Setting up an Autocom correctly

[JillRide]

Hi!

I recently purchased and installed an Autocom Pro 7 system on a BMW R1150GS/ural sidecar rig. I am absolutely frustrated with the Autocom and about to put it up for sale, but it was suggested I ask here for help trying to set up the VOX correctly. The main problem I have is the VOX activation. Both me and my passenger wear full face helmets and I positioned the mics and speakers the best I could (I have installed about 10 other intercom headsets so this was not new to me). Set the VOX dial at about half way. As we leave daughter notices VOX breaks up during speech. But it is also activating all the time from wind noise. I try turning up the VOX sensitivity so at least I can hear more than one word at a time before the VOX breaks out, now it continues to go on and off from wind noise (remember we both have full face helmets and both of us sit behind a windshield). OK, so we stop and I try turning down the sensitivity (only on 1/4 turn). OK, now my daughter cannot activate the VOX. I also have trouble with the VOX and daughter only gets very little of what I say. Also we cannot use the Autocom to listen to music since the VOX is always breaking in and muting the music. We attempted every possible VOX position during our 8 hour excursion and finally for the last hour my daughter asked me to just unplug everything. This was very disappointing since we love to share our time the bike talking about things we see and listening to music.

 

When I call Autocom USA they give me the same speech you can read on the website about set up. Even typing this is making me made that I paid all this money for the Autocom. I really think I could set the Autocom to work great at 100mph on my Goldwing but the R1150GS (even with a windshield) is a whole different story. Autocom basically tells me to decrease VOX sensitivity, stick the mic in my mouth, and shout like the person is in another room. This does not lend itself to natural conversation. On my Goldwing we do not have VOX, wear 3/4 helmets, and can carry on full-duplex natural conversations. Any help much appreciated.

Cheers,

Jill

R1150GS/ural rig

Southern California

[Tschamp]

I offer no info, but ask that if you get this resolved that you share what the fix is. This is a real bummer though.

[MattS]

(remember we both have full face helmets and both of us sit behind a windshield)

I'm guessing you're having an airflow problem not an Autocom problem. The open air is clean air, as is the air behind the shield. Between the two is a boundary zone of very dirty air, always kinetic and turbulent.

 

Also, with larger screens, buffeting and back pressure become an issue, easily flooding the lower helmet with bad air, activing the microphones.

 

The source and solution of your problem will be aerodynamic rather than audio-visual. Lower or remove your windscreens and see how that affects the problem. Even though it sounds counter-intuitive -- to go into more air not less -- it might be a key to the problem.

[Marek]

This may sound strange but - is your mouth closed when you are not talking? I fly airplanes and if I open my mouth in front of the mike it will activate.

 

Mark

[jgrant]

I had the same problem when I used a flip face with it in the up position.

You need to make sure that the mikes are close to your mouth. Really close. They sell a cover also for the mike.

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

Make sure the mic is facing the proper direction. The tan side goes toward your mouth. I set mine up so I can easily "kiss" the mic, with the center of my lips. The microphones are "directional" in that they need to be put in just the right spot also- not too high or too low. If you have already done that, maybe try a microphone sock.

[johnlt]

Where is "Autocom Tom" when you need him!

[Ken H.]

When the passenger is subject to much more airflow than the rider, as is the case on many bikes, certainly the VOX will open up sooner as it is getting more noise into the inputs. You shout be able find a setting where it will stay muted and with properly positioned mics have it break the squelch with a loud, but not shouting voice. But lets face it, a GS is a much wind noisier bike than a GW!

 

Our solution (also 2-up on a GS) was to modify the passenger system with a push-to-talk button. Maybe not the system as designed, and a bit more 'to do' when Donna wants to talk (i.e. push the PTT), but it works!

[tallman]

Beth and I had a similar situation last week on our trial run w/new Autocom.

I've read the directions and have it set up properly. Microphone is in kissable close location to utilize the "loud spot", most of time the speech audio was fine, sometimes it broke up.

But, the music was constantly being dimmed, then louder, etc...

This could be changed by my wife holding her cable connection and moving it slightly. The connections were tight and right. She didn't move her head so airflow wasn't the culprit.

In addition I have short ZTech screen in place to remove buffeting from the equation. The air is clean air.

She is using the longer cable (usually the drivers) because Autocom is in tankbag and she needs the longer cable.

This is frustrating. The music is at a tolerable level, but it is low and will suddenly change volume. Seemed like an intermittent or loose connection but this is a brand new unit.

I adjusted the VOX sensitivity in both directions and the outcome was the same. Will try again next time out to see if this corrects itself, or talk to manufacturer about replacing the cable connection.

Will let you know what happens.

Any suggestions or solutions from others w/this would be appreciated.

[Kinsley]

I don't like reading this thread since I just received my Autocom unit today and haven't even taken it out of the box

[eruff]

I don't like reading this thread since I just received my Autocom unit today and haven't even taken it out of the box

I dont' either since I am going to have one installed on my 1200Rt this Saturday.

 

-Eric

[Uggles]

Leave it in the box and get a Baehr.

 

Out of the box, wire it up and ride off. Absolutely none of the problems as described here. Happy tunes and talks all the way.

 

Cheers

[Great_Kubuki]

These three things will fix it. Making sure the mike is towards you. Brown side. A wind sock over the mic, and lower the VOX all the way down. With the sind sock properly installed tight over mic, Press the mic sock right up against your lips or just off your lips when you want to talk. Adjust VoX as needed. This should do it. The tightness up against you lips will take care of wind and such betweeen the two and the closeness will hep the sensitivity of the VOX. Give it a try.

 

GK

[tallman]

GK,

The beige side of mike was towards me, and it was brushing up next to my lips.

I tried moving the VOX while under way ( 2 lane rural road no traffic) and still had the same problem.

A windsock? Guess I'll look at their website, but in our case when my wife moved the cable itself to minimize movement from wind (cable not mike) the problem went away.

Makes me think it's a connection.

But at very slow speeds (under 40 it worked OK) so perhaps the mike sensitivity is the culprit.

The way I read the instructions I seemed like you should set the sensitivity (flat edge of black knob) towards the 150mph+ direction to prevent the VOX from activating inadvertantly from wind noise.

I did that and still had the muted music level that would once in a while jump up to full volume. Rider passenger communication volume was OK.

Going to hook up phone and see what happens w/that.

BTW, we are using earplug speakers w/that connector.

[KevinH]

Interested to see what becomes of this topic. I just spoke with my dealer and Autocom is having a half off sale. I was going to sit down and put a list of items together.

[Ken H.]

BTW, we are using earplug speakers w/that connector.

Ah, new perspective. With in-ear speakers and an intercom it is quite possible to have the intercom turned up too loud such that you can not hear it. Seems counterintuitive at first blush, but what happens is because the Autocom has a side tone that lets you hear yourself speak, if the volume is set too loud you subconsciously speak softer to get your voice in your own head to the level your brain is expecting it. So the speaking softer doesn't break the VOX squelch.

 

Try turning the volume down. You will naturally speak louder (and not sound like you are shouting) making the VOX more successful.

 

This phenomenon doesn't happen with in helmet speakers because the brain voice level feedback loop is missing.

[akasjl]

BTW, we are using earplug speakers w/that connector.

Ah, new perspective. With in-ear speakers and an intercom it is quite possible to have the intercom turned up too loud such that you can not hear it. Seems counterintuitive at first blush, but what happens is because the Autocom has a side tone that lets you hear yourself speak, if the volume is set too loud you subconsciously speak softer to get your voice in your own head to the level your brain is expecting it. So the speaking softer doesn't break the VOX squelch.

 

Try turning the volume down. You will naturally speak louder (and not sound like you are shouting) making the VOX more successful.

 

This phenomenon doesn't happen with in helmet speakers because the brain voice level feedback loop is missing.

 

As Ken wrote. With in ear speakers you need to have the volume turned down. I have mine turned all the way down in fact. You should have no trouble hearing anything with the volume turned down all the way. Adjust the VOX to your needs.

 

When you talk into that "sweet spot", you really should not have to raise your voice too much to activate the mic. You have to get used to speaking up a little to trip and keep the mic open while conversing. Don't give up. The unit works as advertised: at least mine does.

[tallman]

Ken,

We're going to try that again. I did turn it "down" clockwise and perhaps didn't leave it there long enough.

The manual also say to use the high/low switch and use the high position if using in ear speakers.

Anyone figure that out?

I see the labeled port, but no switch.

It also says you can use a "shorted" connector??? What's that all about?

Again, I could hear my passenger easily, and vice versa.

Thanks.

[JillRide]

Thanks for the many suggestions. I think I will go out and do so very serious testing of mic positions and VOX before I give up. I did have the tan side of the mic toward the lips.

 

Tallman's comments about moving the cable around causes music muting is very disturbing since I must use extensions on all cables inorder to make it to the driver and to the side car. I was hoping the Autocom was plug and play, but it seems that I may need to set aside a Saturday to do some serious testing.

 

For Tallman, Autocom only suggests using "high volume" when using ear plugs, not in ear speakers. You can get a remote switch that goes on your handle bar to toggle between low/high or in the box a small 3.5mm plug should have been included that you place in the volume jack and it switches it to high volume.

 

As a last resort, a gentleman from the Goldwing site can make a custom Mic-Mute switch for the Autocom. I use these on the wing and they are great. The driver and passenger have a small PTT button. The PTT buttons toggle BOTH mics on/off. Great so you can set VOX let say for 40mph so mics are easier to activate, when you get on the freeway and they start picking up wind noise you can just shut off the mics. When either person wants to talk they turn the mics on and talk, both mics are on and active for a full duplex conversation, and then you can just turn the mics off when you are done. Just more money I was trying not to spend just yet.

 

I'll start my testing and let you know what I find out.

 

Cheers,

Jill

[DangerMoney]

The manual also say to use the high/low switch and use the high position if using in ear speakers.

Anyone figure that out?

I see the labeled port, but no switch.

It also says you can use a "shorted" connector??? What's that all about?

 

There is no "switch". You plug the shorting plug (which comes with the Autocom) into the labelled port to change the volume level. Remove the shorting plug to change it back. It's one volume level or the other ( high or low) depending upon whether the plug is in the port or not. The only volume level that changes is the intercom... not the music, nor radar detector or anything else.

[Tom B]

Hi all,

 

Sorry I haven’t seen this earlier but we are all up at the busy NEC bike show and will be there until after 6th November.

 

The clue really is in the instructions and I have to add; thank you all for your help. However there could be a problem and if so we will find this and sort that out for you, but first we have to find out.

 

If you turn the VOX control knob to about the 120 to 150mph position per the instructions you will at first find it almost impossible to open and/or keep open the VOX as you are not used to hearing yourself through the speakers and so at first your brain automatically tries to make you speak quieter, thus not able to keep a very high (150mph) VOX setting open.

 

Like Ken H said, having the sound too loud will not help, especially if you have monitor in ear speaker plugs so please make sure that you have the Hi/Lo jack unplugged from the hi/lo socket. This is ONLY for normal earplugs and not for monitor type speaker earplugs.

 

If you are using monitor type speaker earplugs then our lead part 26 should be attenuating the sound to about the correct level for you such that normal speech is not too loud, that is of course with the hi/lo jack removed.

 

Please try to remember that Autocom is true noise cancelling and so must be used in a particular way otherwise it will think you are also noise and so cancel you out as well. I realise that if you have used other none true noise cancelling systems before that you may find this strange at first, but with a little practice you will discover how to set up and use Autocom such that it becomes quite natural. After that no other system will do.

 

I would ask you to please try this tip and just practice for a while just to learn a principle.

 

Move the microphone around, close to if not just touching your lips, perhaps try puckering your lips (like a kiss) to the microphone to help focus the sound of your voice more directly into the loud spot while trying to find and understand the loud spot.

 

You do not need to shout but it may help if you project your voice as if to someone say 20 feet away. Just try to imagine someone about to touch your bike, and so you firmly say, “Get away from my bike”, firmly but without shouting. Suddenly you find it works and the microphones should open. Of course if you were really going to go 150mph then in such high noise levels you would actually shout without even thinking about it and this would activate the higher than normal VOX setting.

 

His may all sound a bit over the top to seasoned Autocom users, but for others the initial set up and learning curve can be confusing if not frustrating, however when you have truly set it up and used it correctly, you will find no other system compares. I do appreciate others comments about other systems being easier to set up and use, but in reality Autocom sells far more systems world wide with many tens of thousands of very satisfied customers, most of whom do not have any such problems, and I suspect from what I read that other brands also suffer some initial set up problems, even if yours did not.

 

Anyway back to where we were; It may be that your chin bar vents are open and blowing directly through and onto the back of the microphones, (*see note below) in which case there are two practical options. 1) blocking the inside of the chin bar vents will not only help reduce direct wind blast to the back of the microphone, thus reducing the chances of false VOX operation, but also in most cases help with visor demisting, as more airflow is directed to the visor.

 

The second option is sometimes required on bikes that cause excessive turbulence to the passenger helmet and a simple chin draft excluder fitted to the underside of the passenger chin bar can make all the difference. I would just say that this sort of thing can affect any system and indeed your Autocom system should cope with it better than most, if not all others as our noise cancelling is many times better.

 

* NOTE from above; Autocom’s TRUE noise cancelling microphones have a tuned port in both the front and back which allows surrounding ambient noise into both sides equally such that they anti-phase themselves out. This is why Autocom cannot use its noise cancelling microphone/s for noise pick up to adjust any Auto volume or VOX circuits as they are true noise cancelling and so do not pick up noise. Autocom therefore has to use an independent noise pickup for any Auto volume or VOX, unlike other brands who use the main microphones for noise pick up to adjust things, so they simply cannot be true noise cancelling microphones.

 

As such with Autocom you can speak into either side of the microphone and likewise any direct wind blast onto the back of the microphone will trick the VOX, as it would on any system. However if you generally speak with a wide open mouth and do not direct your speech sound directly into just one side of the noise cancelling microphone, your voice will be cancelled out just like any undesirable helmet noise. This is one of the unique properties Autocom has, in as much that if not used correctly you may have to be educated but the rewards are superior clarity and noise rejection, as opposed to simpler not to get it wrong systems that provide a lifetime of extra undesirable amplified noise when riding.

 

In practice, if you set the Autocom VOX per the instructions and they are false triggering when not speaking and at speeds below what you have set it to, then either you do not have an Autocom or it is not set up properly or perhaps it is faulty, but the latter is very rare as each and every one are fully individually tested (we don’t just batch test) so please double check if you need to block you chin bar vents or use a chin guard?

 

Please oblige me with some of these tests if you can, or better still get the help from your local Autocom dealer or someone who has Autocom experience to test and check for you.

 

If you do not resolve this issue after this then I will just swap your entire system for you and of course will fully inspect and test your old system and provide a full report of whether it is working properly of not.

 

As I said we will be tied up supporting our customers at the busiest Autocom show in the world, EVER, but will try to check back daily.

 

If in my hurried attempt I have put this wrong or unclear I would welcome others help/support in explaining what I have tried to say.

 

BTW I can promise you this, even without a visor, on an un-faired bike, I can normally set the Autocom VOX so that even at 140mph the wind will not false trigger the VOX and yet I can speak and reliably open the VOX, so long as I set up and use the loud spot and use the optional open face wind sock, so I see no reason why you should not manage this (like tens of thousands of others do) if you follow my instructions, that is of course assuming you do not have a problem with your installation and/or system?

 

Autocom-UK-Tom

[Uggles]

No offence intended Tom and I will say that I have not the experience you have.

 

But why is it necessary to do all this tweaking, kissing, almost shouting, etc?

 

This just should not be so. Maybe I have been spoilt by my first ever intercom system, but the Baehr unit has performed flawlessly out of the box with absolutely no requirements for tweaking even though the facilities are there.

 

It seems to me that Autocom seriously needs to take a long hard look at itself to get rid of the necessity to pout and posture in order to make a machine work as it is advertised to do.

 

My $0.02 worth but it's something I felt needed to be said regardless of what system you have.

 

Cheers,

[tallman]

Tom,

Thanks for your response(s) here and in PM.

I will certainly start from square one again to be certain all set up factors are done correctly.

I'll let you know how it goes. I 'm looking foreard to being a satisfied customer.

[Tom B]

Mark

 

No offence taken.

 

I would suggest that Autocom sells many times more systems worldwide per year than the other brand you mention, and so while we are bound to have many more tens of thousands of very satisfied customer all over the world, we are also bound to run into a few more customers that need additional setup and support that you may hear of.

 

That said my records show that 99.8% of people need no further help than is already provided in our instructions and website and so in comparison to the massive volumes we sell each year I feel very happy that our products are not quite as problematic as you seem to think. Likewise I do not think we would have such a strong global distributor/ dealer network if the products were as bad as you think. Nor as much global customer praise, so perhaps when you consider this you will reconsider your view, or perhaps you are just trying to justify to yourself why you have spent all that extra money for knobs that you just didn’t need?

 

No offence intended, but that is why I am here offering my support to my customers.

 

If you think any other brand doesn’t need support then I suggest you are very wrong, you just hear less of it because they sell far less in the first place?

 

Perhaps one day you will get the benefit to experience Autocom for yourself and then perhaps, just like many tens of thousands of others, you will better understand what it is all about and know first hand just how good it really is. Hearing is believing as many others will tell you.

 

I suggest next time I come over to Auz or if you come to the UK, you and I get together and I will show you Autocom works perfectly straight out of the box, indeed it will far out perform any other brand and is smaller and less expensive that the brand you mentioned partly because it does not need all the knobs that you found you didn’t need on yours.

 

If you hang about you will most likely read how this customer is helped and made satisfied. That’s my aim.

 

Autocom-UK-Tom

[Tom B]

Tim

 

We look forwards to helping you get there.

 

Autocom-UK-Tom

[jrparodi]

Tim,

You don't mention which Autocom you have. I have an older Pro 3000 which includes an auto volume level feature. My understanding with this unit is that the driver's extension cable includes a small mic which responds to ambient noise and kicks the volume on the Autocom up a notch when wind noise is present. I don't believe that any of the newer units have this feature, but...

 

Tom,

Several folks have mentioned which side of the headset microphone should be just touching the lips describing the color as Brown, Tan, Beige... I have several headsets, all have one grey color side and the other is black. Which side should just touch my lips?

 

I've been using the Pro 3000 Autocom for about 6 years now, initially on a K1100, now on an 1150RT. I've only had problems mounting the headset in one of my helments and as I've mentioned I have several helmets with headsets. My Shoe helmets have allways been straight forward, but my Scheuberth required cutting styrofoam to make a recess for the speakers to fit in, and positioning the mic was difficult. After quite an effort to get everything aligned the system works quite nicely. FYI, to disable the Auto volume level that I have, I use a newer headset extension cable that doesn't have the AVL mic in it...

[Ken H.]

Several folks have mentioned which side of the headset microphone should be just touching the lips describing the color as Brown, Tan, Beige... I have several headsets, all have one grey color side and the other is black. Which side should just touch my lips?

Tom may have gone back to the show... Regardless of color, variations in materials (or fading of the material) the lighter side of the two colors goes toward the lips.

[Tom B]

On the early Pro-3000 the headsets have a very special microphone identified with a grey cover to your lips and black to front of bike (just remember black to front whichever headset) on the later Pro-M1 and Pro-7 including all easi-5 & 7 or Eurocom’s and active-7 the microphone covers are identified with a beige to lips and again black to front of bike.

 

Hope that helps

 

PS can’t get to the show as the 10 lines are at melting point, so very sorry to all those still waiting to get through...?

 

Autocom UK Tom