Autocom vox issues

[Posh Pete]

Have an Autocom L1 2009 set up with a Kenwood radio. Having a lot of problems with the vox set up as is my biking partner. Anyone got any suggestions for a fix? Also wondering if it would be easier to fit PTT buttons. Is this possible and how?

 

[Canuck]

Ring chainspeed and they'll sort you out.

 

[andyclift]

VOX is crap on a bike. Set too low and you shout to get VOX to open and always have to remember to say something unimportant as the receiving radio will only get part of it. Pause too long for breath and VOX closes again. Set to high and one radio will stay on transmit and the user will probably not notice until he realised nobody is talking to him.

Get a PTT switch. The Autocom one has three position options via a toggle switch. 1 - Push to talk, 2 - lock on transmit, 3 - VOX. My wife and I have used them for a couple of years for European tours and they work great. Normally they are on PTT but if a long transmission is needed, especially in traffic where left hand is working clutch, it's easy to flick over to transmit lock. Occasionally they got moved to transmit lock by accident but now we have the radios on the handlebars and hey have red LEDs when transmitting (Alan HP450 which is IPX7 waterproof) this is not an issue.

They are intended to cable tie under the left grip which is great on my wife's CS with little hands and a wide grip. My GSA grip is a lot narrower and there is no room for it with my big hands so I use it on top of the bar between mirror stalk and clutch reservoir. A little fiddly but no real problem. As the switch has a drain hole on the bottom (now top) I drilled a new hole and stuck a bit of silicone seal in the original one.

PS

Just bought some new Autocom cables from Chainspeed - yes they are very helpful

 

[russ996duke]

Have an Autocom L1 2009 set up with a Kenwood radio. Having a lot of problems with the vox set up as is my biking partner. Anyone got any suggestions for a fix? Also wondering if it would be easier to fit PTT buttons. Is this possible and how?

had similar sounding issues when we started, but a lot of it was down to getting used to the slight delay between transmit and receive, and vox levels were secondary issue but easier to fix once "radio discipline issue sorted!

a bit more info on the problems you are having will help,
is it setting the vox level (ie vox either cutting in when you dont want to transmit or not cutting when you want it to?)
is it using the radio between the 2 bikes, ie radio discipline?

best way to start may be to use one radio hand held and get the thing set up ok on one bike then do the other..

 

[GSrich]

The VOX is very good on the systems but you need to get your head around how it works. I never had any issues but by fitting a PTT its then idiot proof as you press a button when you want to talk and release when finished. The PTT still allows for the VOX to be sued as well if required but we found most kept on the PTT option

Rich

 

[andyclift]

you need to get your head around how it works

Agreed but that is the problem. Vox needs to "hear" something in order to switch in. It then needs to hold for a while after speech to check whether there is any more speech. The result is that unless one has a very stilted and artificial communication it does not work.

Its bad enough trying to do this at work without VOX where "professionals" are expected to use clear messaging ending in "over" but I stand no chance of getting my wife to start every call with a call sign and finish with "over" and wait for the VOX to cut out. The result is missing the sometimes important first word either because her VOX has not cut in or I am still transmitting although I have stopped talking. I want to spend my holiday having conversations with my wife, not being back at work starting everything with "Sarah, Sarah, Andy receiving over"

Simple answer. Fit a PTT.

 

[Nobby]

Right.so if fit a ptt button when i fit my radio.does the vox still work when talking to the wife on the back.so ptt for bike to bike and vox for her on back? this is what is confusing for me. and i need to buy what exactly.super pro unit

 

[andyclift]

All the VOX on the Autocom does is "open" your mic to the system. The PTT for the bike to bike is a separate system. So the answer is yes. Speak loud enough to open the Autocom VOX and the pillion system will hear you. Press the PTT and the pillion AND bike to bike will hear you.

 

[Nobby]

 

[Big Bird]

Have an Autocom L1 2009 set up with a Kenwood radio. Having a lot of problems with the vox set up as is my biking partner. Anyone got any suggestions for a fix? Also wondering if it would be easier to fit PTT buttons. Is this possible and how?

I have the L1 with the PTT it works perfectly (as long as you mic is positioned correctly)

 

[Posh Pete]

VOX issues solved but ...

we now have a fair bit of crackle when operation the PTT. Speech is still audible at lower speeds anyway but the crackle is a pain. Electrical interference form the PTT passing near the alternator etc?

Any suggestions?

 

[Canuck]

This or similar

 

[alistairl]

we now have a fair bit of crackle when operation the PTT. Speech is still audible at lower speeds anyway but the crackle is a pain. Electrical interference form the PTT passing near the alternator etc?

Any suggestions?

Most of the time I get crackle is when I have a bit of water in the connectors.

Does it crackle when the engine isn't running ?

 

[andyclift]

My Autocom is in the tool tray and all leads (PTT, radio, rider helmet and satnav) run under left side of tank on GSA. Radio and PTT are mounted on left bar. Totally clean sound all the time so if your set up is similar the wet or dodgy connection suggestion may be the problem.

Had same set up on my GS and again, no noise.

 

[Greg Masters]

As has been suggested, PTT is NOT the answer to your VOX issues - you will still need to get the VOX setting right.

• Make sure that your microphones are the right way around!
• Ensure that they are positioned correctly - they should be just about touching the centre of your upper lip
• Don't forget that the VOX doesn't open for about half-a-second after you say something and closes again after about another half-a-second. Get used to opening the VOX (I blow into the mic) and then speak clearly in one steady stream of words.
• Turn the VOX to a low setting and tweak it up bit by bit until you can hear the sidetone.
• Then try it on the road and make micro adjustments - the adjuster is VERY sensitive
• Don't do any more adjustments!

Job done

Greg

 

[alistairl]

It's funny, but the instructions they gave didn't make sense until I actually applied them.

As the previous post says, position the microhone correctly, and there is always a delay.

Two points I found helpful were to set the level for my voice as if I was talking across a room to someone, like giving a presentation at work to a room. And adding "ok" to the beginning of every sentence to get the vox activated.