Using the SP 26xx Remote Control on a Motorcycle

PanEuropean · Apr 17, 2004

It's pretty easy, really - just go to Home Depot or a similar 'big box' home improvement store, and buy Industrial Grade Velcro™ hook and loop fastener. Put the hook portion on the top of your clutch reservior (or similar convenient location), and then put the loop portion on the back of your remote control (be sure to put a set of fresh batteries in first).

The industrial grade Velcro™ sticks like shit on a blanket, there is no way the remote is going to come loose, no matter what you ride through or what kind of animal you hit. I did 500 miles today, at speeds up to 90 mph, the remote didn't even budge. I even had difficulty pulling it off the clutch reservior when a cop stopped me during the high speed testing, and I tried to strike up a distracting conversation...

Overall, this installation works quite well, although if there was really, really bright sunlight hitting directly on the infrared receiver of the GPSR, I had to wiggle the remote a bit. Maybe sunlight dilutes the infrared signal? Maybe sunlight contains some unwanted infrared light? Who knows.

It seems (after only one day of testing) that the infrared receiver on the GPSR will pick up the signal from the remote even if it is up to 15° behind (towards the rear) of the infrared receiver, however, common sense suggests it would be best to mount the remote so that it is aimed either dead on the side of the GPSR, or so that the beam hits the GPSR from the front.

The remote is (reportedly) not waterproof, this means that when it is raining, I am going to have to put some Saran wrap around the whole thing (handlebar and remote). Or maybe remove it and put it in my pocket until the rain stops. Or maybe just leave it in place and discover if it is semi-waterproof or not.

I'll let you know how the long term testing goes. Total investment so far, about USD $6 for the Velcro™.

PanEuropean

The "Honda Navigator™", or "CheapSkatePilot™" (I haven't decided what to call it yet)

PanEuropean · Apr 17, 2004

Another top-secret photo of this amazing technology
NB: if you use this idea you are obligated to buy me a coffee if I ever pass through your town and see you riding around with it installed.

MiGSel · Apr 17, 2004

Hi Michael,

I am using a similar solution. A bit of metal on the back of the remote and a RAM mount. On the round RAM plate, I have put some strong magnets from old hard disks and a bit of rubber on top of the magnets. The remote sticks to the magnets really well.

There's a "safety line" attached, so it can never take off and if it rains, I put the remote in my tank bag. Can be done while riding.

But you can still have that coffee if you pass through Zonhoven in Belgium

Cheers,
Michel

PanEuropean · Apr 17, 2004

Hi Michel:

Nice idea with the magnet. I am just in the process of shipping my moto to Europe this weekend (dropped it off at the air freight terminal in Montreal yesterday), so perhaps we might get a chance to have that coffee sometime this summer.

Belgium is one of my favourite countries for riding in Europe. I especially like the West Flanders area (for history, and very nice people) and the south part of Wallonia, for beautiful riding. I have not toured through your region before, so, now I have a motivation to visit.

Hopefully we can connect sometime later this summer.

Michael

K2R · Apr 19, 2004

Another alternative

Here is a setup I'm going to try. I attached the remote to the side of the BMW tank bag with 2 cable ties.

Remote1

Remote2

I have NOT tried it on the road yet. I have learned (in 4k trip miles) that the touch screen works quite well most of the time but I believe the remote will work better and faster (on first try) on some selections. It has a nice feel and I believe its secure enough. Reception is very good. Its not shown but I tried it with a glove as well. Naturally I will have to deal with rain.

I may try to put the remote in some type of cradle and attaching the cradle. I'm going to figure out something.

Fanum · Apr 19, 2004

Silly question but I presume it's a standard infra-red remote control jobby??

Wouldn't a cheapo remote control replacement be sensible for use on-bike?? (one of the learning ones that you 'teach' the commands to?)

They're only a about a tenner and it wouldn't matter f it got soaked too much then...or people could experiment with silicone sealent or something without worrying about it??

MikeO · Apr 20, 2004

Okay, so I went to Home Depot & bought the Industrial Grade Velcro. Stuck it to the bottom of the remote (incidentally, I just stuck it to the bottom of the battery door - how're you going to switch batteries on yours? :confused:

) - then found out there was nowhere I could mount it on the bike where it could act on the Nav II (which is mounted on one of MiGSel's 'Speedo' mounts).

Bugger.

Mike

Actually, I'm not sure I'd use the remote anyway - with the 4 extra buttons, it seems quite easy to use - a few days use 'in anger' should reveal the truth... :eyebrow

K2R · Apr 20, 2004

Here is another try. I made a small aluminum bracket and pop-riveted it to my tank bag. The remote is held with Velcro. (The holes were already in the bracket). One could use cable ties if worried about it falling off.

PanEuropean · Apr 20, 2004

I did another 500 miles today - it worked very well, no problems of any kind.

As you can see, I have the remote mounted so that it is aimed directly at the IR receiver on the GPSR, and there is not much of a gap between the two. I have no idea how sensitive the receiver is, or how powerful the remote is, so I figured I'd put it as close as I could. In any case, I like having it up on the handlebar, because I don't have to move my hand too far from where it normally is, and I don't have to take my eyes so far off the road.

I guess we'll just have to experiment, as a group, to determine how far away the thing can be, and how precise we need to be with our aim.

Mike O. - I'm not concerned about battery life, my guess is that a decent set of name-brand batteries will probably last 5 to 10 years, considering how little duty time the thing accrues. When was the last time you changed batteries in a TV remote? I changed mine last year, and they had a "best before 1998" label on them.

PanEuropean

Sideways view

PanEuropean · Apr 20, 2004

Another perspective:

K2R · Apr 29, 2004

remote quits working

My remote setup (see picture in previous post) just stops working after I get underway. It seems to be speed related, that is, once I get up to a speed, it no longer works. I thought it might be line-of-sight related but am almost sure that isn it. I wonder if it has something to do with vibration. I don't know anything about infrared so I don't have any idea what it could be. Any ideas?

MikeO · Apr 30, 2004

Speed related...

...not going faster than the Speed of Infra-Red, are you?

Mike

TheJoker · Apr 30, 2004

Re: remote quits working

K2R said:
My remote setup (see picture in previous post) just stops working after I get underway. It seems to be speed related, that is, once I get up to a speed, it no longer works. I thought it might be line-of-sight related but am almost sure that isn it. I wonder if it has something to do with vibration. I don't know anything about infrared so I don't have any idea what it could be. Any ideas?

One possibility is that due to that infrared is "just another type of light" it means that it can be reflected from one surface to another. AFAIK it'll reflect best from white. You weren't near a white wall or car when you tested it in low speeds (you didn't mention if it was stand-still or moving or moving at a particular speed)?

Placing a little white plastic piece angled 45 degrees over the IR-eye on the receiver might help reflect the IR onto the eye.
Another thing to try would be to use optical cable, just stick it onto the IR transmitter on the remote and route it onto the IR-eye. But this kind of means you've got a wired remote, rather than a wireless remote.

PanEuropean · Apr 30, 2004

My bet is that it is wind interference - excess wind coming up from the area around the front forks is blowing the little infrared rays away from the GPSR before they can reach it. For sure. Put one of the cores from a roll of paper towels around the end of the remote, to shelter the rays.

Seriously, though... Mine works pretty well at all speeds, but I have noticed that when riding at highway speeds, I don't always push the button down far enough, even though I think I have done so. Perhaps try fractionally relocating the remote so you have the ability to give the button a firm push, without the remote yielding (moving on its mounting surface) to the finger pressure. If space allows you to mount it just above what looks like a PIAA light switch on your left handlebar, try it there.

Also - you really don't have the remote and the receiver lined up in parallel - looks like there is about a 60° angle between the two - that might diminish the reception a bit.

I doubt that the infra-red signal is getting any interference from sunlight, white objects, etc. - otherwise, everyone would be buying white cars, to dodge the radar cameras with their infra-red flashes. (Hmmm... maybe that explains why my zoom level changes every time I ride by a GATSO - must be the flash going off...)

PanEuropean

K2R · Apr 30, 2004

When not moving I've tested it in my garage, on/off the centerstand, at stoplights, couple of times beside the road. I can put the handlebars in almost any position and it works in all cases. I can press the zoom buttons continuously so its not a battery or capacitor discharge problem.

Once underway, and I can't tell you the speed, it goes dead. My guess would be some electrical interference as that would appear to be the only difference.

gazza · Apr 30, 2004

Asked this before but can't remember where; why do you need the remote control ? If I take my nav 2 out of the cradle and use it in the car just sat on my dash I can still perform every function offered by the GPSR without the remote. What am I missing ??

TheJoker · Apr 30, 2004

PanEuropean said:
I doubt that the infra-red signal is getting any interference from sunlight, white objects, etc. - otherwise, everyone would be buying white cars, to dodge the radar cameras with their infra-red flashes. (Hmmm... maybe that explains why my zoom level changes every time I ride by a GATSO - must be the flash going off...)

If this is a reply to my previous post, then I must clarify a bit.

It's not about interference, it's about reflections. Shine a flashlight on a dark wall, and you won't see much light, shine it on a white wall and it'll light up the room.
I'm not very educated in what the speed cameras use.
But, to measure speed they either use radar signals or laser light.
To take a picture there's many options - one problem is that if it's a forward facing camera (takes pics of the front of the car/bike), it's not allowed to blind the driver/rider (that would cause an accident). In this case they can use a combination of flash/film that would reduce the blinding effect.
If it would be infra red light - we would not see anything.

As infra red light is "just another light" it can of course be directed with mirrors and prisms, but to some effect, light coloured areas also reflect light. Not interfere.

To get an idea - get your TV remote control and run around the room poiting it at different objects and see what works and what doesn't.

Also, as it's light, wind or electricity should not interfere with it at all (you don't see your headlight bend at higher speeds do you - If you do, you'd be a millionair telling NASA how to travel close to the speed of light

)

K2R · Apr 30, 2004

gazza

The 2610 has a touchscreen. Sometimes its easier to just push a button so I mounted the remote on the side of my tankbag taking a que from PanEuropean's post. The idea is good but my implementation isn't working in practice.

Joker and PanEuropean

I haven't given up as it has me curious. I like the way it works (when it does). The reach while not close to the handlebar is very natural and just like you would handle a remote for a TV. As for a firm button press, that's not a problem as I am grasping the remote front to back.

As for 60 deg, that might be a factor as speed increases but not at rest.

PanEuropean · Apr 30, 2004

Hi Gazza:

It's nice to have the zoom in / zoom out controls available with one button press; also, the QUIT button on the remote works as if it was a PAGE button in reverse. Other than that, I don't find much use for the remote on the moto - I certainly don't use the ROUTE, FIND, etc. buttons on the remote, because they already exist on the SP 26xx itself.

I've just started testing a new model GPSR on the moto, it has ZOOM in and out buttons on it (like the SP III had), it is nice to have them back on the body of the GPSR, that is for sure.

PanEuropean

...and no, it's not a SP 26xx replacement or follow-on...

gazza · Apr 30, 2004

Yes I can see that the zoom buttons are better on the cradle / remote than using the touch screen. Ok, sort of answers my question, the NAV 2 is probably the best GPS I have ever owned. The RISC processor has completely altered the way and speed it works.
Found that recalc times on the SP3 were sometimes a little long but apart from that the SP3 worked fine. One tiny problem with the 2610/Nav 2 is rain on the screen. Try and wipe it off and the map follows your fingers. Good fun though.

Using the SP 26xx Remote Control on a Motorcycle

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