[MDA, XDA, 1010 Accessories] derekcfoley:
I know this isnt as high tech as a Bluetooth headset such as the Jabra... but as a low tech solution, Why not just use the headset that comes with the xda? You can certainly improve the ear fitting with some replacement ear sponges. or even better, slice into the cabling, and replace the earpieces with the SONY headphones that are like mini "in-ear defenders"

Quick tip: to solder headphone cables, use a soldering iron with a little cored solder to melt away and tin the very thin coating on the exposed cables, as headphone cables don't have sleeving in the traditional way. Dont hold it on for too long though!

Sorry, I can't quote any model numbers for the sony headphones, but the nice design feature is that

1) They are inside the ear, so it wont interfere with getting your helmet on/off

2) The Bass response with these headphones are even better than the standard xda headset. Because they are a snug fit like an industrial ear plug, so the ear canal resonates the sound better without losses. In a noisy environment you should find this better, e.g. with the roaring of a bike engine.

Advantage of modding with the standard headsetYou can modify the push to talk button by opening the pod and wiring a switch in parrallel to your handlebars, something thats easy to use with big bike gloves on, e.g. an automotive switch from Halfords. And of course the most important part, you get the xda four pole 2.5mm connector, which is very difficult to get hold of!

The other part of the push to talk switch "pod" on the xda headset is the microphone, so you could mount it somewhere in the part of the helmet near your mouth.

Obviously these ideas will need some "interconnect cables", from your xda to your handlebars, and from either to your helmet, I did see a posting with a motorbike cradle mount somewhere on this site.

Connectors

You should be able to get an inline solderable coupling connector (male & female) respectively from your local electronics shop or http://www.maplin.co.uk a small 3.5mm connector will suffice.

Obviously for the mic you need two or three connectors depending on how you rig it up.

You can get away with a mono one and one with three (in other words a normal stereo one) for the headphones, which has three poles

Headphones (stereo 3.5mm solderable plug & coupler)

1) Left

2) Right

3) Ground

Microphone (mono 3.5mm solderable plug & coupler)

1) Signal

2) Ground

Switch (mono 3.5mm solderable plug & coupler)

1) from pod button contacts

2) from pod button contacts

Obviously if you're not keen on using the phone while riding, then dont bother with the mic, switch etc, and just make up the headphones for music etc.

If this is the case, just buy the sony headphones and use a 2.5mm stereo to 3.5mm adapter (available at most maplin stores)

I've already done this mod using a replacement xda headset bought from expansys.com for a cassette adapter for in-car use. And have had many hours of music listening in between and during GPS instructions on long journeys!

Software called "Withmp3" is very good for in-car music playback (Its just like Winamp) because you can assign hardware buttons to skip tracks or stop the music. Even while using Tom-Tom navigator for example.