever need. My problem is money or lack of available spare cash so while this was probably the best long term option I couldn’t justify to Mrs_not_andrew why I needed to spend almost £150-£200 on something to play my music.
The next option was a Bluetooth headset. I’d read some awful reviews on them recently, mainly based on the bike to bike system. When I saw the BT1 single from Midland I was interested based on the BT2 webbikeworld review.
Midland BT2-D - webBikeWorld
So what does £75 buy you:
BT1 single unit
mono twin speakers
2 mics (1 boom and 1 normal to suit your helmet type)
2 plates to attach to your helmet(1 sticky pad and 1 clip pad)
3.5mm to 2.5mm coiled audio lead
mains recharger
The BT1 unit:
Basically the BT1 single is a single bluetooth headset which can connect to almost any bluetooth audio device (phone, Satnav or bluetooth enabled MP3 player). It also allows remote control of basic phone features and audio control if supported but the device. The 3.5mm to 2.5mm lead enables you to connect a second device to the headset. You can connect your Satnav via bluetooth and phone or MP3 player by cable.
In the picture above the right port is the wired 2.5 audio IN as stated above. The middle port is the speaker/mic port from the helmet with the lead shown on the left of the picture. The lead is angled helping it have a smaller profile when connected. The left one is the charger - note it is a normal mini USB port! There are two rubber mounted gromets on the left and right port to help with waterproofness - they are fiddly and may not last long but it's good they're there.
The speakers fit well to my HJC helmet underneath the removable lining. All the cables were able to be hidden as well. I chose to use the boom mic routed to the chin piece to reduce any unwanted noise.
I couldn't use the clip attachment on my HJC because you need a small gap between the shell and helmet lining which the HJC doesn't have. The sticky pad is very sticky (duh!) but I left the holder setting overnight on before riding just in case. The method they've used on the plate/unit to attach it to the plate is very good and for now I'm confident it'll hold up. You can buy replacement plates from the supplier, as well as stereo headphones for better audio quality.
So what do I think of the device?
It works! I know that may sould silly but I was expecting the audio to be su par or difficulty pairing the device or some kind of problem but everything seems to be working well so far. My phone found the device straight away (be sure to follow the directions supplied).
Audio quality:
The audio quality is accepable for a speaker system (never going to be as good as decent headphones but this is the comprimise you get for wanting tunes/satnav/phone on your bike). I set my phone to 80% volume and the headset to about 3 volume up pushes and I could hear the music fine. The more wind noise the device pics up the louder the volume goes on the headset. This worked really well and prevents you from having to keep changing the volume as you ride. The device boosts the audio it receives as I found it louder that when I use headphones on the bike. I think it's loud enough so you could use it with earplugs in but I haven't tried this (will do soon and report back if people want to know). A quick reminder about your ears and safety - this unit is potentially very loud and could do some damage on longer journeys if set too high. Another reason I bought a set with speakers and not head phones is so the audio is not directed down my ear canal.
Voice calls:
The device allows you to answer calls at the push of a button or via vox (make a loud noise when your phone rings and it'll answer. I set my phone to auto answer in the bluetooth profile to make it simpler. You can also voice dial if supported and with one push of the call button I was prompted for a name. I called Mrs_not_andrew and was doing 45mph at the time. The phone understood me first time (this time but I did have some trouble later on at higher speeds. Can't complain because I don't intend to make calls on the bike, only answer them.) We had a 3 minute conversation before I told her I was calling on the bike and she couldn't believe it. took the speed up to 70mph and could still hear each other perfectly. I know the Starcom and Autocom systems are rated to above 100mph but I'm happy with these results.
Power options:
The talk time is something like 7hrs on the headset. I've so far listened to 2hrs of music in one go so I'll have to come back to you all on the music listening time. He said it might be about 3 or more hours of bluetooth music and more is it was through the line in. He also said that some of their customers were using Powermonkeys to boost the battery life. He also confirmed you could power the device from a 12 volt socket while riding if you needed to but that obviously means a cable connected to the handbars or wherever your socket is situated. I'm off on a 10 day ride to Scotland over summer and will see about getting a Powermonkey or another type of external battery for it. The devise is small enough to leave under the seat powered up overnight to recharge and is never going to flatten a motorbike battery like this.
I spoke with a Midland technitian on the phone and he confirmed that there should be no problem
Ease of use:
I found it very easy to operate all 5 buttons with summer gloves and while still operable with winter glove I found it a little more difficult due to glove thickness. The two volume buttons are on the top of the device - they could be a little bigger as I found myself struggling sometimes to hit the volume down button. The three side buttons control:
switching on (middle button long press)
switching off (middle and back button long press)
phone voice dial or end call (front button short press while in phone mode)
last number redial (front button long press in phone or mp3 mode)
Turn on MP3 mode (short press middle button)
next song/prev song (short press of front or back button)
To make a call while listening to music you press the middle button once to pause, then press the front dial button once which activates the voice dial function. Press the front button to end the call and then the middle button again once to unpause your music. Simple! It does take a few tries but it's really easy to do this when you're out riding.
Overall:
There are plenty of bluetooth setups on the market and I chose the Midland because I called them and actually got to speak to a technician who took about 45minutes on the phone to talk me through the different setups they sell. He said they always welcome feedback and I'm happy to provide it. They also have a 2 year warranty in the UK which is good for a device that's going to be used daily by me.
The device is suitable for what I want but may not be for you. Feel free to ask questions if interested and I'll try to help.
The differences between the BT1 single and BT1 Intercom is the intercom is two units (£140) for rider and passenger. The Single is one unit that CANNOT be twinned with another so you can't buy one now and another later and pair them up for a passenger. I'm happy with this as Mrs_not_andrew goes on the bike 2 or 3 times a year and it's best I can't hear what she has to say about my riding!
The BT2 is available as a single or pair and are stronger in range as they are for bike to bike intercom (priced £150 and £250ish respectively). This time you can buy a single and pair it with another single at a later date. I don't know why the BT1 can't be matched up with another one but thats what Midland said and I can't confirm either way cause I don't have a second device to try with.
Bought for £75 from Midland Direct, UK last week I’ve been trying out the functions and am very impressed so far.
Alan UK Limited, Midland BT1 Single and Midland BT1 Intercom
I was looking for a way to control my music from my Nokia N86 as I ride. Before I go further, please take responsibility for your riding blah blah blah. I am not to blame for anyone crashing their bike while listening to music or reprogramming their GPS.
Back to the review; my options at the time were to use the phone in a handlebar waterproof case (Hein Gericke GPS handlebar mounted bag from 2010 catalogue) with the power lead running into the case and the remote control running out to my previous Midland 3.5mm headset (flat speaker setup with spiral headphone lead installed in my helmet). While this was a good setup it left wires running from my helmet to the handlebars and the remote control was fiddly with bike gloves on.
The next option was an Autocom/Starcom wired system which some friends have. I am led to believe that the audio quality is excellent and they are installed under the seat/in a tank bag wired to the bike with all the audio inputs/outputs you could ever need. My problem is money or lack of available spare cash so while this was probably the best long term option I couldn’t justify to Mrs_not_andrew why I needed to spend almost £150-£200 on something to play my music.
The next option was a Bluetooth headset. I’d read some awful reviews on them recently, mainly based on the bike to bike system. When I saw the BT1 single from Midland I was interested based on the BT2 webbikeworld review.
Midland BT2-D - webBikeWorld
So what does £75 buy you:
BT1 single unit
mono twin speakers
2 mics (1 boom and 1 normal to suit your helmet type)
2 plates to attach to your helmet(1 sticky pad and 1 clip pad)
3.5mm to 2.5mm coiled audio lead
mains recharger
The BT1 unit:
Basically the BT1 single is a single bluetooth headset which can connect to almost any bluetooth audio device (phone, Satnav or bluetooth enabled MP3 player). It also allows remote control of basic phone features and audio control if supported but the device. The 3.5mm to 2.5mm lead enables you to connect a second device to the headset. You can connect your Satnav via bluetooth and phone or MP3 player by cable.
In the picture above the right port is the wired 2.5 audio IN as stated above. The middle port is the speaker/mic port from the helmet with the lead shown on the left of the picture. The lead is angled helping it have a smaller profile when connected. The left one is the charger - note it is a normal mini USB port! There are two rubber mounted gromets on the left and right port to help with waterproofness - they are fiddly and may not last long but it's good they're there.
The speakers fit well to my HJC helmet underneath the removable lining. All the cables were able to be hidden as well. I chose to use the boom mic routed to the chin piece to reduce any unwanted noise.
I couldn't use the clip attachment on my HJC because you need a small gap between the shell and helmet lining which the HJC doesn't have. The sticky pad is very sticky (duh!) but I left the holder setting overnight on before riding just in case. The method they've used on the plate/unit to attach it to the plate is very good and for now I'm confident it'll hold up. You can buy replacement plates from the supplier, as well as stereo headphones for better audio quality.
So what do I think of the device?
It works! I know that may sould silly but I was expecting the audio to be su par or difficulty pairing the device or some kind of problem but everything seems to be working well so far. My phone found the device straight away (be sure to follow the directions supplied).
Audio quality:
The audio quality is accepable for a speaker system (never going to be as good as decent headphones but this is the comprimise you get for wanting tunes/satnav/phone on your bike). I set my phone to 80% volume and the headset to about 3 volume up pushes and I could hear the music fine. The more wind noise the device pics up the louder the volume goes on the headset. This worked really well and prevents you from having to keep changing the volume as you ride. The device boosts the audio it receives as I found it louder that when I use headphones on the bike. I think it's loud enough so you could use it with earplugs in but I haven't tried this (will do soon and report back if people want to know). A quick reminder about your ears and safety - this unit is potentially very loud and could do some damage on longer journeys if set too high. Another reason I bought a set with speakers and not head phones is so the audio is not directed down my ear canal.
Voice calls:
The device allows you to answer calls at the push of a button or via vox (make a loud noise when your phone rings and it'll answer. I set my phone to auto answer in the bluetooth profile to make it simpler. You can also voice dial if supported and with one push of the call button I was prompted for a name. I called Mrs_not_andrew and was doing 45mph at the time. The phone understood me first time (this time but I did have some trouble later on at higher speeds. Can't complain because I don't intend to make calls on the bike, only answer them.) We had a 3 minute conversation before I told her I was calling on the bike and she couldn't believe it. took the speed up to 70mph and could still hear each other perfectly. I know the Starcom and Autocom systems are rated to above 100mph but I'm happy with these results.
Power options:
The talk time is something like 7hrs on the headset. I've so far listened to 2hrs of music in one go so I'll have to come back to you all on the music listening time. He said it might be about 3 or more hours of bluetooth music and more is it was through the line in. He also said that some of their customers were using Powermonkeys to boost the battery life. He also confirmed you could power the device from a 12 volt socket while riding if you needed to but that obviously means a cable connected to the handbars or wherever your socket is situated. I'm off on a 10 day ride to Scotland over summer and will see about getting a Powermonkey or another type of external battery for it. The devise is small enough to leave under the seat powered up overnight to recharge and is never going to flatten a motorbike battery like this.
I spoke with a Midland technitian on the phone and he confirmed that there should be no problem
Ease of use:
I found it very easy to operate all 5 buttons with summer gloves and while still operable with winter glove I found it a little more difficult due to glove thickness. The two volume buttons are on the top of the device - they could be a little bigger as I found myself struggling sometimes to hit the volume down button. The three side buttons control:
switching on (middle button long press)
switching off (middle and back button long press)
phone voice dial or end call (front button short press while in phone mode)
last number redial (front button long press in phone or mp3 mode)
Turn on MP3 mode (short press middle button)
next song/prev song (short press of front or back button)
To make a call while listening to music you press the middle button once to pause, then press the front dial button once which activates the voice dial function. Press the front button to end the call and then the middle button again once to unpause your music. Simple! It does take a few tries but it's really easy to do this when you're out riding.
Overall:
There are plenty of bluetooth setups on the market and I chose the Midland because I called them and actually got to speak to a technician who took about 45minutes on the phone to talk me through the different setups they sell. He said they always welcome feedback and I'm happy to provide it. They also have a 2 year warranty in the UK which is good for a device that's going to be used daily by me.
The device is suitable for what I want but may not be for you. Feel free to ask questions if interested and I'll try to help.
The differences between the BT1 single and BT1 Intercom is the intercom is two units (£140) for rider and passenger. The Single is one unit that CANNOT be twinned with another so you can't buy one now and another later and pair them up for a passenger. I'm happy with this as Mrs_not_andrew goes on the bike 2 or 3 times a year and it's best I can't hear what she has to say about my riding!
The BT2 is available as a single or pair and are stronger in range as they are for bike to bike intercom (priced £150 and £250ish respectively). This time you can buy a single and pair it with another single at a later date. I don't know why the BT1 can't be matched up with another one but thats what Midland said and I can't confirm either way cause I don't have a second device to try with.
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