My new Nolan B4 is very quiet - too quiet

[Mark Mayo]

I hope someone knows a setting I have incorrectly adjusted so I can get more volume or it will be much less useful when riding. I can hear my Gamin Zumo 550 and make a successful phone call but it is quiet. It pairs in seconds to both my Garmin and Garmin to my iPhone 4. I have tried to turn up the volume over and over again. It is also fully charged and was installed by my dealer (they have done several successfully).

 

HELP

[dirtrider]

Morning Mark

 

First thing-- do you have BOTH the volume's turned up on your Zumo? There is an internal volume (wrench then the volume icon) as well as the normal volume control. I think it (the internal) comes default set at something like 80%.

 

Next, you should contact Nolan. So far Nolan has been helpful to me on some high speed issues I had with their N-104 helmet & they quickly sent me parts to repair.

 

If you can't resolve your issue through Nolan or with an online software/firmware update then you have some options with the Zumo 550 itself.

 

You can hack the volume level of the routing direction voices to increase their volume (not real easy as you need a hexadecimal converter to make the change) but very doable if you are a little computer savvy. I needed to increase (hack) my Zumo 550 voice levels as I am a bit hard of hearing.

 

You can also run your MP-3 music through a 3rd party program & increase + equalize their base volume so the Zumo plays those quite a bit louder (I did that on mine also).

 

Problem is: after all that work I almost never listen to music or use verbal directions while riding.

 

Not sure about your phone volume as I only pair my phone to see who is calling as I don't normally run a microphone so can't answer the phone while riding anyhow.

 

Another thing to look at is the placement of the speakers in your helmet. I had a (non Nolan) helmet that the speakers weren’t centered on my ears, I could hardly hear the music & voice commands. Once I figured that out it was actually too loud.

 

[Quinn]

Maybe it is the speaker placement in the helmet is not close enough to your ear canal.

 

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[Mark Mayo]

Thanks for the help. Yes, I did set all volumes on the Zumo to max. I also set the Zumo to send all audio, not just the phone to the helmet.

 

Nolan requires you to use their software to raise the volume from the default minimum setting (almost inaudible) to almost max to hear stuff in the helmet. The volume controls on the helmet are less useful until you do this. I did and I happily hear "recalculating" again. I paired the Zumo with the Nolan B4 and later paired my iPhone with the Garmin Zumo. I make calls using the Zumo's controls which trigger normal voice commands (two touches to the GPS screen). It works! After a break to enjoy what I have accomplished using it on the bike I will play with audio and the radio. Audio from the GPS via MP3 files and radio from the Nolan B4.

 

Thanks

[Mark Mayo]

Good end to this story. The B4 unit I purchased was defective and was replaced by a Nolan tech at Extreme Supply named Alex. He is a winner in every way. I brought in the helmet and he diagnosed and fixed it in minutes with an completely new unit. Immediately everything was louder as it should be and the GPS directions could be heard.

 

Lesson learned: Extreme Supply in Long Beach, CA is the place to buy Nolan products and ask for Deepesh (might be spelled wrong) (manager) or Alex (the Nolan tech).

 

They rock!