For any further information on making these headsets contact Barry via email at the_whelans@bc.sympatico.ca
Hi Bob and Aaron, I've attached a rough diagram that I had produced and sent to some others(compliments instructions at - http://bbs.gwrra.org/gwboard/motorcycle/messages/15820.html ). I don't have a web page to put it up on. Hope you can post it if it's helpful. I've been working on a Wing World article with a little better diagram. The headset is the KOSS SB-10. The DIN is a 5 pin plug standard at Radio shack. The only othe parts I used were 5 pin Din straight connector cables from Radio shack. In Cdn funds - $40 for headsets, $4 for the DIN plug and $10 for the cable. hope this helps Barry
Posted by Barry Whelan on August 09, 1998 at 11:01:45: In Reply to: Koss headsets posted by DavidA #121324 on August 09, 1998 at 08:28:13: Hi David, I just building two sets after reading the Board here. First thing I did was to separate the wires (right speaker on it's own, left speaker/mic kept together) and cut about half the speaker cable away (personal preference). Unscrewed the speaker housings and removed the backs then pulled the wires free (had to separate the mic wires at this point). Drilled a 3/16th hole on the left speaker face next to the old retaining screw hole. This became my microphone boom mount. Unscrewed and reversed the microphone itself. The boom just screwed on to the bottom of the left speaker and could be reconnected to the original wires. I used a hacksaw to cut the old speaker backings at the upper ridge and cut off the extension leading up to the headband boom (just below the retention screw hole. This backing got placed back on the speakers to give some protection and separation in the speakers. A full wrap around the speakers with the wires and covered with electric tape or silicone tape holds well. the foam covers fit easily back over the speakers for a clean look and comfortable feel. On the left side, taping and placing the foam cover on the speaker before putting on the boom keeps everything nice and snug. Wiring is pretty easy. Leave about a foot of wire between the right and left speakers then measure the amount of all three wires to the amount of lead desired down from the helmet (8-10 inches worked for me). connect grounds for left and right speakers together. Now, looking at the 5 pin DIN socket from the front the wires are connected as follows (left to right) mike hot (yellow), mike ground, speaker ground (both together), speaker right (white), speaker left (red). A quick check connecting to the bike's system at this point will confirm the wiring. As some final thoughts, I just used some shrink wrap from radio shack to keep all the wires together and the whole thing looking neat. The first one took a couple hours, but the second was done in less than an hour. All in all, a pretty easy job and the finished product looks and sounds great. It will fit in either open or full face helmets. The speakers are snug, but a little velcro ensures they don't easily come loose. Hope this helps. Barry
Posted by Carl Hochstetler on August 14, 1998 at 19:33:46: In Reply to: Building headsets posted by Aaron Wade on August 14, 1998 at 04:29:15: Aaron, There was a post recently on using the KOSS SB10 headset. I have not built it yet, but it looked good to me. If you need a way to interconnect to your existing on-board jacks you can use PC keyboard extension cables. The ones I have are "PRO-SERIES" 5 pin Din male/female keyboard extension cables. (6 ft. in length) You will have to use some basic wiring/soldering skills. I know it sounds simple, but if you have never mastered basic soldering skills; "DON'T TRY THIS TRICK AT HOME without some guidance"!!! For those that would "yoo-hoo" up their sleeve at this comment try dealing with a cold-solder joint when conducting a small current is in a critical system that your life depends on. USN RETIRED Submarine Service Carl Hochstetler
URL for KOSS: http://www.koss.com I used KOSS SB/10 headphones w/mic. You can order headsets
directly from KOSS at their web site address above.
I installed mine in a Full Faced helmet but, am including instructions for how I THINK I
would do it in an Open Face(3/4 helmet). At the end are my additions for the Duotec or
Nolan N100.
Tools needed:
1. Set of Jewelers screw drivers (Radio Shack should have them) (Actually, you only need
1 of the Phillips head)
2. Small tip Soldering iron
3. 3 hands and some patience
*** ¾ Helmet, Only remove headband and detach mic!
1. Remove the foam covers from each earphone. Look at the earphones (speakers) closely and
you'll see the TINY Phillips head screws that hold the headband. You'll also notice
that there is a tab on the face of the speakers that holds the outer ring.
2. Once you remove the ALL the screws and detach the speaker from the outer ring, you'll
see the 2 screws and 3 tabs that hold the mic, remove them and clip the mic wire(yellow),
keep the wire as long as possible (about ¾ to 1" or more). Also, take the end of the
mic off the arm (the piece that attaches the mic to the left speaker back).
***If you're installing in a ¾ you only need to dissemble the left speaker and detach the
mic. Once mic is detached, reassemble the speaker.
3. Clip the 3 wires running from the speakers and mic (remember, the wire from the right
headphone needs to long enough to reach around the back of the helmet to left side,
too long is better than too short).
4. About 5-6" of the left over mic wire needs to be soldered to the 2 wires on the mic.
Yellow = Hot, Copper = ground.
All of the wires are EXTREMELY SMALL so, be careful when striping them.
5. Strip the Black outer coating from each of the 3 wires thus exposing the inner wires.
Inside you'll find 2 wires, 1 insulated. The un-insulated (copper) wire is the ground.
The Red, White and Yellow are the Hot (+).
6. Disassemble the DIN plugs and look at the back side.
7. Starting from left to right solder the wires in the following sequence:
a. Pin 1 = Mic + (Yellow)
b. Pin 2 = Mic - (copper or silver)
c. Pin 3 = Speaker - (copper, tie left & right together)
d. Pin 4 = Left Speaker + (White)
e. Pin 5 = Right Speaker + (Red)
8. Reassemble the DIN plug
9. Cut the ends off the Computer keyboard cable. The DIN plugs that are attached to the
cable WILL NOT work unless you are able to disassemble them and unsolder the wires.
10. Solder a DIN plug onto each end remembering the colors of the five wires. There
should be a Silver ground wire, use it for your speaker ground.
11. Plug everything into your bike and make sure it works before installing them in the
helmet.
HELMET INSTALLATION:
Full Face: I removed the cheek pad assembly (1 piece, left & right cheek pads and nose
section) and peeled back the section of cloth that covers the ear wells and put the
speakers in.
Cut a small slit in the front of the left cheek pad (where the pad & nose section meet)
and pushed my fingers through from the front and rear until they met. Did this to create
a hole for the mic arm.
Ran the mic in from the rear and out the slit near the nose and velcroed it to the nose piece.
Put the cheek pad assembly back into the helmet, routed the right speaker wire around to
left (used a Popcicle stick to tuck the wire in between the padding and helmet shell. Tuck
excess wire behind the left pad.
Open Face (3/4): Most of the Open face helmets I've seen have ear wells and that's where I
would put the speakers with velcro (rough part on the speaker, soft part in the helmet).
Put the foam covers back on.
Mic: You should be able to lift the left cheek pad up enough to slide in some of the mic
arm and then secure it to the helmet (Maybe the J&M hardware kit, $13.95 will secure it or
some sort of small clamp). I used a Binder clip.
I would also get a wind sock to put over the mic (J&M sells them).
A few months ago I posted a message on making and installing homemade headsets. I got
bombarded with requests for instructions, never got any feedback on how they worked out,
but mine are still going strong. Since then I've decided to try them out in a Shoei Duotec,
Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse had some colors at close out prices in November, since then,
the prices have gone up over a hundred dollars. They also sell the Nolan N100 for $147 which,
is also an excellent helmet (rated #2 by the German automobile club, ADAC, #1 was the BMW
helmet, Shoei was not tested).
I read several posts on headsets in Duotecs, some saying that it's not recommended because
the speakers sound poorly and others, recommending Air Rider headsets. My homemade headsets
(Koss & Panasonic) sound good,
were easy to install and required no significant modification to the helmet. I have never
tried the Air Riders. From the pictures I've seen, it appears that quite a lot of foam has
to be cut out in order to get the speakers in.
The trick is to find a pair of small headphones, I bought a pair of Panasonic's $3.95
(1 1/8" in diameter) and a pair of Koss SB/10's for the mic ($19.95). The only modification
to the helmet was to cut 2 small slits in the left cheek pad (1 in the front & the other in
the rear). The cheek pads snap in and out. The 2 slits are for the mic and wire, the mic is
held in place by the cheek pad, which also keeps the mic inside and allows use when the helmet
is open or closed.
The speakers drop into the helmet's earwells and are held in place with velcro, the rest of
the installation is the same as any other helmet. Total cost for the headset $30 (headphone,
3 din plugs and coiled cable).
THE KOSS MIC IS NOT NOISE CANCELLING. When the helmet's closed there's no wind noise, but
when open, the passenger's mic picks up quite a bit. A small wind sock solves the problem
and still allows the helmet to be closed.
I hope this covers everything. If I left something out, feel free to send me an email.
Take care and ride safe!
Paul Willis
U.S. Army Retired (22 years)
First Area Rep for the Sierra Vista, Arizona GWRRA Chapter
1980 - 83
Currently: DAC civilian working in Hanau, Germany
97 GL1500A
willis.paul@usa.net