Improving the Cardo G4 microphone

[mooneych]

When I purchased my Shoei Multitech last Fall, I went from a size XL to an L. While the helmet felt pretty tight at first, I was told the foam would adjust to me, and it has.
What hasn't adjusted was the fitting of the boom mic of my Scala G2. My lips are quite close to the helmet chin bar, and there is no room to slip the mic in between.
I decided last winter to purchase the Cardo G4S (snow), which instead of having the boom, has a wire that goes to the mic. Snowmobile helmets are apparently one-piece and a tight fit.
Right now, the mic is velcro-attached to the left cheekpad facing forward, according to the instructions.
To make an already long story from getting longer, I need to splice in more wire to place the mic in front of my lips. I have also been told that there are better mics out there.
Can anyone help? Thanks!!

 

[mooneych]

Quality microphones

Anyone care to take a stab at this? ray:

 

[Bob Denman]

I've got no skills...
But my best guess would be to dance with the girl that you've brought to the party first.
I'm assuming that your skills are better than mine... I'd eyeball up how much longer the wires need to be, pull the whole shooigin' match out of the helmet and just patch in the wire that's needed. You don't need fancy for this experiment; twist and tape them together for this part of the deal. It's worth a try. If it goes well and you're happy; solder it all up solid and it'd be perfect! :thumbup:

I'm saying this because I'm pretty happy with the sound quality of my set's microphones and speakers...

 

[frank3]

I am also interested in this subject but don't have an answer for you. I have a Shoei Neotec helmet and have a Cardo G-4 with a boom mic. I hate having to fish the boom mic into and under the chin bar every time I put the helmet on so I also purchased a base unit with a wire mic thinking I could mount it inside the chin bar. Problem is, the wire isn't long enough to alow the chin bar to move up and down. I'd like to extend the wire about 8" in order to fasten it to the chin bar and allow enought room for movement. Cardo dosn't recommend using this wire mic on a movable chin bar because it could be pinched by the bar. If the wire were longer, I could over come the problem by attaching the wire to the edge of the bar from the pivot point. Haven't found any one willing to splice a longer wire. All the old TV repair shop are gone now that the TV are throw aways. I'll keep watching your post to see what happans. Good luck.

 

[mooneych]

Extending mic.

Bob and Frank3,
Thanks for the input. I'll follow Bob's advice, and "temp install" the splice for functionality and length. I'll also take Frank3's advice and route the wire close to the pivot point.
I've also been told that wire from an old pair or ear buds will work well.
I've also been told that the original mic from Cardo can be much improved, but not sure where (or what) mic to replace it with.
On another subject, I had Eileen from another bike forum remove the Cardo speakers and install a 3.5mm female jack on the Cardo mount; this way my earbuds plug into the Cardo. Less road noise and lower audio volume.

 

[SPYD3R]

i velcro'd my G9 mike to the same cheek pad, and it works great.... not 1 person, at the other end of a conversation has stated that my voice wasn't clear.... stick with what you have... cutting n splicing the wires IS NOT A GOOD IDEA...

When I purchased my Shoei Multitech last Fall, I went from a size XL to an L. While the helmet felt pretty tight at first, I was told the foam would adjust to me, and it has.
What hasn't adjusted was the fitting of the boom mic of my Scala G2. My lips are quite close to the helmet chin bar, and there is no room to slip the mic in between.
I decided last winter to purchase the Cardo G4S (snow), which instead of having the boom, has a wire that goes to the mic. Snowmobile helmets are apparently one-piece and a tight fit.
Right now, the mic is velcro-attached to the left cheekpad facing forward, according to the instructions.
To make an already long story from getting longer, I need to splice in more wire to place the mic in front of my lips. I have also been told that there are better mics out there.
Can anyone help? Thanks!!

 

[mooneych]

Mic on cheekpad

I have mine attached in the same place, but the sound is terrible!
As far as splicing, I'll de-solder the mic and add 8" or earbud wire. I can always undo it all if there are any problems.
Good advice, though!!

 

[Trickie Dick]

Bob and Frank3,
Thanks for the input. I'll follow Bob's advice, and "temp install" the splice for functionality and length. I'll also take Frank3's advice and route the wire close to the pivot point.
I've also been told that wire from an old pair or ear buds will work well.
I've also been told that the original mic from Cardo can be much improved, but not sure where (or what) mic to replace it with.
On another subject, I had Eileen from another bike forum remove the Cardo speakers and install a 3.5mm female jack on the Cardo mount; this way my earbuds plug into the Cardo. Less road noise and lower audio volume.

+1 on Eileen's mod:thumbup:

 

[mooneych]

I wonder how many people have done this?