Autocom ideas

[Deleted account 220427002]

It would be a good idea but due to the size of the isolation blocks adding these to the boards would make them rather large in size! Plus not everyone runs bike powered phone, music and not everyone can afford to run the kenwoods bike powered. So I would say where we are selling the sytems now makes them more universal, also a customer who is just wanting to run rider and pillion no phone or music etc is not having to spend extra money on a product they are only using 50% worth.


Rich

Sorry GSrich i disagree

I opened mine... the components are not that big in the unit ( plus with surface mount technology they are getting made smaller all the time).. the boxes are mostly filled with nothing so i can't see why the suppression can't be incorporated in the main unit with a slight size increase.
The only reason i can see for not incorporating them in the unit is to sting us.. the end user for more dosh in the long run.

I think the units are quite expensive enough and then by the time you ad extra leads and connectors for phones you are up at quite a hefty sum.
To skimp on a pretty essential component or two that cost pence on a product package at nearly £200-300 is a bit of a con on Autocoms part.

I don't know many people who run an autocom system without attaching other divices... maybe not radios but music, gps and phone seem quite usual... at least on this site.

I can understand the basic bottom of the range autocom have those"add-ons" to keep the initial cost down and if they want to upgrade later they can with the extra parts... but your more top of the range items

Sort it out please

 

[Pauly S]

tis easy!!!!

Think it's been mentioned before, but I'd really appreciate a simple control to increase / decrease / mute the volume on my Autocom from the handlebars. Ideally this would also cut the rider/pillion interface at the same time.

Situations where this would be useful include:

Paying at toll booths
Giving tickets to ferry operators
Giving instructions to friends at traffic lights when not bike-to-bike
Asking for directions (being a man, I never do this of course )

In all the above situatioms, I can't hear what's being said to me and then when I shout a reply I deafen my pillion!

Accept the point about smaller boxes being difficult for the controls, but not from an electronic perspective, as components always get smaller...

Paul

If you want to cut the volume of the headset, you'll have to cut into the loom inside the autocom box which feeds your left and right ears, and run out four wires and feed them in to a double pole switch , this would then cut the volume completely when the switch was operated, but because it is a double pole switch it would still retain stereo capability.
Beware of any warranty issues doing this, its quite a straight forward job, and i think you can get a replacement lead if you need one.
But if you dont understand this entirely, then dont do it.
Also you can mute an ipod quite successfully using the same idea, i made an adaptor lead that goes in the bottom of the ipod, into the 3.5mm stereo socket, through a double pole changeover switch, and put on a 3.5mm female socket, so the autocom lead can plug into it,so when the switch is in position a, the signal just flows through the switch from the ipod and into the autocom, but in pos b the signal flows through 2 off 2k2 resitors, one for each channel, which effectively mutes the ipod by half.
Before i had the switch i found on the motorway , it would be too quiet, so i would turn it up, but when i slowed down , i couldnt hear my self think.
i have used flexible, multi strand,8 core, house alarm cable for this and it works a treat.Dont use the solid "eureka" wire, it doesnt like being constantly flexed and will break.
if you want to know more just shout.
regards Paul

 

[<<Mark_C>>]

I'd like to see a better PTT switch, WITHOUT the little rubber toggle switch on the bottom that I keep moving over to contant transmit by accident.

 

[ebbo]

I'd like to see a better PTT switch, WITHOUT the little rubber toggle switch on the bottom that I keep moving over to contant transmit by accident.

That Autocom PTT switch is a pain, I’ve replace it on my machine, the replacment works very well

Details here, http://www.ebbo.org/autocom_ptt_mod.php

 

[GSrich]

Sorry GSrich i disagree

I opened mine... the components are not that big in the unit ( plus with surface mount technology they are getting made smaller all the time).. the boxes are mostly filled with nothing so i can't see why the suppression can't be incorporated in the main unit with a slight size increase.
The only reason i can see for not incorporating them in the unit is to sting us.. the end user for more dosh in the long run.

I think the units are quite expensive enough and then by the time you ad extra leads and connectors for phones you are up at quite a hefty sum.
To skimp on a pretty essential component or two that cost pence on a product package at nearly £200-300 is a bit of a con on Autocoms part.

I don't know many people who run an autocom system without attaching other divices... maybe not radios but music, gps and phone seem quite usual... at least on this site.

I can understand the basic bottom of the range autocom have those"add-ons" to keep the initial cost down and if they want to upgrade later they can with the extra parts... but your more top of the range items

Sort it out please

Well if we added the isolation blocks which we currently use on our splitters this would make our systems a lot large that was what I was meaning. Also you are forgetting which I have pointed out before NOT eveyone wants to run GPS or phone so why add the extra parts. The extra £29 to add the GPS parts makes more sense to me for the rider who needs it. So NOT a con at all thank you.

You might be getting you figures of this forum or from friends but you do not know what we and our dealers are actually fitting, yes bike to bike and GPS are on the increase but most of out fits are rider to pillion or single riders just wanting phone and music and then they are battery powered not bike powered items.

Expandability wise I am unsure on what you mean on this, all three of our main systems can run bike to bike, phone, music and GPS if needed so customers are not having to buy our Super Pro's all of the time!

So as for sorting things out I think after 15 years of business we know the basics.

 

[DoctorZippy]

So as for sorting things out I think after 15 years of business we know the basics.

So, in summary, this was a waste of a thread... no-one's listening

 

[terayon]

Being the thread originator, I didn't think it was wasted, there were some good suggestions on here, and that's what it was supposed to be suggestions and ideas.
If autocom had already tried these out and found faults so didn't put it into production then fine by me.

Apart from the suggestion on the bulkhead connector and the PPT which I do find mine a bit of a problem as not enough space on the handle bar, I like my Autocom the way it is. If I want something better I will spend the money on a Sonic system, but until then my money goes to autocom.

Thank you to all the contributors and to Rich for all the effort over the years

 

[Deleted account 220427002]

The extra £29 to add the GPS parts makes more sense to me for the rider who needs it. So NOT a con at all thank you.

As i said before i opened my splitter and the isolation block was not that big.. i'd say you could easily put it in a case the same size of some of your older units....
as for not a con...
£29 for an item that could be included in the main box for pence... not a con

So as for sorting things out I think after 15 years of business we know the basics.

From where i see it Autocom know the the way to basically sting the end user over and above what's necessary

I want to point out this is not a go at you.. but what i see is a unnecessary money making scam on Autocoms part.

I've bought 3 Autocoms... so i do think the product is good.... but by no means perfect...
Surely Autocom can make enough on consumable parts like leads, phone adaptors and headsets without the need to try and make more from the "extras" we need to buy just to make the unit function without interference in the first place.

Edit: i never noticed the thread was closed before i replied