MrsC_772
18-10-2009, 07:40 PM
Other half got into bikes recently, so we've been going out for rides together. After frustrating incidents caused by getting separated at junctions/traffic lights (where are you? Leighton Buzzard? I'm still in Aylesbury waiting for you! etc.), getting fed up with having to point at the petrol tank and then at a filling station across the road to indicate I needed a fuel stop, we decided we needed bike-to-bike comms, and he wanted to connect sat-nav.
Was aware there were systems like "Starcom" and "Autocom". Wasn't clear exactly what they did (apart from allowing you to connect your MP3 player, phone and other gadgets I wasn't interested in as well as bike-to-bike comms).
First invested in just a pair of radios (TTI TX1446) and headsets. Radios on their own were next to useless above 25 mph. Caught one word in 100 - just crackle. Push-to-talk button kept getting in the way when I needed to indicate.
Went to Bykebitz and bought 2 x
- Autocom Logic Kit L1 - "magic box" with headset;
- headset extension cable (needed if you want to put the Autocom box anywhere further from your lid than a rucksack or possibly bumbag) "Part 2138";
- bike-to-bike fitting for magic box (as they're sold with a cable appropriate for rider-to-pillion communication - "Part 2356";
- cable for connecting to our particular radio - "Part 1433";
- power cable so that the Autocom can be powered by the bike battery.
Total cost to get 2 people set up: £400 for Autocom bits, plus about £220 for radios.
There followed a certain amount of cursing, swearing, fiddling around with cheekpads and gaffertape and velcro to get the headsets installed in lids in the precise positions where you can hear the speakers (test using MP3 player and Rammstein), and the mike picks up your voice (you basically have to kiss it!) Needless to say my ears and the speaker positions don't coincide precisely with the natural gaps in the foam padding inside my lid.
But it works! Went out for a ride today and could actually talk to each other, loud and clear.
The Autocom magic boxes give you "VOX" capacity - connect to the radio, and when you start talking, the radio starts transmitting - though there's a 1-2 second delay so you need to remember to leave a gap or say errrrr before saying anything meaningful. If the other person has satnav, when you start talking, you interrupt the satnav. No more faffing with PTT buttons!
The magic box also does a brilliant job of cleaning the signal up so you don't just hear crackle. I really didn't notice any difference in voice quality between sitting on the drive at standstill and riding at up to about 60 mph, even with earplugs. Still very good even a little faster - didn't test at loony speds.
Takes a certain amount of fiddling around to get the sensitivity set up right (so that talking does start the transmitting, but wind noise in your lid doesn't).
Today we were running the Autocom boxes off ordinary batteries, rather than bike battery. The black box will fit perfectly under the 696 seat in the toolkit space (though is to big to go in the rear cubbyhole where the Ducati datalogger would be connected).
So if anyone else is thinking about bike to bike comms, I do think the Autocom boxes are worthwhile.
Was aware there were systems like "Starcom" and "Autocom". Wasn't clear exactly what they did (apart from allowing you to connect your MP3 player, phone and other gadgets I wasn't interested in as well as bike-to-bike comms).
First invested in just a pair of radios (TTI TX1446) and headsets. Radios on their own were next to useless above 25 mph. Caught one word in 100 - just crackle. Push-to-talk button kept getting in the way when I needed to indicate.
Went to Bykebitz and bought 2 x
- Autocom Logic Kit L1 - "magic box" with headset;
- headset extension cable (needed if you want to put the Autocom box anywhere further from your lid than a rucksack or possibly bumbag) "Part 2138";
- bike-to-bike fitting for magic box (as they're sold with a cable appropriate for rider-to-pillion communication - "Part 2356";
- cable for connecting to our particular radio - "Part 1433";
- power cable so that the Autocom can be powered by the bike battery.
Total cost to get 2 people set up: £400 for Autocom bits, plus about £220 for radios.
There followed a certain amount of cursing, swearing, fiddling around with cheekpads and gaffertape and velcro to get the headsets installed in lids in the precise positions where you can hear the speakers (test using MP3 player and Rammstein), and the mike picks up your voice (you basically have to kiss it!) Needless to say my ears and the speaker positions don't coincide precisely with the natural gaps in the foam padding inside my lid.
But it works! Went out for a ride today and could actually talk to each other, loud and clear.
The Autocom magic boxes give you "VOX" capacity - connect to the radio, and when you start talking, the radio starts transmitting - though there's a 1-2 second delay so you need to remember to leave a gap or say errrrr before saying anything meaningful. If the other person has satnav, when you start talking, you interrupt the satnav. No more faffing with PTT buttons!
The magic box also does a brilliant job of cleaning the signal up so you don't just hear crackle. I really didn't notice any difference in voice quality between sitting on the drive at standstill and riding at up to about 60 mph, even with earplugs. Still very good even a little faster - didn't test at loony speds.
Takes a certain amount of fiddling around to get the sensitivity set up right (so that talking does start the transmitting, but wind noise in your lid doesn't).
Today we were running the Autocom boxes off ordinary batteries, rather than bike battery. The black box will fit perfectly under the 696 seat in the toolkit space (though is to big to go in the rear cubbyhole where the Ducati datalogger would be connected).
So if anyone else is thinking about bike to bike comms, I do think the Autocom boxes are worthwhile.