Autocom Super Pro Avi - Noise Sensor

[rmcobb]

I'm a long time Autocom user, and have recently purchased the Super Pro Avi to install on the Feejer.

Gary from Tulsa has told me that in his experience, the noise sensor works best attached to the 7 pin line coming out of the helmet. I'm assuming he tie wraps to the 4-6 inch length of cable coming out of the helmet with the end of the sensor just shy of the plug itself.

The Autocom instructions say to mount it inside the helmet, upper cheekpad against the side of the helmet.

I of course am inclined to go with Gary's advice as he seems to be very knowledgable and has first hand experience.........

But, just curious where others have placed it and if it works OK. Probably wouldn't be a big deal attached to the cord coming out of the helmet, but as I think about it, I think I'd prefer to put it inside out of the way if it still seems to work ok there.

TIA

Randy

 

[bikerskier]

Mine is mounted at the cheekpad location and I assume it is doing its job since I have not compared it with other lcoation mounts. Does Gary say why it works better elsewhere?

 

[v65]

Mine hangs out the bottom of my helmet. You are not tied to any one location; move it around and see what works best.

 

[rmcobb]

Thanks guys. Gary did not say specifically, just that in his experiences, it worked better there. I can only assume that meant it did a better job of adjusting volume based on wind noise (i.e. speed of travel).

So, bikerskier....you can tell that volume is being increased when you travel at higher speeds.........and conversely volume decreases when you slow to a stop?

I guess this would be most noticeable if you were listening to music. The constant transmission would be easy to tell that the volume levels were being adjusted as your speed changed.

Yeah, I could play with it and move it around, but I hate tearing into my helmet repeatedly. I'm just trying to get it right the first time.

 

[v65]

Yeah, I could play with it and move it around, but I hate tearing into my helmet repeatedly. I'm just trying to get it right the first time.

Not me, I like to get it wrong the first several times. I don't believe in a one size fits all position, your height, brand of windscreen you run, type and brand of helmet are all going to affect the performance of the sensor. The position of the sensor makes a big difference in performance, upper cheekpad did not work for me. You paid a lot of money for a system the will work great, take the time to get it right.

 

[bikerskier]

Well, I'm 6'2" and wear a Nolan flip which is in the windstream 90% of the time. I also almost always ride with the visor cracked a 2 or 3 clicks so I can feel the breeze on my face so I have much more noise than folks in the "bubble" with a full face and closed visor. The system does modulate the volume of my tunes as noise/speed increases or decreases but I cannot say whether it work better in another location. My spouse and I can carry on very normal conversations at well into 3 digits until she realizes how fast we are going and then her voice gets very loud. Actually, we rarely chat much, it is primarily used as a communication tool to advise her of something coming or for her to tell me when she needs a break.

This thread now has me thinking that maybe I should try other lcoations to see if even works better elsewhere.

 

[rmcobb]

Excellent points V65, and thanks for the clarification bikerskier.......I would think the way you use your modular is why the position inside may be working for you.

I have a standard full face at the moment (Shoei RF-1000) and don't have the visor opened much unless I'm below 30 or so. I'll probably start with it outside and if that works OK, .....stick a feather in my hat and call it macaronni as the saying goes.

 

[ahchiu]

I have mine sticking out the back of my helmet liner.

 

[rmcobb]

I have mine sticking out the back of my helmet liner.

Sticking out the back ??? :blink: Thats interesting. I thought this was supposed to monitor wind noise, which would be a lot less if it were sticking out the back. I'm guessing its working for you though.

 

[tripntx]

Mine didn't work good enough on the check pad. Now have it barely sticking out the bottom of helmet and it works excellent for me.

 

[ahchiu]

Yes I have mine sticking out the rear liner tucked on the edge and it works great.

 

[BrettB]

I had mine tied to the lead, as suggested and many people have already replied. I think the guidance to mount it "out in the wind" is based on letting it get the full brunt. There doesn't seem to be an issue of it having too much wind noise. If it hears wind, you want to volume going up, so wherever its going to get more wind the better. HOWEVER, I did run into one problem that hasn't been mentioned. I ride in the rain (Oregon) and when the sensor mike got wet, the sound modulation would become erratic, often reversing getting louder when stopped and quieter when riding, or it would just be random. I moved the sensor into the top of the cheek pad. It seems to work fine there are well for me, I usually have my visor at least cracked, even when its below freezing (else I get fogging).

Just thought I'd throw the weather/wet concern out there for you to think about

-Brett

 

[v65]

I suspect that a list of who is wearing what helmet would be illustrative, just a guess. I am wearing an HJC AC-11: a nice enough helmet but loud,so I wear earplugs. I have my sensor dangling just outside the bottom of the helmet ala tripntx and my volume is cranked up relative to the passenger volume. This allows me to hear well at speed over all the noise and through the earplugs. I played with the VOX sensitivity a bit, but it works well enough to not warrant further tinkering.

If I ever fork out the money for a quieter helmet I bet that I could put the sensor in the helmet and turn my volume down. Might go the etymotic route this summer.

 

[Mangus]

I personally make sure that the mic element isn't getting drenched by direct rain/water. Some ambient moisture is fine (e.g. that which would be encountered under a helmet or behind a mask), but too much moisture and things stop working correctly (best case, erratic functionality, worst case, a wet element + pressure could result in a torn element). I'm sure the mic they use is quite robust, but I doubt it's milspec encased.

I have my sensor sitting almost up to the face shield, pinched into the cheeck pad. Tested it briefly just yesterday in this location and it seems to work well. I'll try a few other locations for good measure, though.

<rant>

Incidentally, I recently bought a pair of Kit 300's. They're very nice, except one of them came with a headset spider that looked like it was frankenstitched together by an amateur, and on that headset the noise sensor actually passes the noise it picks up to the headset (yes, it's hooked up correctly).

I contacted the dealer that I purchased the units from as well as Autocom, and neither me nor the dealer could get a response from Autocom for almost two weeks. Once we finally did get a response, they want me to send the entire faulty kit back to the UK so they can inspect and repair it. I'm a little peeved at that, and would much rather they just send me the $30 (probably $5 to them) replacement part #1122 that I need. I've already paid them plenty (I'm in the pair for easiliy over $700 after getting the radio interfaces), and now I have to shell out another $50 in shipping and 2 months of transit to have this brand new unit troubleshot and repaired. Rather silly.

So, so far Autocom support is pointing me away from being a return customer in the future. The dealer has been very helpful, though (Sierra BMW in NV), and this is their first time dealing with Autocom directly for support.

</rant>

Anyway, the one that works does work excellent.

Here's a pic showing the difference between the working and non-working headset spiders.