Excellent info! Thanks, RZ. Yep, you're right about my typo. I'm still not sure I have the right equipment to solder in this particular instance, but I'll check the link you provided and see what options I have. Thanks again.
Jeff
Jeff
RZ350’s Gen II Mods, Part 2 - Quick Disconnect GPS Mount System
- Thread starter RZ350
- Start date
Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:
MINI RIDE REPORT
I thought I better post this before I end up buying a new GPS receiver. Riding up and back to NAFO’10 in Knoxville gave me a chance to really get acquainted with this set-up.
DaveB was my riding buddy for the whole trip, and there was a few times, I sure, he was getting a little frustrated with my navigation talents. I apologize to him again as it was mainly my lack of experience with this GPS that caused most of the issues. We did get nice tours of downtown Knoxville a couple of times (by accident), but luckily for me, no one ever complains about a few extra miles on the FJR.
That's My Story And I’m Sticking To It:
My main problem was that the voice prompts got unintentional turn off prior to the ride. I was going a lot of route planning before we left, and I must have done something wrong. It was until we got to GA that I had time to get them switched on again. But even though I selected “English” language, on the Nuvi, you must select a language with a person’s name after it to get the street name voice prompts to be included. Those street names are essential on a motorcycle (and really a car too) because you don’t always have the opportunity to look at the screen for it. So when there was a cluster of exits close together, the prompts were stating to “Stay left”, “Stay left” then “Exit right” at the very last second. If the prompt would have stated the exit number a quarter of a mile out rather than just saying “Exit right in a quarter mile” I could have been looking at the road signs as guidance. I didn’t figure out how to get the street names turned back on until I got home. They really don’t make that easy to find in the manual. Anyway, things are much better now.
Okay enough excuses for my incompetence, on with the review.
The General Set-up:
I was using my new Cortech tankbag, and it served as a good “junction box” for the wiring to my helmet (no Bluetooth for the helmet yet). Two cables ran from the bag to the GPS mount, one for audio and one for mic. A single cable ran up from the bag to my helmet, and this was part of my old MotoComm system. Inside the Aquabox, I still had the external cable plugged into the GPS audio jack. This never proved to be a problem because I think I only took the GPS out of the Box maybe once, if ever. If any more time goes by, I may never attempt to integrate the audio cable into the GPS cradle.
Out On The Road:
With 12V power hardwired to the bike and energized with the ignition on, the GPS power up /down feature worked perfectly. When I switched on the ignition, the GPS fired up. When I turned the engine off, the GPS screen prompted if I wanted to run on battery power or turn off. If it was a short gas stop or something, I just selected battery. If I didn’t select anything, it defaulted to turn off in 30 seconds. Nice.
I originally thought I would need some kind of shade to block direct sunlight from washing out the screen. There were a few occasions when it would have helped, but not enough to justify rigging up something. I will be relying on the voice prompts (now that they are working properly) to guide me in those rare instances when I have trouble seeing the screen.
Gloved fingers posed no problem with the AquaBox membrane over the GPS touchscreen. Buttons to press on the screen were large and it was easy to select the correct one when multiple choices were available. Before the trip, I even added a screen protector on the GPS, just to be safe.
The Nuvi 780 displays the speed limit of the road on the map screen so you know how much over it you are traveling. I noticed this being outdated a few times with the current signs, especially in areas that looked like fresh construction.
Map Routing:
I spent a little time, prior to the trip, entering about 20 points of interest to my favorites list for different spots up in the area we would be mainly riding in. Places like the hotel, the start and stop points of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, and place like that. This proved to be very useful for creating quick routes, depending on where people decided to go that day. You didn’t have to search the entire POI database, but instead, just had to scroll down through a short favorites list and create the loop.
One problem I did notice with GPS navigation is it’s a little slow to recalculate (especially in town) if you go off route. I guess I should have slowed down to give it some time for processing before we got too far off course. The GPS did find us a great little greasy spoon for lunch on Saturday so that makes up for some of it!
Enough said on this - you folks are much better routers than me, I’m sure.
Quick Disconnect Mount:
This was really handy. I could pop the Aquabox off in no time and toss it in my trunk. No problems to report, whatsoever. I used the GPS through all of our rain on the way back to FL without any problems, so the MIL connector is doing its job of sealing the water out and making a good connection.
Phone Features:
I have an old Razr V3 as my work cell phone (yep, still works and its monthy fee is free!) and this paired fine with the Nuvi. I kept it in my tankbag and BT pairing was flawless every time I fired up the GPS. My address book was available through GPS as was a phone battery indicator. Although it was available, I didn’t bother messing with the voice dialing feature so I can’t comment on that. In the phone menu, there is a “Home” button that can be set to call the SO and this got used the most to give the wife an update on our position. I made nearly all my calls from the road and it was nice not to squeeze the calls in at rest stops. I could focus on filling up with gas, snacking, and well, resting.
The other common calling features were available too like “received calls” and the like so that was a quick way for me to call other folks I frequently call. At highway speeds, it was a bit difficult to chat, but I could manage. I’m not much of the chatty type anyway, so phone calls were kept mainly to the facts.
I managed to patch the microphone of the MotoComm headset system (which was originally intended for FRS input) directly into the mic circuit of the GPS. I had to make a simple little cable to do it, but it was easy with a few parts I had on hand. Before the ride, I tried using the same mic for both FRS and phone use, but there was too much static during the phone conversion. Apparently they don’t play well together and I gave up with that. So for now, it’s either one or the other until I figure it out.
MP3 Music Feature:
I really don’t like listening to music much on the bike, but I did use it a little bit for this trip. I had about 4gig of music available on the SD card. When the music is playing, you have a symbol displayed on the map that allows you to quickly jump to the MP3 player screen. That all worked great and is just a built-in Nuvi feature.
Audio Priority:
Audio priority was handled nicely by the Nuvi. Voice prompt and incoming phone calls overrode music if it was playing. I believe street prompts have priority over the phone, but I can’t remember now. All volumes are independently adjustable from a GPS screen. The MotoComm cable leading to my helmet had a mute button built in so it was nice to be able to just slap that when I needed it completely quiet - like talking to the rider next to me at a stoplight, etc.
Summary:
Negating my blunders with the operation of the GPS, I was happy with the whole system. I believe I will be using it for some time, or at least until the next clearance-priced GPS comes along!
I thought I better post this before I end up buying a new GPS receiver. Riding up and back to NAFO’10 in Knoxville gave me a chance to really get acquainted with this set-up.
DaveB was my riding buddy for the whole trip, and there was a few times, I sure, he was getting a little frustrated with my navigation talents. I apologize to him again as it was mainly my lack of experience with this GPS that caused most of the issues. We did get nice tours of downtown Knoxville a couple of times (by accident), but luckily for me, no one ever complains about a few extra miles on the FJR.
That's My Story And I’m Sticking To It:
My main problem was that the voice prompts got unintentional turn off prior to the ride. I was going a lot of route planning before we left, and I must have done something wrong. It was until we got to GA that I had time to get them switched on again. But even though I selected “English” language, on the Nuvi, you must select a language with a person’s name after it to get the street name voice prompts to be included. Those street names are essential on a motorcycle (and really a car too) because you don’t always have the opportunity to look at the screen for it. So when there was a cluster of exits close together, the prompts were stating to “Stay left”, “Stay left” then “Exit right” at the very last second. If the prompt would have stated the exit number a quarter of a mile out rather than just saying “Exit right in a quarter mile” I could have been looking at the road signs as guidance. I didn’t figure out how to get the street names turned back on until I got home. They really don’t make that easy to find in the manual. Anyway, things are much better now.
Okay enough excuses for my incompetence, on with the review.
The General Set-up:
I was using my new Cortech tankbag, and it served as a good “junction box” for the wiring to my helmet (no Bluetooth for the helmet yet). Two cables ran from the bag to the GPS mount, one for audio and one for mic. A single cable ran up from the bag to my helmet, and this was part of my old MotoComm system. Inside the Aquabox, I still had the external cable plugged into the GPS audio jack. This never proved to be a problem because I think I only took the GPS out of the Box maybe once, if ever. If any more time goes by, I may never attempt to integrate the audio cable into the GPS cradle.
Out On The Road:
With 12V power hardwired to the bike and energized with the ignition on, the GPS power up /down feature worked perfectly. When I switched on the ignition, the GPS fired up. When I turned the engine off, the GPS screen prompted if I wanted to run on battery power or turn off. If it was a short gas stop or something, I just selected battery. If I didn’t select anything, it defaulted to turn off in 30 seconds. Nice.
I originally thought I would need some kind of shade to block direct sunlight from washing out the screen. There were a few occasions when it would have helped, but not enough to justify rigging up something. I will be relying on the voice prompts (now that they are working properly) to guide me in those rare instances when I have trouble seeing the screen.
Gloved fingers posed no problem with the AquaBox membrane over the GPS touchscreen. Buttons to press on the screen were large and it was easy to select the correct one when multiple choices were available. Before the trip, I even added a screen protector on the GPS, just to be safe.
The Nuvi 780 displays the speed limit of the road on the map screen so you know how much over it you are traveling. I noticed this being outdated a few times with the current signs, especially in areas that looked like fresh construction.
Map Routing:
I spent a little time, prior to the trip, entering about 20 points of interest to my favorites list for different spots up in the area we would be mainly riding in. Places like the hotel, the start and stop points of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, and place like that. This proved to be very useful for creating quick routes, depending on where people decided to go that day. You didn’t have to search the entire POI database, but instead, just had to scroll down through a short favorites list and create the loop.
One problem I did notice with GPS navigation is it’s a little slow to recalculate (especially in town) if you go off route. I guess I should have slowed down to give it some time for processing before we got too far off course. The GPS did find us a great little greasy spoon for lunch on Saturday so that makes up for some of it!
Enough said on this - you folks are much better routers than me, I’m sure.
Quick Disconnect Mount:
This was really handy. I could pop the Aquabox off in no time and toss it in my trunk. No problems to report, whatsoever. I used the GPS through all of our rain on the way back to FL without any problems, so the MIL connector is doing its job of sealing the water out and making a good connection.
Phone Features:
I have an old Razr V3 as my work cell phone (yep, still works and its monthy fee is free!) and this paired fine with the Nuvi. I kept it in my tankbag and BT pairing was flawless every time I fired up the GPS. My address book was available through GPS as was a phone battery indicator. Although it was available, I didn’t bother messing with the voice dialing feature so I can’t comment on that. In the phone menu, there is a “Home” button that can be set to call the SO and this got used the most to give the wife an update on our position. I made nearly all my calls from the road and it was nice not to squeeze the calls in at rest stops. I could focus on filling up with gas, snacking, and well, resting.
The other common calling features were available too like “received calls” and the like so that was a quick way for me to call other folks I frequently call. At highway speeds, it was a bit difficult to chat, but I could manage. I’m not much of the chatty type anyway, so phone calls were kept mainly to the facts.
I managed to patch the microphone of the MotoComm headset system (which was originally intended for FRS input) directly into the mic circuit of the GPS. I had to make a simple little cable to do it, but it was easy with a few parts I had on hand. Before the ride, I tried using the same mic for both FRS and phone use, but there was too much static during the phone conversion. Apparently they don’t play well together and I gave up with that. So for now, it’s either one or the other until I figure it out.
MP3 Music Feature:
I really don’t like listening to music much on the bike, but I did use it a little bit for this trip. I had about 4gig of music available on the SD card. When the music is playing, you have a symbol displayed on the map that allows you to quickly jump to the MP3 player screen. That all worked great and is just a built-in Nuvi feature.
Audio Priority:
Audio priority was handled nicely by the Nuvi. Voice prompt and incoming phone calls overrode music if it was playing. I believe street prompts have priority over the phone, but I can’t remember now. All volumes are independently adjustable from a GPS screen. The MotoComm cable leading to my helmet had a mute button built in so it was nice to be able to just slap that when I needed it completely quiet - like talking to the rider next to me at a stoplight, etc.
Summary:
Negating my blunders with the operation of the GPS, I was happy with the whole system. I believe I will be using it for some time, or at least until the next clearance-priced GPS comes along!
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A FINISHING TOUCH - ADDITION OF A PROPER CAP
Up until now, I’ve been using a plastic cap to cover the MIL connector when the GPS wasn’t installed. I had the matching MIL bayonet cap on an ebay watch list for quite some time now but none ever appeared, so I finally splurged and bought a new cap through an electronics supplier. It came with a tether chain so it can’t just fall off - I would hate to see $25 bouncing down the road! I added a little rubber bung so it would have a designated storage spot when the GPS was mounted and that is shown in the inset picture.
Up until now, I’ve been using a plastic cap to cover the MIL connector when the GPS wasn’t installed. I had the matching MIL bayonet cap on an ebay watch list for quite some time now but none ever appeared, so I finally splurged and bought a new cap through an electronics supplier. It came with a tether chain so it can’t just fall off - I would hate to see $25 bouncing down the road! I added a little rubber bung so it would have a designated storage spot when the GPS was mounted and that is shown in the inset picture.
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