advice on bike to bike radio system

I bought the Starcom1 Advance and Kenwood TK-3101 Radio units from Tim - along with 2 other bikers friends and it worked great on our recent road trip. We have also used the Kenwood radios in 2 cars when I was the only biker on another trip. Very clear and good range.

I play my iPod through my Starcom unit and I also have the PTT and separate volume control plus the wireless iPOD Airclick device as well for controlling songs, on/off and volume on the iPOD.

Having a walkie talkie radio is a huge safety factor as we were giving each other heads up on radar, cops, roadkill, pot holes, deer on the road, surprises around the corners, crazy drivers, or guys coming up behind us to pass us (esp when they run out of room and have to cut back into our lane), etc. We used them to signal a group stop or rest area or where is that motel we are staying at or where to stop for lunch. I really enjoyed having them. Well worth the investment in my opinion. The occassional chatter by the other guys on the trip helped to pass the time away and if I did not want to listen to them I turned down my volume.

Too bad there was not a "standard" channel on these radios just for bikers - so we could advise others bikers of problems ahead - like the 6 radar traps setup on the holiday Monday coming back from Cranbrook BC to Calgary Alberta or deer on the road ahead. I use channel 12...

Doug
STOC#6132
Calgary

I can only add another +1 for Autocom. The things that make it stand out are the way it handles PTT, the great connectors, (7 pin DIN) and the fantastic customer service from AUtocomAmerica.

WHile the accessories are expensive, you never have to buy them again due to wear and tear, they are that tough. MIne went though my crash in the tailcone of the 04 and the only thing not useable later was a single lead that connected to my MP3 player (ripped in half). My original PTT was probably good to go too, but the damage to the front end made it impossible to retrieve.

I used a Motocomm Audioboss for a while and can only say "stay away".

The MIT - 100 looks to be very well made and sounded good on the bench at the IMS show last year but it still uses what look like (my opinion only, no proof) a more delicate cable system.

I was looking at radios last week and finally bought the Motorola SX700 which real world has a range of about 1.5 mile on high power if I have the antenna vertical and stickin out of the Tank bag.

The big difference is that at this level of bubble pack radio you start seeing some filters and attempts to clean up voice and you get NOAA WX. radio alerts.

While the ICOM and Kenwood are the Cadillacs, the higher power bubble pack GMRS give pretty good real world performance.

Chris

clmixon said:

I can only add another +1 for Autocom. The things that make it stand out are the way it handles PTT, the great connectors, (7 pin DIN) and the fantastic customer service from AUtocomAmerica.

WHile the accessories are expensive, you never have to buy them again due to wear and tear, they are that tough. MIne went though my crash in the tailcone of the 04 and the only thing not useable later was a single lead that connected to my MP3 player (ripped in half). My original PTT was probably good to go too, but the damage to the front end made it impossible to retrieve.

I used a Motocomm Audioboss for a while and can only say "stay away".

The MIT - 100 looks to be very well made and sounded good on the bench at the IMS show last year but it still uses what look like (my opinion only, no proof) a more delicate cable system.

I was looking at radios last week and finally bought the Motorola SX700 which real world has a range of about 1.5 mile on high power if I have the antenna vertical and stickin out of the Tank bag.

The big difference is that at this level of bubble pack radio you start seeing some filters and attempts to clean up voice and you get NOAA WX. radio alerts.

While the ICOM and Kenwood are the Cadillacs, the higher power bubble pack GMRS give pretty good real world performance.

Chris

Click to expand...

Nice comments Chris.

I am similar in that I only want to spend the dollars once, and if I have to spend a little more to get the best, then so be it.

If you go down the pathway of Starcomm, MIT or whoever, then so be it. I went down the Autocom path some years ago and I have never looked back. Yes some of the parts are expensive to replace, but they do last a long time and I need the best I can get for my work, and to me, that was Autocom, and that was my thoughts 15 years ago, and I am still using some of that equipment today.

I did purchase the Cadillacs LOL. I bought Icom radios and they are still going strong after 15 years of service, and used almost every day up to this point.

So whatever system anyone purchases, it is worth looking at the in's and out's of all systems, and of course, the track record. If one system suits your needs then heck, go for it but then you have made a committment and it is no good crying after the milk has been spilt. If that system suits your requirements, and is cheaper than another system, fine.

You want my opinion about the best system to purchase, then it has to be the Autocom, it will take some beating even though it is a little more expensive than it's competitors. I am not employed by Autocom, nor do I get any referal fees, but if anyone wanted advice from me, then that is who I would recommend

I have to give a big up to Tim Graham of Calgary Sport Touring www.sporttouring.ca. I met Tim and his wife at www.canstoc.ca and we got to talking about intercoms. He said that he was a reseller of Starcom, but to take a look at all the units and decide which one suits my needs and if it happened to be Starcom, give him a shout.

I decided to purchase the following items to install a complete unit, minus the radio, as I don't know which one to get yet.

• 2 - Starcom1 Advance
• 2 - SH-006 rider and passenger headset (I plan to swap to flip-fronts soon)
• 1 - VOL-01 remote volume switch
• 1 - PTT-02 (Tim upgraded me to the PTT-03 so VOX is disabled when a radio is plugged in)
• 2 - HSEX-03 headset extension (rider and radio)
• 2 - HSEX-05 bulkhead extesion (for easy fairing removal)

I receive the items about 2 weeks later as he was waiting on the release of the PTT-03, which wasn't a problem, but like all farklers, I get antsy. Tim even had my items shipped out while he was sick, so he gets a box of krispy-kremes next time I am in Calgary.

Installation went smooth and today I added a few RAM Mount items from www.gpscity.ca to hold my Creative Zen.

• 1 - RAM Mount Plastic Aqua Box 3 Medium Unit Cradle (RAM-HOL-AQ3U)
• 1 - RAM Mount Aluminum UNIVERSAL Motorcycle Handle Mount Base with Removable Double 1'' Ball (RAM-B-309-2U)
• 1 - RAM Mount Aluminum 1'' Ball 2.5'' dia Base Plate (RAM-B-202U)
• 1 - RAM Mount Aluminum 3'' Standard Arm with Double 1'' dia Socket (RAM-B-201U)

Now, I have to say this, I don't work for them, or get a discount, BUT, when I first when to the site from RAM Mounts, they put me to the US site. It has a Canadian customers link, so I followed that, and voila! The Canadian prices are exactly the same as US prices. The Aqua Box was $34 USD on the US site and $34 CAD on the Canadian site. All parts are like this. Finally we get the better end of the stick! Highly recommended!

Overall I am extremely happy with my purchases and can't recommend the two companies above enough!