hopz Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 In planning a bike to bike/Autocom setup what is the best and then next best place to keep the radio itself? I am leaning towards the Kenwood and know many people mount the radio in the tail piece. What about the Radio Box on the RT? My preference is to not mount in a tank bag or on a shelf. Do you get radio interference if you mount in the box up there near all the fuel pump and whizzy brake stuff? Link to comment
johnlt Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I've had the autocom with Kenwood GMRS that has the autocom false battery back that allows it to be powered through the autocom. This works great because you don't ever need to charge batteries. I have typically just put it inside my tank bag laying down and once the volume is set up, never need to touch it. I had a friend that put his under his set and to be honest, it worked just as good. I had thought that it would be limited range but it had just as good as mounted vertical. Range is NOT the 5 miles they say is possible but more like a half a mile but still fine for talking to a riding partner. I've used VOX as well as PTT and prefer PTT but the VOX works fine once you set up the sensitivity correctly. Link to comment
Albert Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I've been thinking along the same lines. Assuming one chose the under the seat option, do these radios use a scan function or does one usually just pick a channel in advance for everyone to tune to? Link to comment
johnlt Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Just pick a channel. I think the defacto standard for BMWST has been channel 2 but any of them will work ok. Once the channel is selected and the volume is set, you can pretty much put it away and not touch it assuming you are powering it through the bike or autocom. Link to comment
ltljohn Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 My radio and autocom are in the radio box of my RT, on my wife's F650ST the autocom is in the tail and the radio is in a small tank bag. I have Motorola radios that will run for a couple of days on 3AA batteries or 1 qay on the rechargables that come with them. Link to comment
CoarsegoldKid Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Bob, the radio I used to communicate with Sharon and Jan is a run of the mill "Bell South" that was given to me and works fine. It takes 4 AAAs and lasts quite a while. Heck bought a 55 dollar for two Motorola radios from Big Five sporting goods and it works fine also. What I'm saying is you don't have to spend a lot of money on radios. As was mentioned channel 2 seems to be popular but having the ability to switch channels easily is a good thing so don't bury the radio is all I'm saying. What I learned from Heck is that running side channels(2-xx) eliminates a lot of chatter and key downs from other users. For instance channel 2 can broadcast but channel 2-xx will not hear it, but channel 2 will hear 2-xx. While in SLC I got many. In the mountains on the way to Torrey I also got some so we changed channels. While on my trip in Oregon with another bike to bike we used 4-22 and not once on the trip did we get chatter. Carl Williams and I switched to 4-22 running through Las Vegas and also got clear air. It's also worth mentioning that Jan said he didn't get the chatter. As for where I mounted my radio I mounted mine on the tank bag with its clip. The only drawback to this is I have to unplug the connection to the autocom to fill the tank. Then I forget to reconnect it and have to pull over. Maybe you noticed. I think a good place would be in the glove box of the R12RT using that sure lok "velcro". I'd put mine there but the back of the radio is curved so the sure lok doesn't appear to get a good grip. I will say that having bike to bike makes riding with others with bike to bike a much more pleasant group event. Purists will say they don't need it and they are correct but those that do have b2b know what I mean. Oh! and Jan I figured how to get side channels on your radio as Carl's is the same and I got his switched easily once I could see the black on black buttons. Link to comment
hopz Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 Thanks all... and to Joe, it was fun riding with you. What I am hearing is that the radio will work wherever it is convenient and handy. You said... "What I learned from Heck is that running side channels(2-xx) eliminates a lot of chatter and key downs from other users. For instance channel 2 can broadcast but channel 2-xx will not hear it, but channel 2 will hear 2-xx". I do not follow all this. If you are saying a radio set to 2 can read a transmission on 2-xx, I did not know that. If you are saying a radio set on 2-xx can read and transmit to another 2-xx... but will not copy a twx from 2, I agree with that. the xx is a privacy channel if I understand it all. Will probably have more questions when the actual doing of it arrives. Thanks p.s. In the Army Signal Corps, I was "Cyclone Bravo 1" Link to comment
johnlt Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Hopz, it really isn't a privacy "channel", but rather a programable squelch that won't open up until it gets the correct code. Link to comment
hopz Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 OK, does this mean a radio set to 2.xx can send and receive only from another 2.xx? Link to comment
johnlt Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Not exactly. It will send to anyone on that channel that does not have a different privacy code including sending to anyone that has no privacy code but will receive only from radios with the same privacy code. Link to comment
hopz Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 I am not even going to try to figure that one out. I will put my radio- when I get one- to the same channel as the others in my ride group. I also think I am reading you all correctly in that the radio performance is not effected by location on an RT. Link to comment
johnlt Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I also think I am reading you all correctly in that the radio performance is not effected by location on an RT. Theoretically it should make a difference but practically, I have found that it does not make much of a difference. Link to comment
Kritou Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Where you put the radio may not be important but to get any useful range you should have the antenna vertical (or as close as possible to the vertical) Link to comment
Bigfish Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I've had the autocom with Kenwood GMRS that has the autocom false battery back that allows it to be powered through the autocom. What is the "autocom false battery back"? Assuming it is something to be purchased from autocom? Link to comment
Bill_Walker Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 What is the "autocom false battery back"? Assuming it is something to be purchased from autocom? Dennis, I think it's only available for the Kenwood TK-3101. It replaces the battery pack in the radio and gets power for the radio from the Autocom unit, so that the two-way radio is bike-powered instead of battery-powered. Link to comment
Bigfish Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Thanks Bill, I am posting a classified for used farkles in hopes of finding one. Link to comment
Heck Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Bob- The sub channel number "22" in ch 4-"22" is a subaudible tone that is transmitted with your signal every time you key the radio. On the receiver side of the radio, if you have your sub channel set to anything but "off" or "0", the receiver must hear and decode the same subaudible frequency that is transmitted from the other radios in order to break the squelch and allow the audio to come through the speaker. Doesnt mean the traffic on the channel is not there, it just means that you wont hear it unless they are transmitting the same sub channel that you are tuned to. A sub channel of "0" or "off" allows everything on the frequency to pass through to your speakers. It also means that your signal will not be heard by anyone who is tuned to a sub channel frequency, as you are not transmitting any subaudible tone with your transmission. If additional explanation is needed, Google "CTCSS" or "CTCSS decoding" where they may be able to explain it better. Just think of it as a privacy channel for your own sanity. It doesnt keep anything private, as anyone who has it turned off will hear all conversations on the channel, but it keeps you from hearing all the chatter. Hope this helps a bit- Heck Link to comment
hopz Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 Hey Heck... I got it. I mean I knew that and thanks for the greater detail. What was throwing me off was the suggestion (probably my interpretation) that a radio set to 2.0 would copy traffic on a sub channel such as 2.22, but that 2.22 would not copy 2.0. I did not want to challenge that as I was/am not current on the protocol and technology. My experience is old, as an old Signal Corps Radio Officer, back in the day... Your explanation is what I always thought. Cyclone Bravo One... Out. Link to comment
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