intercom

[jacro]

any advice on a good intercom/bluetooth please.

 

[sockpuppet]

There is a whole communications sub forum on the site

 

[Rasher]

I really like my Autocom with god old fashioned wires, and would recommend Chainspeed for advice on comms gear

 

[hops]

Interphone f4, it's the future!

 

[Beemerman59]

Scala G4 works for me. Oh look, loads of different opinions. Always the way.

 

[Rasher]

Scala G4 works for me. Oh look, loads of different opinions. Always the way.

But I suspect they must all be at least adequate if people are recommending them.

Mods are easier to "judge" as owners can give an opinion of before and after, things like this are harder to compare, I have never used any of the other devices listed, got the autocom 5 years ago and found it amazing for several reasons:

1. Easy pillion communication even at well into 3 figures just makes life so much easier.
2. Listenable music up to 3 figures relieves motorway and congestion boredom and the right track(s) can really enhance a ride.

I have stuck with this thing and avoided the latest blue-tooth gadgets despite the slight inconvenience of the wires for a few reasons:

a. It is always on and never goes flat
b. I have audio cables running to where I plug in the Sat-nav, MP3 and Scamera detector so it takes seconds to plug in and ride off without trying to pair stuff up.
c. It performs very well, an autobahn "test" (yes real autobahn) allowed us to be heard at around 150, OK we had to shout into the mike, at 130 you could hold a conversation with raised voices.

If I did shorter runs I may get fed up of having to spend 3 seconds plugging in the cable each time I get on / off, but for ride-outs and touring (which is what i tend to do) it has proved top value.

 

[Oldrat]

I've no experience of other systems, but have had an expanding autocom system for four years now and its brillaint, particularly it's noise reduction system. When using the phone callers are suprised to find I'm on a bike.
Mines the 300 pro avi, and because its been superceded it can be picked up cheaply on fleabay.

I now run my iphone, Zumo, a seperate radio, and PMR. fantasic stereo sound with ultimate ears, meaning quality soft quiet music is doable on a bike.

Down side - it's a wired system. Thats it.

What ever you buy make sure you know where it'll fit on your bike first. Oh and consider a fuzeblock or similar for switched wiring.


other auction sites are available

 

[ianran]

Ive had auto com and Starcom and for me the Starcom was much better, use it for music, sat nav and the occasional phone. Best finger tip control is one of the old Apple shuffles with the controls on the front of the player velcroed into hand-guard. Finger tip volume and play control for peanuts!

Mind a good system is ruined if you have a noisy helmet, lousy speakers or dodgy earphones!!

 

[running biker]

have autocom but finding it's a pain in the arse , you have to have the mic's almost in your mouth or it doesn't pick up prop, music goes up and down constantly on motorway and phone sounds like your underwater

 

[Martyn H]

have autocom but finding it's a pain in the arse , you have to have the mic's almost in your mouth or it doesn't pick up prop, music goes up and down constantly on motorway and phone sounds like your underwater

The mike is designed to only pick up over a short distance; otherwise, it would pick up all the background noise.

 

[running biker]

had cardo 10 times better mic,the autocom will drive you mad,and you have to adjust it every time you put lid on

 

[Rasher]

had cardo 10 times better mic,the autocom will drive you mad,and you have to adjust it every time you put lid on

Had mine on same settings for two bikes and 3 years, with the GS I could lower the vox setting as I get less wind-noise than I did with sportsbikes.

Music at motorways speeds always good, done 3 Euro-tours and numerous shorter runs and never had any issue with the kit.

About to upgrade to latest Autocom kit in a few weeks time, gonna get new mic covers and rider cable for mine (About £30) to bring it back to tip top condition and put it on E-bay, expect to get well over £100 for it.

Try getting spares for the competition to four years after purchase.

Good stuff that holds its value IMHO

 

[Oldrat]

X2
perfect stereo sound from both the zumo music and phone.

 

[wilbjr21]

Wires are the future. Bluetooth is a gimmick. Fact.

 

[NLC]

Comms is a dark art. I use a Starcom. Took a while to get it to work. Connections are very fragile only complaint.

 

[oldnfat]

Interphone F4 is great for pillion, satnav, phone and bike to bike up to a decent speed and using earphones. Music is not great from my zumo 550 although my pal seems to get good quality sound.

Very easy to fit and use...would recomend it. Good write up on webbike world.

 

[CrashOverride]

I've had a starcom digital for just over 2 years, it's probably the best mod we've made and streets ahead of the autocom we had previously.
The starcom works out of the box and has huge control over every aspect of the sound (auto volume, mic sensitivity, sidetone etc ) yes the headset connectors look fragile compared to the massive autocom ones but we've never damaged them in 17'000 miles use. Starcom customer service is also fantastic, they even repaired mine free of charge outside of warranty after I broke it through stupidity

just my 2 pence worth

James