Autocom in left fairing pocket?

[MLRickards]

I've seen threads in the past that have touched on this topic, but wanted to see if anyone out there currently has their Autocom mounted in the left fairing pocket on an ST1300.

I have it under the seat now, but that eliminates the ability to easily make any adjustments to the audio levels. Having to take the seat off each time is not convenient.

Also, with all the farkles going into the Autocom being located in the front of the bike, having the AC there would eliminate a lot of wires traveling back to the rear of the bike.

The only concerns I've ever heard mentioned focused on the heat factor. I'd want to be comfortable that the combination of a Texas July and the ST's ability to warm up the fairing pockets a tad isn't going to fry this expensive little electronic box.

Love to hear from anyone who's done it. Even better if there are pics!

 

[SupraSabre]

I have mine mounted in my Tankbag connected to a 12V power outlet in my dash. Works fine, but I'm thinking of moving to under the seat. I also have a Blue Sea fuse block under my seat to power my air horn and driving lights.

 

[Jeff F]

I mounted mine under the seat because I was concerned about the same thing - heat.

Since then I've drilled out my lower cowls with a 1 1/2 inch hole bit - 2 in each. The heat in the pockets is much lower. The Autocom could go in there now IMO. Drilling the cowls is easy and with a little bit of care it looks pro.

 

[MLRickards]

Since then I've drilled out my lower cowls with a 1 1/2 inch hole bit - 2 in each. The heat in the pockets is much lower. The Autocom could go in there now IMO. Drilling the cowls is easy and with a little bit of care it looks pro.

Do you have pics of the lower cowls with the holes?

 

[MLRickards]

I know someone that was at the bfast meet on Saturday that had theirs mounted in the right fairing pocket...

I know of someone who was at the breakfast who has an MIT-100 mounted in the right fairing pocket

 

[Marshal_Mercer]

Mark:

Your best bet, IMHO, is to buy and install an Amplirider http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider.html. That way you can have the Autocom or other amplifier/comm system stashed under the seat and still have the volume control up front where you can get to it while riding. Be sure to tell Gary that you want the 6.5 foot (or longer) cable.

Marshal

 

[MLRickards]

Mark:

Your best bet, IMHO, is to buy and install an Amplirider http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider.html. That way you can have the Autocom or other amplifier/comm system stashed under the seat and still have the volume control up front where you can get to it while riding. Be sure to tell Gary that you want the 6.5 foot (or longer) cable.

Marshal

This is going to be a "doh!" moment when you give me the answer, but how would the amplirider get connected to the Autocom in a way that would control the volume?

 

[Marshal_Mercer]

The amplirider is a small amplifier. Gary, the engineer of the amplirider, has incorporated a remote volume control for the amplifier which you can locate where ever is most convenient for you to operate. In this way, you do not have to access the unit constantly or fiddle with adjustments on all the devices you have connected through the amplirider. So you adjust your Autocom and the volume of the devices connected to the amplirider so that you have all the levels where you want them. Go ride. If they need to be louder, turn up the remote volume control you mounted in a convenient location.

Just turn them all up or down from a single location.

+1 on that, and +1 on the Amplirider.

Marshal

 

[MLRickards]

I'll be more specific...if the devices are all plugged into the Autocom, how does the amplirider get connect to the Autocom to be able to control the volume? The only outputs from the Autocom are the leads going to the helmets.

Or, am I thinking about it backwards. Do the devices go into the amplirider and the amplirider connects to the autocom?

 

[ChipSTer]

...The only concerns I've ever heard mentioned focused on the heat factor. I'd want to be comfortable that the combination of a Texas July and the ST's ability to warm up the fairing pockets a tad isn't going to fry this expensive little electronic box...

I put my autocom in the right fairing pocket. But not before I took the fairing off and insulated it... Dropped the temp inside the pocket a good 15 degrees.... It has been in there approximately 18 months and still going as good as it was when I bought it (used)...

 

[MLRickards]

I put my autocom in the right fairing pocket. But not before I took the fairing off and insulated it... Dropped the temp inside the pocket a good 15 degrees.... It has been in there approximately 18 months and still going as good as it was when I bought it (used)...

The main driver for me looking at the left side pocket is the lock. I'm a little paranoid about having a $400 little box so unprotected. Obviously, you haven't had any problems of that sort.

If I move it, I do plan on putting the insulation on to help cut the heat down a little.

 

[Marshal_Mercer]

I'll be more specific...if the devices are all plugged into the Autocom, how does the amplirider get connect to the Autocom to be able to control the volume? The only outputs from the Autocom are the leads going to the helmets.

Or, am I thinking about it backwards. Do the devices go into the amplirider and the amplirider connects to the autocom?

Mark:

Think about two boxes. One is the Autocom. The other is the Amplirider. Both boxes are amplifiers, and both have audio-in and audio-out ports.

Start with the Amplirider. There are three audio-in ports and one audio-out port. Using a male-both ends 3.5mm audio cable, plug one end of the cable into an XM radio, MP3 player, GPS, or the like. Plug the other end of the cable into one of the Amplirider's audio-in ports. Repeat for up to two other devices. NOTE: one can "daisy-chain" Ampliriders together to overcome the three audio device limit. Now, take another male-both ends audio cable and plug it into the Amplirider's audio-out port. Plug the other end of the cable into the Autocom's MUSIC or ACCESSORY port. Connect the Autocom to the helmet speakers or earbuds as usual.

Also connected to the Amplirider is a 4 foot long, or longer, cable; I use 6.5 feet on our bikes. On the other end of that cable is a small, remote, volume-control box with a control knob. I have mine glued onto my Delphi SkyFi XM radio's cradle, which is just below my GPS, above the handlebars. This makes the volume control very easy to reach while riding.

Like the Autocom, the Amplirider is bike powered, so you'll need to hard-wire that in. You will also find that any electrical "hash" in the system will be amplified. Using Ground Loop Isolators (GLI) should take care of that. I use one GLI per device between the audio device and the Amplirider's audio-in port, and a final GLI between the Amplirider's audio-out port and the Autocom's audio-in port.

To adjust the volume of each audio device, use the built-in line-out volume control. Set each device so that you are comfortable with it's loudness. Now you can controll all of the audio devices with the Amplirider's master volume control knob. The Autocom's volume control is used to contol the loudness of the communications between rider and passenger, so altering that will not change what you hear from the audio devices anyway (newest Autocom models excepted).

Hope that this is (somewhat) clear.

Marshal

 

[Caper]

My buddy has his Starcom 1 mounted in the left pocket on his 03 ST for 2 years now, with no problems. On the other hand, my cell phone died in the left pocket of my ST, and I blamed the heat, so who knows. Maybe coincidence, maybe not.

 

[JIMinMA]

I mounted my Autocomm in the left fairing pocket of my '05. No issues yet. I did drill the holes is the inner fairing to get more airflow around the pocket though.

 

[Scarman]

I took a little different approach. I've found that I have to keep adjusting the VOX control on my Pro 7 Sport based on riding conditions. If I'm moving fast or there is a lot of wind, I need to turn it up so the sound doesn't key the mic so easily. In town or a leisurely cruise through the hills and I want my voice to be able to trigger the mic without talking so loud.

I installed my Pro 7 Sport behind the left speaker grill and made a shaft extension to bring the VOX control out the side where I have access to it. I had to make a custom bracket to mount it up in there, which wasn't easy, but it works very well.



I brought my helmet lead out from between the tank & fairing and mounted it to the tank. Although not in the pic, I do have a cap that covers the DIN connector to keep it dry. So far this configuration has worked very well for me.