Chris C.

Hi All:

Is the NADY system still the best bang for the buck?

Is there a newer, better technology for in-car driver-student communication at Driver Education events?

Thank you!

addictionms

I have never seen one but chatterbox makes one which is supposed to be better.

good hunting

Jim

Greg Fishman

<a href="http://www.stableenergies.com" target="_blank">www.stableenergies.com</a> has them.
Chatterbox is far better than the Nady. About 50% more expensive but you won't have to replace it every year.
Greg

Bill Gregory

Our PCA region has stopped using the NADY intercoms and is now using the Chatter box's.

Al P.

As a student this past weekend at the Glen we gave up on my instructors Nady after the first session (intermittant cutting out). Most of my instructors at previous events have had the Charterbox, I liked it so much I bought my own student head-set and mounted it in my helmet.

Just the opinion of a student that really likes to hear exactly what my instructor has to say.

Al P.
PCA/NNJR

Sloth

Yes, the Nady unit is garbage. Where do you get the Chatterbox unit from?

Alan Herod

Another good thing about Chatterbox is replaceable parts. Nady, bad connection, whole thing is spare parts for the next unit. Maybe you can start a group purchase here. Our region did a group purchase and the pricing was very attractive.

Wil Ferch

I bvelieve Joe Wynn ( sp?) on Rennlist offers these at a good price.
--Wil Ferch

Hank Cohn

Guys:

After reading these posts, I decided to try the Chatter Box intercom system. I had one overnighted for used this past weekend. I purchased two student headsets and one semi-permanent closed face helmet mounted headset. The in-helmet headset is very nice and works well. It is nice to hear in both ears and the microphone is small and totally out of the way. I instructed in several cars ranging from stock 993 street cars to a 993 Supercup car. My overall impression is that the unit is of much higher quality construction, has significantly better connectors, and the rechargeable battery is very convenient.

The actual operation of the unit isn’t much different from the much less expensive Nady unit, however. The Chatter Box was totally overwhelmed in the Supercup car. The Nady unit is similarly overwhelmed in the Supercup car as well as a point of reference. In street cars, I would prefer to use the Chatter Box as I like the helmet mounted design of the main unit and headset/microphone combo. The connecting wires are out of the way of arms and shoulders.

It is a cool gadget that works well for normal cars, is more convenient and of higher build quality than the Nady, but its limits are pretty much the same as those of the Nady.

Just my observations as a first time user.

Hank Cohn

Greg Fishman

Hank,
Interesting that you found it overwhelmed in the Cup car. I have never been able to use the Nady in my race car which is somewhat quieter since I still have the cats in. With the C.B. intercom I had no problems and could hear my students or passengers fairly easy.

Did you use earplugs with the speakers in them with your race cars?

Did you try it in any other "loud" cars?

Greg

Alan Herod

I think the ability to hear is affected by the mike placement, where the student locates the mouth piece and where you place yours. For those that don't know, two ear pieces are semi-permanently affixed in an obvious location in the helmet and the mike is affixed in the chin/mouth guard part of the helmet. The student uses a piece similar (but far more substantial) to the Nady system. I had four students these past four days. I had no problem communicating with the student in even the loudest of the cars -- one which had a particularly ear-splitting resonance above 6500 rpm. One session the student in the quietest car had difficulty hearing me -- since I had not changed the volume or altered the location of my microphone, I suspect that his placement of the ear piece was not optimum.

Hank Cohn

Greg and Alan:

Thanks for the information. Perhaps I am doing something wrong. I did mount the microphone on the chin/mouth guard section, but I can recheck it for possible better placement. I used it in several cars and for the most part it worked great, but not at all in the 993 Supercup, which, by the way, does have cats as do all stock 993 and 996 Cup cars.

Hank

Ed Newman

I have the Terraphone intercom system in my boat and I have been considering putting it in my new car. The system is a full duplex hard wired system, mics are available for both full face an open face. The system has the ability to tie into a rf reciever to, for example listen in on the track's radio frequency. It also has a 2 way radio interface with push to talk for communications to your pit. The system starts around $300 or so and I got it from Sesquehana motorsports in Virginia.