NewsMag
12-20-2004, 04:48 PM
Some folks on other lists have complained about the Starcom, with such complaints being similar to issues I've seen on the ST11 email list about Autocom. Of course, when you pay as much as Autocom requires, you can't complain - only have issues.
Here's the hardware that I have:
Starcom1 unit
Rider headset (open face) mounted in Nolan N100E and coiled cord
Pillion headset (open face) mounted in Nolan N100E and coiled cord
Extension cord for pillion (PS2 keyboard 6' cord from Radio Shack)
XM Roady with Starcom $30 cable (ripoff - it's a standard mini 3.5mm stereo male to male extension cable)
XM Roady power supply from 2WheelInnnovations (very nice)
Escort Passport X50 with Starcom $30 cable (not a ripoff, as unit would not work with the cheap cables I had)
Intercom isolation box from Escort (apparently the Passport audio output is a weak link in their technology)
3.5mm Y connector from Radio Shack to mate cell and radar detector inputs
Motorola V60 Cell with $30 Starcom cable (probably a ripoff - stereo male 3.5mm mini to stereo male 2.5mm mini)
Bottom line - it works perfectly, as advertised.
BUT - you can get engine noise and ground loop problems. I think the 2WI power for the Roady eliminated this problem for me completely, combined with the fact I used the same power and ground circuit (the Honda acc plug) for both units.
BUT - the settings for intercom volume, VOX, and inputs are quite fiddly, and it took several hours in many conditions to get them right.
BUT - the intercom is ON 100% of the time - it is not VOX operated. Therefore the rider hears the passenger's wind noise and vice versa. All the VOX does is mute the music input. Once activated, the VOX delays for 5 seconds before restoring music input - this is not adjustible. VOX adjustment only is for the sensitivity of when the muting function kicks in.
BUT - the radar detector will kill music input for 5 seconds for even one lonely beep.
Despite all the buts, I spent about 5 hours with my (very lovely and incredibly patient) pillion, testing all the settings and stopping and adjusting things over and over. It now functions perfectly and IT ROCKS! The magic setting for us was to decrease the volume of the intercom and max out the volume of the input devices. Then fiddle with VOX so you could activate it when speaking but not with just wind noise. And we had some killer winds to work with.
Other "features"
The system is ABSOLUTELY NOT noise-cancelling, but it does have a noise-COMPENSATING feature - when the input of background noise from the mike increases or decreases, the system increases/decreases the output volume into the headphones. This makes the music and intercom work perfectly from standstill into triple digits, as I found in active testing.
Passenger hears only the "echo" of the radar detector or phone outputs through the intercom from the riders mike. She knows that I'm talking on the phone, and it was sensitive enough for her to pick up whether it was my father or brother talking back. They could not hear her at all. She and I could hear each other perfectly all the time.
VOX mutes music only - intercom always on - so sometimes you are talking over the music unless the VOX kicks in. Could still hear each other perfectly.
Battery power is a waste of time - you get about 30 minutes of power from a new alkaline 9v cell. If you are lucky.
Adding some frustration to my adjustment-making, I opted vor a very clean but somewhat inaccessible install of the unit on the OUTSIDE forward side of the left fairing pocket. I'm now highly skilled at R&R of the left innner fairing shroud. But having spent the time to dial it in, I don't expect to ever mess with it again. Got it down to moving 1/16th of a turn on VOX to get it perfect.
Bottom line, it's about ONE BILLION times better and higher quality than the 10 year old J&M I had on the ST1100 (even when it was new) at a lower price. And you don't have to deal with John Lazzeroni (the J in J&M). (I'm not a fan of J&M products or the owner of the company.)
One more plus: the Mini-Din connectors from Starcom are common. The 6 pin Mini-din is equivalent to a PS/2 mouse connector. The 4 pin Mini-din is equivalent to an S-VHS cable.
I have both an Escort Passport X50 and a Motorola cell phone feeding the Starcom phone jack. They are priority-override inputs, meaning that they cut the sound (music - XM radio) feed when any input is made. This works OK on the radar detector, unless you are in a signal-rich environment. Then the RD mutes the audio for 3-5 seconds for every beep. Since the X50 gives far fewer falses than the old BEL, and it has a convenient remote mute button, it has not been as big a hassle as I'd feared. It did, in fact, save me a ticket after a local deliberately sprayed me with rocks by flooring his pickup when I was stopped behind him on a side street. I was going to pass him at warp speed to chastise him a bit when the RD kicked in and warned of the county sheriff hiding in his favorite bush down the road.
The cell phone works great for outgoing calls. For incoming, it is a Motorola feature that the ring tones do not transmit into the earphones. So the calling party hears two or three rings and then some wind noise. I hear nothing at all until they say, "Hello? Anybody there?" and the override kicks in.
I asked Starcom if they had anything that fed into the output side of the system like the J&M unit (which I am currently advertising for sale). They said they did not, and that Brits preferred the priority override to losing their licence. But they were kind enough to provide the pinout should I wish to build my own. Hasn't been enough of a hassle to make the mod, yet.
Attached is a diagram I got from Starcom for pinout layouts on everything.
Here's the hardware that I have:
Starcom1 unit
Rider headset (open face) mounted in Nolan N100E and coiled cord
Pillion headset (open face) mounted in Nolan N100E and coiled cord
Extension cord for pillion (PS2 keyboard 6' cord from Radio Shack)
XM Roady with Starcom $30 cable (ripoff - it's a standard mini 3.5mm stereo male to male extension cable)
XM Roady power supply from 2WheelInnnovations (very nice)
Escort Passport X50 with Starcom $30 cable (not a ripoff, as unit would not work with the cheap cables I had)
Intercom isolation box from Escort (apparently the Passport audio output is a weak link in their technology)
3.5mm Y connector from Radio Shack to mate cell and radar detector inputs
Motorola V60 Cell with $30 Starcom cable (probably a ripoff - stereo male 3.5mm mini to stereo male 2.5mm mini)
Bottom line - it works perfectly, as advertised.
BUT - you can get engine noise and ground loop problems. I think the 2WI power for the Roady eliminated this problem for me completely, combined with the fact I used the same power and ground circuit (the Honda acc plug) for both units.
BUT - the settings for intercom volume, VOX, and inputs are quite fiddly, and it took several hours in many conditions to get them right.
BUT - the intercom is ON 100% of the time - it is not VOX operated. Therefore the rider hears the passenger's wind noise and vice versa. All the VOX does is mute the music input. Once activated, the VOX delays for 5 seconds before restoring music input - this is not adjustible. VOX adjustment only is for the sensitivity of when the muting function kicks in.
BUT - the radar detector will kill music input for 5 seconds for even one lonely beep.
Despite all the buts, I spent about 5 hours with my (very lovely and incredibly patient) pillion, testing all the settings and stopping and adjusting things over and over. It now functions perfectly and IT ROCKS! The magic setting for us was to decrease the volume of the intercom and max out the volume of the input devices. Then fiddle with VOX so you could activate it when speaking but not with just wind noise. And we had some killer winds to work with.
Other "features"
The system is ABSOLUTELY NOT noise-cancelling, but it does have a noise-COMPENSATING feature - when the input of background noise from the mike increases or decreases, the system increases/decreases the output volume into the headphones. This makes the music and intercom work perfectly from standstill into triple digits, as I found in active testing.
Passenger hears only the "echo" of the radar detector or phone outputs through the intercom from the riders mike. She knows that I'm talking on the phone, and it was sensitive enough for her to pick up whether it was my father or brother talking back. They could not hear her at all. She and I could hear each other perfectly all the time.
VOX mutes music only - intercom always on - so sometimes you are talking over the music unless the VOX kicks in. Could still hear each other perfectly.
Battery power is a waste of time - you get about 30 minutes of power from a new alkaline 9v cell. If you are lucky.
Adding some frustration to my adjustment-making, I opted vor a very clean but somewhat inaccessible install of the unit on the OUTSIDE forward side of the left fairing pocket. I'm now highly skilled at R&R of the left innner fairing shroud. But having spent the time to dial it in, I don't expect to ever mess with it again. Got it down to moving 1/16th of a turn on VOX to get it perfect.
Bottom line, it's about ONE BILLION times better and higher quality than the 10 year old J&M I had on the ST1100 (even when it was new) at a lower price. And you don't have to deal with John Lazzeroni (the J in J&M). (I'm not a fan of J&M products or the owner of the company.)
One more plus: the Mini-Din connectors from Starcom are common. The 6 pin Mini-din is equivalent to a PS/2 mouse connector. The 4 pin Mini-din is equivalent to an S-VHS cable.
I have both an Escort Passport X50 and a Motorola cell phone feeding the Starcom phone jack. They are priority-override inputs, meaning that they cut the sound (music - XM radio) feed when any input is made. This works OK on the radar detector, unless you are in a signal-rich environment. Then the RD mutes the audio for 3-5 seconds for every beep. Since the X50 gives far fewer falses than the old BEL, and it has a convenient remote mute button, it has not been as big a hassle as I'd feared. It did, in fact, save me a ticket after a local deliberately sprayed me with rocks by flooring his pickup when I was stopped behind him on a side street. I was going to pass him at warp speed to chastise him a bit when the RD kicked in and warned of the county sheriff hiding in his favorite bush down the road.
The cell phone works great for outgoing calls. For incoming, it is a Motorola feature that the ring tones do not transmit into the earphones. So the calling party hears two or three rings and then some wind noise. I hear nothing at all until they say, "Hello? Anybody there?" and the override kicks in.
I asked Starcom if they had anything that fed into the output side of the system like the J&M unit (which I am currently advertising for sale). They said they did not, and that Brits preferred the priority override to losing their licence. But they were kind enough to provide the pinout should I wish to build my own. Hasn't been enough of a hassle to make the mod, yet.
Attached is a diagram I got from Starcom for pinout layouts on everything.