{"id":1,"date":"2018-01-15T00:42:58","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T00:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/?p=1"},"modified":"2018-01-27T22:02:35","modified_gmt":"2018-01-27T22:02:35","slug":"press-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"New Device Set to Make Communications a Standard UTV Accessory"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A start-up company based in Boise, Idaho released a new communication system today designed for UTV owners.\u00a0 The device is being branded simply as \u201cThe COM\u201d.<\/p>

At its core, The COM equips a UTV with an intercom (think pilots and co-pilots interacting) connected to a high powered radio.\u00a0 This design provides owners with maximum functionality, but The COM goes even beyond that.\u00a0 It takes an inherently complex system, tosses in a list of additional goodies and then packages it all into simple, off-the-shelf, plug \u2018n play product every UTV owner should consider.<\/p>

To begin, The COM installs in minutes, without any tools or cutting plastic.\u00a0 It hangs above rider\u2019s heads between the seats on the UTV\u2019s rear cross bar.\u00a0 Headsets (available in both helmet and aviator style) plug in via the large, glove-friendly headset jack into what looks like an old school phone cord.\u00a0 Riders speak normally into the mic.\u00a0 The intercom amplifies each person\u2019s voice based upon individual volume controls.\u00a0 Background wind and engine noise are filtered out from amplification via noise cancellation technology built into both the mic and intercom.<\/p>

What all that means is that rider isolation is eliminated.\u00a0 While driving, The COM delivers private, hands free conversations between those inside the UTV.\u00a0 Push a single button installed on any handle between the riders and whomever speaks gets broadcasted.\u00a0 The 25 watt system is the ideal size for both UTV electrical systems and typical broadcast requirements which reach others as far as 10 miles away.<\/p>

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Co-inventors Kirk Hansen and Dustin Aldrich went to work built what they believe is the ideal system.<\/p>

Aldrich explained the motivation:<\/p>

\u201cThe cheaper options like helmet radios and Bluetooth headsets all had major drawbacks.\u00a0 Things like poor range, poor noise cancellation, dead batteries, wires strewn about the cabin, broadcasting menial driver\/passenger exchanges, constant pairing\/unpairing, or making owners pick between core functions like talking in-UTV or UTV-to-UTV.\u00a0 We had friends who bought these and ended up wasting a hundreds of dollars because they\u2019d always end up putting these systems away mid-way into the ride.<\/p>

Race radio kits worked beautifully, but assumed a base level of knowledge we simply didn\u2019t have.\u00a0 Worse than that, these systems cost $1,000+ and didn\u2019t even include necessary items like installation brackets, antenna mounts, specialty tools for cutting coax, etc.\u00a0 The significant price jump to what actually worked was frustrating.\u201d<\/p>

Group UTV rides were opportunities to test, but their friends hounded them.<\/p>

\u201cEveryone wanted one.\u00a0 The reality is, this type of communication system should be on the majority of UTVs.\u00a0 The functional benefit it provides is as significant as the popular upgrades like roofs, windshields and winches.\u00a0 And once you ride with one, going without is like going without your phone.\u00a0 We designed The COM to make UTV communication a staple.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Four objectives drove the design<\/strong><\/p>

First, it had to be clear.<\/p>

\u201cWe spent months upon months prototyping and testing. And then working with vendors upgrading noise cancelling mics, upgrading wire gauge and shielding and optimizing the radio until we could run the UTV at full speed and hear clearly.\u201d<\/p>

Second, it had to be \u201cPlug n Play\u201d.<\/p>

\u201cThe key word was simplicity.\u00a0 Our benchmark in operations were those familiar, channel based walkie-talkies \u2013 pick a channel, push a button to talk.\u00a0 A standard, 3.5mm cord (included) interconnects devices like a phone or action camera.\u00a0 When installing it, there are no tools required \u2013 install it at the trailhead if you want.\u201d<\/p>

Third, the end product had to be in that price range between the cheaper systems and existing race radio systems.<\/p>

\u201cWe want this within reach of every UTV owner.\u201d<\/p>

Fourth, it had to deliver the most value.<\/p>

Hansen added, \u201cThe COM was never going to be cheap so it has to deliver a lot of value. And it had to include everything, no component picking and no hidden costs to make it work.\u00a0 Every COM includes upgrades that will save UTV owners a couple hundred dollars.\u00a0 These include in-line noise filter, antenna mount, mounting bracket and a factory sealed coax (no need for the specialty tool)\u201d<\/p>

\u201cBut we really wanted to get people talking.\u00a0 So we also packed The COM with features found nowhere else that we knew UTV owners would love.\u201d<\/p>

The additional functionality included:<\/p>

  • Dual, 9 watt LED lights to brighten dark UTV interiors at night<\/li>
  • A single 9 watt LED to light up the rear cargo area<\/li>
  • An recoiling antenna manager to bend the long antenna during storage so it doesn\u2019t hit the ceiling<\/li>
  • And what is arguably the best value of all \u2013 It\u2019s removable. \u00a0Owners can now simply transfer it instead of giving it away when they sell their machine.\u00a0 Buy it once and use it on multiple machines<\/li><\/ul>

    The inventors believe in their device enough to file for a US Patent.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A start-up company based in Boise, Idaho released a new communication system today designed for UTV owners.\u00a0 The device is being branded simply as \u201cThe COM\u201d. At its core, The COM equips a UTV with an intercom (think pilots and co-pilots interacting) connected to a high powered radio.\u00a0 This design provides owners with maximum functionality, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,31,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-intercom","category-press","category-radio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utvcom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}