Reading this - and hoping to buy a 200 or 300 this week...
Has anyone (and I have searched) put together an idiots guide of how to set this all up?
i.e. a pic by pic version for a fool?
I have a **deep breath** K1200S (I know - I have lurked on here for ages - but joined the dark side) and want get it all set up before a big euro trip...
I will even buy a new phone if need be...
Kit
Zumo 550
HTC Diamond Touch Pro (sometimes use TomTom on this)
No iPod yet
Kenwood TK 3201
It's very easy.
The hub of the whole affair is the Autocom box itself. There is nothing magical about it. Just think of it as a kind of mixer that enables you to listen to sound (Voice instructions from a GPS, music from an Ipod, voice driver-to-pillion, voice bike-to-bike via a radio and voice via phone) without too much input from yourself.
The Autocom box needs power to work. Some can be powered by an internal battery and / or by power from the bike itself. If you chose just the interal battery it's just a question of lobbing the Autocom box into a tankbag, then joining up the GPS, Ipod, and bike-to-bike radio via the leads Autocom can supply you with. The only real care you need to take is to plug the right audio lead into the right socket on the Autocom box itself. This is easy enough as Autocom label each socket and the inbox instructions tell you which socket to use for each type of add-on device.
If you want to power the Autocom box and bike-to-bike radio from the motorbike, it's reasonably easy, too. Again, Autocom will supply all the leads you need to do the job. It is also easy to get power, safely. Some people wire the devices direct to the battery (via a suitable fuse). This works but means the Autocom and radio are permanently live and may well flatten your battery. So, to avoid this disaster, you need to source your power via a feed that turns on and off with the ignition, just like the lights.
This is easy, too. You have several choices. You can simply plug it all into one of the bike's (I assume you have a BuMW) auxiliary power sockets. This is OK but means you cannot use the socket for anything else. Or you can tap into the power that flows to other items on the bike that are powered when the ignition is turned on. Examples would be: The driving light (not the main beam, as that only works when you turn it on), the rear light (that is always on but don't use the brake light as that is only powered on when you engage the brakes), the diagnostic wire or perhaps easiest of all, the wire that powers the auxiliary socket. There is a thread, with links, on how to do this in the 1200 section. If you do not have a 1200 - or another bike with the Canbus system - it does not matter. The method is exactly the same, except you MUST remember to put a suitable fuse between the power source, the Autocom box and probably your bike-to-bike radio, too. There are lots of threads, many very good, with pictures on how to install everything on lots of different bikes on UKGSer and elsewhere on the web. A Google search and a bit of patient imaginative searching will turn them up.
That has dealt with the Autocom box. Now the speakers and microphone. Again, full instructions come in the box. The only things to take care of are:
The positioning of the speakers, relative to your ears and the microphone relative to your mouth. But all of this is explained in the instructions in the box.
The system will play sound 'in' (voice from GPS and an Ipod, for instance) with no input from you. But, as you want to play sound 'out' (to a pillion, or via a bike-to-bike radio) you need to turn the Autocom box's transmit facility on. This can be done one of two ways:
(1) Via blowing sharply into the microphone, 'pffff'. A bit like whistling without the whistle, if you see what I mean. This will open the transmit circuit. Then talk clearly and reasonably slowly and it will work. It takes a little bit of practice to get it right. But, once learned, it's never forgotten... just like riding a bicycle.
(2) Via a Push-to-talk (PTT) button. Again, this is available from Autocom, with full instructions. In essence, it is a thumb operated switch that you push to talk (hence its name). It is best to mount the switch where you can operate it with your left thumb. Again, all the instructions are available in the box.
The system is, to some degree or another, sensitive to wind noise. It can mistake wind noise as 'pfff' from your lips, opening up the system to transmit mode. This is where the VOX system comes in. It acts as an electronic damper, reducing (or increasing) the sensitivity via a knob on the Autocom box. Just use a little patience and read the instructions to set it up. All will be well.
