fred_jb
Registered user
I've just fitted an Autocom Logic unit to my GS and thought I would share some thoughts on the installation in case it is of interest to others. I do quite a lot of two-up touring and I had previously used a pair of Sena FMH5 bluetooth units. These were OK, but I found it annoying that I couldn't find any way of getting navigation instructions to go from the Nav V to both me and my wife, as it is quite useful to have us both aware of where we need to turn, with two heads being better than one in the case of dubious or ambiguous instructions, and also in case I haven't caught an instruction due to being distracted by a riding situation, so this was one reason to change to a wired system.
Another reason was that I have recently ditched the Nav V and converted to using the MyRoute Navigation smartphone app, mainly due to the extreme ease of pre-planning routes compared to the Garmin based Nav, and the only issue with this was that the Navigation instructions over Bluetooth were failing to override the Sena intercom in the same way that BMW/Garmin and TomTom satnavs do, so I had to turn the intercom off in any situations where I really needed the audio instructions. The developers of the software are working on this, and are hopeful of a fix, but this is relatively low priority for them, so the Autocom would get around this by taking the navigation instructions via an audio cable from the phone, and automatically feeding them to both headsets, while reducing the intercom volume, but leaving it working. This is actually better than the Garmin/TomTom method as that just cuts the rider and pillion intercom mid-conversation, leaving the pillion unaware at first that the rider can no longer hear what is being said.
There were two main issues to changing to a wired system as far as I was concerned - the first was would we get on OK with the cables, or find them an encumbrance? However, in practice the cables have been fine and not even noticeable - at least not until you try to dismount or walk away from the bike while still connected, which is something you tend not to do twice! The second issue was finding somewhere to fit it. All of my limited underseat space is taken up with either BMW widgets or my alarm, front/rear dashcam recorder box, and Hex ezCan unit. I wasn't happy to run it off batteries and keep in a pocket or tank bag, as while this might be practical for just a rider it is not going to work for a rider and pillion. Eventually I decided to fit it in a sheltered recess inside the front left fairing. My second horn was originally mounted there, so I had to move that to the other side first, and had to make up a vertical bracket bolted to the plastic panel at the bottom of this recess, with the unit fastened to the bracket with velcro. The only issue with this is that Autocom expect you to mount it under the rear of the seat so provide a short cable for the pillion and a longer one for the rider. I had to buy a second long lead as a spare part to reach the pillion position from where I mounted the unit. I ran the cables under the tank cover panels so had to have all the plastics off yet again - getting quite good at this now!
One of the issues I identified early on with this fairly basic Logic unit was the potential need to make manual adjustments to the VOX threshold - that is the level of mic input it needs to receive before automatically opening up the intercom. The idea of this is that you can raise this threshold on faster and therefore noisier routes like motorways so that the mic does not get triggered by wind noise and send that over the intercom, which my wife found extremely annoying on our first test. Raising the VOX level overcomes this, but with the downside that you have to talk a lot louder to get the intercom to work - OK when it is noisy when you would naturally talk louder, but not ideal to leave it on that setting when in quieter situations. Unfortunately Autocom have seen fit to put the adjuster for this in the battery compartment of the unit, so not only do you have to be able to easily get at the unit, you also have to open it up to make an adjustment. To be fair the more expensive units have an external adjuster and can also auto-adjust the VOX level, but they are more expensive and also larger and would have been difficult to fit. I wasn't happy with the Logic model's adjuster, so have modified my unit to put an adjuster in the top/end of the unit near to the adjusters for rider and pillion volume - the blue knob in the picture. This will no doubt have invalidated my warranty, but works really well and means that I can make adjustments without dismounting the unit and opening it up.
I made one other mod, and this was to the arrangements for powering the unit off the bike, which needs a 12V feed. I was able to provide this from the DIN socket in the cockpit, and also power my phone from an adapter wired to this. However, Autocom give dire warnings that if you power the unit off the bike and also power a phone and/or GPS which you will plug into the unit from the bike, then you can get interference and possibly even damage. This is because the audio cables connected between these devices and the Autocom will also have earth connections, and because these devices are potentially powered from a different place in the bike's wiring then the earth may not be exactly the same as that connected to the Autocom. This sort of thing is well known as an earth loop in hi-fi setups, and can cause serious problems.
If the Autocom is battery powered this does not arise because the Autocom is not earthed to the bike earth and so its supply can float to match that of connected devices. To avoid this problem when powering off the bike, Autocom will sell you very expensive isolating audio cables for each device you want to plug in, or you can buy audio isolating widgets on eBay, though some of these are of dubious quality. I decided to take a different approach and insert a 12V isolating converter into the power feed to the Autocom. This takes any input of 9-18V and outputs an isolated and therefore floating 12V which is then equivalent to powering the Autocom from a 12V battery source. The unit is about the size of a matchbox, costs about £10, and seems to work perfectly.
Some pics of the installation below.
Fred
The blue knob is my external VOX adjuster which replaces the adjustor inside the battery compartment. The unused inputs have dummy plugs to minimise the chance of water getting in, and in case it does I have drilled two small holes at the bottom of the battery door to allow it to drain out
Fixings for bracket:
Another reason was that I have recently ditched the Nav V and converted to using the MyRoute Navigation smartphone app, mainly due to the extreme ease of pre-planning routes compared to the Garmin based Nav, and the only issue with this was that the Navigation instructions over Bluetooth were failing to override the Sena intercom in the same way that BMW/Garmin and TomTom satnavs do, so I had to turn the intercom off in any situations where I really needed the audio instructions. The developers of the software are working on this, and are hopeful of a fix, but this is relatively low priority for them, so the Autocom would get around this by taking the navigation instructions via an audio cable from the phone, and automatically feeding them to both headsets, while reducing the intercom volume, but leaving it working. This is actually better than the Garmin/TomTom method as that just cuts the rider and pillion intercom mid-conversation, leaving the pillion unaware at first that the rider can no longer hear what is being said.
There were two main issues to changing to a wired system as far as I was concerned - the first was would we get on OK with the cables, or find them an encumbrance? However, in practice the cables have been fine and not even noticeable - at least not until you try to dismount or walk away from the bike while still connected, which is something you tend not to do twice! The second issue was finding somewhere to fit it. All of my limited underseat space is taken up with either BMW widgets or my alarm, front/rear dashcam recorder box, and Hex ezCan unit. I wasn't happy to run it off batteries and keep in a pocket or tank bag, as while this might be practical for just a rider it is not going to work for a rider and pillion. Eventually I decided to fit it in a sheltered recess inside the front left fairing. My second horn was originally mounted there, so I had to move that to the other side first, and had to make up a vertical bracket bolted to the plastic panel at the bottom of this recess, with the unit fastened to the bracket with velcro. The only issue with this is that Autocom expect you to mount it under the rear of the seat so provide a short cable for the pillion and a longer one for the rider. I had to buy a second long lead as a spare part to reach the pillion position from where I mounted the unit. I ran the cables under the tank cover panels so had to have all the plastics off yet again - getting quite good at this now!
One of the issues I identified early on with this fairly basic Logic unit was the potential need to make manual adjustments to the VOX threshold - that is the level of mic input it needs to receive before automatically opening up the intercom. The idea of this is that you can raise this threshold on faster and therefore noisier routes like motorways so that the mic does not get triggered by wind noise and send that over the intercom, which my wife found extremely annoying on our first test. Raising the VOX level overcomes this, but with the downside that you have to talk a lot louder to get the intercom to work - OK when it is noisy when you would naturally talk louder, but not ideal to leave it on that setting when in quieter situations. Unfortunately Autocom have seen fit to put the adjuster for this in the battery compartment of the unit, so not only do you have to be able to easily get at the unit, you also have to open it up to make an adjustment. To be fair the more expensive units have an external adjuster and can also auto-adjust the VOX level, but they are more expensive and also larger and would have been difficult to fit. I wasn't happy with the Logic model's adjuster, so have modified my unit to put an adjuster in the top/end of the unit near to the adjusters for rider and pillion volume - the blue knob in the picture. This will no doubt have invalidated my warranty, but works really well and means that I can make adjustments without dismounting the unit and opening it up.
I made one other mod, and this was to the arrangements for powering the unit off the bike, which needs a 12V feed. I was able to provide this from the DIN socket in the cockpit, and also power my phone from an adapter wired to this. However, Autocom give dire warnings that if you power the unit off the bike and also power a phone and/or GPS which you will plug into the unit from the bike, then you can get interference and possibly even damage. This is because the audio cables connected between these devices and the Autocom will also have earth connections, and because these devices are potentially powered from a different place in the bike's wiring then the earth may not be exactly the same as that connected to the Autocom. This sort of thing is well known as an earth loop in hi-fi setups, and can cause serious problems.
If the Autocom is battery powered this does not arise because the Autocom is not earthed to the bike earth and so its supply can float to match that of connected devices. To avoid this problem when powering off the bike, Autocom will sell you very expensive isolating audio cables for each device you want to plug in, or you can buy audio isolating widgets on eBay, though some of these are of dubious quality. I decided to take a different approach and insert a 12V isolating converter into the power feed to the Autocom. This takes any input of 9-18V and outputs an isolated and therefore floating 12V which is then equivalent to powering the Autocom from a 12V battery source. The unit is about the size of a matchbox, costs about £10, and seems to work perfectly.
Some pics of the installation below.
Fred
The blue knob is my external VOX adjuster which replaces the adjustor inside the battery compartment. The unused inputs have dummy plugs to minimise the chance of water getting in, and in case it does I have drilled two small holes at the bottom of the battery door to allow it to drain out
Fixings for bracket: