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Any recommendations on Battery jump pack? Camera? Comms?

Joined
Apr 5, 2019
Messages
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Location
Round Rock (Central Texas)
First Name
Jacob
Last Name
Smith
In putting together some tools, I got to thinking, Should I go buy one of these little mini Battery Jump Packs? would sure save a hassle if I was out riding, stop for lunch and then find out battery died.... and then I saw some videos of them blowing up when they did get hooked up! :eek2:

Then I was thinking of things for adding to my gear..
Like getting set up with a camera for recording a good ride and comms for when pillion riding or group riding, but I like my open face helmets ( 3/4 helmets ) and can imagine that comms will be rough, probably need a boom mic and a slip over cover to block wind, assuming face shield will help with some of the wind noise too. but most of the helmet camera setups I see put a go pro infront on a full face, or hanging out to the side (seems rather clunky)

My wife has plans to take the Motorcycle course and get a license and maybe her own bike, so Comms would become more important to me then camera later on.

all my rambling aside : anyone have recommendations for any of this stuff?

Battery pack jumper pack that doesn't blow up.
Helmet Camera that doesn't stick out like a sail - or other option for body mounted camera? (preferably not in a sail configuration)
Comms units?

if anyone has tried one, what about Sena's little combo camera and communication (10c?) are those any good?
 
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Here’s what I carry on the beemer. With the case it’s a bit bulky, but I trust it so much I’m going on a ride tomorrow and I know my battery is dying. (New battery will be in on Monday)

I’ll report back if I’m stuck riding pillion behind stromxtc :shame:
 
I like that a lot of these smaller battery packs seem to include the "emergency charge your phone" feature... that way if its something other then the battery and you find out your phone is half dead, you can charge it while you walk around looking for signal.
 
Have been using the Sena setup for over 5 years with very few complaints. East to set up, easy to use.
 
Have been using the Sena setup for over 5 years with very few complaints. East to set up, easy to use.

Thanks for the info - I was worried with trying to squeeze everything into one unit that maybe they cut some quality in the comms area or something - the videos I've seen in reviews show pretty good quality so I figure the camera is decent.
 
View attachment 232952

Here’s what I carry on the beemer. With the case it’s a bit bulky, but I trust it so much I’m going on a ride tomorrow and I know my battery is dying. (New battery will be in on Monday)

I’ll report back if I’m stuck riding pillion behind stromxtc :shame:
ITS NOT THE BATTERY
 
Check out the anti-gravity jump pack. It's the only one I found that wouldn't blow up if you left it connected after starting the vehicle. All the others tell you to disconnect it immediately to prevent damaging the unit.




Lots of reports of Antigravity not warranting purchases from Amazon. Too many counterfeits.
The one I bought off Amazon swoled up after a couple of years. The two I bought from Antigravity direct are still good after a year or so for one and a little less for the other.
 
These battery jump packs are hit and miss.
I bought this one on Amazon back in November after I got stuck with a dead battery. It was a Lightning deal for $40.
Have not used it on the bike, but have jumped 2 cars with it, and it has not blown up yet. I actually just charged it up since the first time I got it, it was down to 40% charge.
I plan on buying a few more to keep in the rest of my vehicles after seeing how well they work.

As for Comms, I bought some cheap bluetooth ones ($70 for a pair) of e-bay. They work decent for comms (not sure on distance on them, it is just me and my daughter on the back of the bike) but I use it all the time to listen to music, and it actually makes decent phone calls.

For a camera, I have a GoPro5 on my helmet (on the chin of my modular). It is good for about 45 minutes - 1 hr till battery needs to be changed. You can put a cam on the top of your helmet if you wanted, it gives a slightly different view.
Here is a link to a video from a cheap camera on the top of my daughters helmet sitting behind me.
I have debated getting a cheap "dashcam" to mount on the bars for continuous recording, but worry it may shake too much for any usable footage, and never seen a waterproof dashcam.
 
Check out the anti-gravity jump pack. It's the only one I found that wouldn't blow up if you left it connected after starting the vehicle. All the others tell you to disconnect it immediately to prevent damaging the unit.

Some of those antigravity battery jump packs are enough 💰 I could just buy a spare battery to carry around with me.
I suppose if they invested the extra in quality controller hardware to keep it from blowing up then it is probably worth it ( since it wouldn't just jump my bike, but potentially other bikes or cars and even charge peripherals in a pinch )

While perusing their site i see that they have a tiny tire pump too.


Good info thanks folks :thumb:
 
For a camera, I have a GoPro5 on my helmet (on the chin of my modular). It is good for about 45 minutes - 1 hr till battery needs to be changed. You can put a cam on the top of your helmet if you wanted, it gives a slightly different view.
Here is a link to a video from a cheap camera on the top of my daughters helmet sitting behind me.
I have debated getting a cheap "dashcam" to mount on the bars for continuous recording, but worry it may shake too much for any usable footage, and never seen a waterproof dashcam.

That video is pretty neat, does mounting it topside mean like, forehead area or actually on the top of the lid?
I worry about the drag against my head a little bit too, forehead might work to go on the gopro side, it looks like gopros are best quality video at the moment.
 
That video is pretty neat, does mounting it topside mean like, forehead area or actually on the top of the lid?
I worry about the drag against my head a little bit too, forehead might work to go on the gopro side, it looks like gopros are best quality video at the moment.
It is on the top of her helmet, you can see the shadow in some of the video that it is straight out the top. She said she could not tell it was on there.

There are a few other brands out there that have good video, but GoPro is the best known.
The camera in the video is an Activon CX Gold, shot at 720p 60 fps. It can do 1080p 30 fps. I got it as a Christmas present a few years ago (I had actually just bought my GoPro5 a week before, but decided to keep both).
The GoPro 5 that I have can be found for pretty cheap (seems I saw them for $99 just a few weeks ago on sale somewhere), plus another $20 or so for a helmet mount kit, then a SD card for another $15 or so. They also make bar mounts so you can attach it there, but it is a fixed view, where on the helmet, it sees what your looking at.
In this video, you can see the bar mount on the left side of my bars (but camera is not in there). This is on the GoPro, and it has the option to put things on the screen (this one has speed and g-forces). This is when I first started to practice my low speed driving, I do this parking lot every week and have gotten much better.
 
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Just realize that most track orgs do NOT allow helmet mounted cameras. The reason for this is that in case of an accident, it is a point of torque when it catches the ground or something else.

I bought a case that has an opening for the USB connection point on the camera and then ran a USB cable to a USB power jack. This provided continuous power and let the camera record until the SD card filled up. I had the camera mounted at the base of the windscreen so it captured the entire view in front of me.
 
Didn't mean to suggest Amazon as a source, apology for the confusion. Amazon is an easy link to share the details. I bought mine direct as well. Lots of counterfits from China out there. Mine are several years old and still work great.
 
Just realize that most track orgs do NOT allow helmet mounted cameras. The reason for this is that in case of an accident, it is a point of torque when it catches the ground or something else.

I was doing some poking around some of the moto vlogs and found a couple on folks getting pulled over for cameras on the helmet... so I just went and dug up some more information.

From CFR 571.218 - Standard No. 218; Motorcycle helmets.
"S5.5 Projections. A helmet shall not have any rigid projections inside its shell. Rigid projections outside any helmet's shell shall be limited to those required for operation of essential accessories, and shall not protrude more than 0.20 inch (5 mm)."

5mm is super slim, I would guess there are some comm units that slim, but I don't think I've seen a camera to meet that profile

So I guess the only question would be "what counts as an essential accessory?"
Sounds like I may want to consult a lawyer before adding a helmet camera.
 
I was doing some poking around some of the moto vlogs and found a couple on folks getting pulled over for cameras on the helmet... so I just went and dug up some more information.

From CFR 571.218 - Standard No. 218; Motorcycle helmets.
"S5.5 Projections. A helmet shall not have any rigid projections inside its shell. Rigid projections outside any helmet's shell shall be limited to those required for operation of essential accessories, and shall not protrude more than 0.20 inch (5 mm)."

5mm is super slim, I would guess there are some comm units that slim, but I don't think I've seen a camera to meet that profile

So I guess the only question would be "what counts as an essential accessory?"
Sounds like I may want to consult a lawyer before adding a helmet camera.
That standard is for the helmet manufacturers, it becomes a grey area when talking about owners.
New cars are mandated to have ABS and backup cameras, but I as an owner can disable these items legally. I can do many other modifications that are illegal for manufacturers to do, but as the owner, I can make them.
Why is the helmet different? I know some states specify more than others (I had read about Washington enforcing a "no GoPro" rule in their state statutes).
 
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