Zumo 665 and Cardo Q3 headset..

[ropjohns]

As the title states, that is my entertainment and technology setup on my 13 connie.  The gps works great as a navigator, music player, and xm player.  The cardo works great for my girl and I to communicate.  However, with the zumo and cardo connected through bluetooth, the xm reception immediately goes to one bar, or i lose it completely for long periods of time. The music player will randomly freeze, and I have to reset the gps to work it again.  Now, when it freezes, or when there is no xm reception, I turn my headset off, and the music starts playing again, and the xm reception goes straight to 3 bars!  What a bunch of shite!! Has anyone had experience with this?

So, I would like to know if the following will work (if there is no good bluetooth solution):  Bypass bluetooth completely by connecting with a 3.5mm cable the gps to my headset.  However, I would need a 3.5mm splitter cable to plug into my headset, thus making me able to plug both my speaker cable and gps cable into the splitter.  Will this work???

[Daytona_Mike]

That is strange. Have both units been updated to the latest firmware?
They may have already fixed this.
A call to Garmin may  help too.

[ropjohns]

They're both updated.  I will call both places tomorrow.  But does anyone know if I can split the sound like that?  So I would have sound coming in from the gps AND headset to the same pair of speakers? 

[gPink]

Could run both through a mini-amp or mixer then cable to the helmet speakers.

[ropjohns]

any suggestions for mini-amp or mixer before I start looking?

[udoggie]

Do you have the XM receiver near the GPS?  Try separating them as far apart as possible -- They could be an interference issue.

 -Jeff

[gPink]

any suggestions for mini-amp or mixer before I start looking?

Don't know if I understand your problem for sure but one of these might work.
http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider.html
http://www.mixitproducts.com/

[ropjohns]

Do you have the XM receiver near the GPS?  Try separating them as far apart as possible -- They could be an interference issue.

 -Jeff

They are 12 inches apart, more then adequate according to instructions.  Also, I really can't put it anywhere farther....obviously limited on a motorcycle.  Besides, I said in my post it stutters and freezes with the mp3 too, which as nothing to do with xm

[ropjohns]

the mixitproduct might be perfect.  get rid of bluetooth, and still hear both helmet headset conversations and gps music!  thank you for the link!!

[ropjohns]

Just to make sure it is the bluetooth, I turned on my headset and gps, hit play on mp3, and it made the "skipping noise", i let it do that for about 20 seconds, turned off my headset, and as soon as the bluetooth disconnected the music started playing fine out of my zumo.  looks like i will have to get that mixitproduct to avoid connecting my zumo to my headset with bluetooth.  just an extra $159 on top of this $800 gps....no big deal....

what a bunch of shite

[Daytona_Mike]

can you test that 665 with someone else headset or  pair of bluetooth headphones
You need to isolate the problem to one of those two devices.

[ropjohns]

Yeah, I'm hoping it's just the cardo headset system, and something like the Sena would work fine.  But, I don't have access to one, so i would have to buy it to test it out.  i had a used 665 i bought off ebay, and i used it on my trip to NC.  it did the same thing, and i thought i bought a broken system.  i returned it and bought a brand new 665, and was very disappointed to find that the same thing happened.  it is def the zumo, but i dont know if sena will work better with it

[C14PAINKILLER]

I'm running a 665 as well with the Cardo G4. Had the same problem, audio freezing and music playing in mono instead of stereo. Would take a few resets between the Cardo and 665. Ended up just wiring it with the 3.5 mm jack, problem solved.

[Daytona_Mike]

The whole point of Bluetooth is to be wireless.
I bought this unit to go from my Zumo550 XM  via Bluetooth. (on the 550 XM does not transmit via bluetooth)

I tested the following unit to my J&M headset and it works great.
I do not see why it would not work with Cardo but maybe those things are a problem.
Hows well does the Cardo  G4 work when listening to music from a smart phone?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004B8GF7Y/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

[zarticus]

I just bought a new Zumo 600lm & it works perfect with my Cardo Q2, Maybe its the new Cardo's ?

[Son of Pappy]

These reasons are exactly why I ended up hard wired.  No batteries to worry about, great sound, and no synching issues.  The apparent convenience turned into more of a hassle than simply plugging in before I put my gloves on.

[G-Mazz]

I sent you a PM for things you can try to correct the issues you described.  I had similar connection problems with my 665,
iPhone 5 and Cardo Q4.  Now everything is working as it is suppose to.