twowheelnut
R.I.P. Our Motorcycling Friend
After much research and query, I finally settled on the Softline audio mixer for the Feej. I gotta say, that after a couple of errors on my part that this is a sweet unit!
First off, Speed Collingsworth, the US distributor is the tops. Crap, his cell phone is even listed on the web site, fercryinoutloud! He was very helpful on ‘designing’ my rig and followed up everything in writing. What he didn’t know, he got straight from the owner of Softline in Germany. Can’t say enough about the customer service.
My set-up required a custom loom from Softline for the 276C GPS, which had to come from Germany. Speed sourced the 276C cable by Garmin locally and included it in my kit. When the kit did arrive, everything was well packed, clearly labeled and the instructions, though translated from German were pretty clear. This is quite the rugged little unit, too.
I first installed the unit under the pillion and ran my Centec to the tool pocket below the rider’s seat. Cables to the audio inputs and power ran under the tank to the Centec and mixer. Realizing that I was gonna need an extension for my headset, I zipped down to Radio Shack and picked one up – more on that later. Hooking everything up was a snap – or so I thought… I fired the unit up and tossed on my helmet, now equipped with a high quality headset also from Softline, and turned on the satrad. Schaweet, it worked! Next test, the GPS. Way cool, two down! How about the CB? Yup, 10-4, good buddy! MP3 player, check! Intercom, check! Holy crap! That was too friggin’ easy! All that I had left to do was tune the volume and the ‘squelch’ on the Softline to my liking.
So, I put all the dash panels back on, buttoned up the tank, dropped the seats back on and hooked up my headset to the extension I bought earlier got my gear on and fired up the Feej. The starter sounds way cool coming through the headsets, but when I flipped on the satrad, I got an otherworldly feedback scream that damn near popped my ear drums! I fiddled with the volume and squelch and rechecked all the connections and it was still piercing away.
A quick email to Speed that night and he, Softline and another helpful FJR owner (Dobias, was that you?) all jumped to help! Wow! Some suggestions were made as to the possible problem including the idea that the unit may be faulty. I opened everything back up and traced all the lines making sure nothing was crossed, etc. Everything looked good and I plugged back into the system for a headset check and it worked fine. Then I saw the Radio Shack extension cord lying on the floor… Hmmm… 1 + 1 = 2! Fuckin’ dumb ass that I am! “Unshielded”, printed right there on the label! Plugged the extension in line and it squealed like a pig! Argh! After that issue was fixed, as the helpful FJR owner had warned, I got the ignition noise feeding back. Crap.
After looking at the amount of wiring running all over the place (even thought it was all neatly bundled, routed and tie wrapped, I decided to relocate the unit to the fairing pocked. This requires cutting a hole in the bottom of the pocket to feed to wiring loom through, but eliminates yards of wires and keeps the wires out of the engine bay. Buttoned back up, I test rode the unit and it’s damn near perfect! I had to fiddle fart with the squelch, but I’ve got it right in 3 attempts at adjustment. Plus, I can make adjustments on the fly because of its location in the pocket. The "MANR" - Active Noise Cancellation Module system is simply outstanding. What I’ve found is that the intercom will cut the music, etc and the faster you go just talk a little louder and it does not keep layering. I self tested the unit at speeds in excess of 120 mph and got clear sound through the headsets. I did have to move the microphone around a bit to eliminate the wind rush, but that was just a ½” move up.
Right now, the unit is set up to mix the GPS, MP3, SatRad, and CB. I can also hook up my cell phone, but that ain’t ever gonna happen! Also, In typical German fashion, the GPS has audio priority, then the intercom, then your tunes/CB.
On a scale of one to ten, I rate this unit a solid 9.5. I just wish there was a bit more volume adjustment because the comedy channels (and all spoken word stations) are a bit hard to hear on the satrad. The music is fine though… Speed has given me the part number for a 20 db booster that I’ll prolly order. On the same scale for installation ease it gets a 10 as it’s plug and play and on operation and initial set up, again, VOX, PTT all a 10.
For more info clicky here.
First off, Speed Collingsworth, the US distributor is the tops. Crap, his cell phone is even listed on the web site, fercryinoutloud! He was very helpful on ‘designing’ my rig and followed up everything in writing. What he didn’t know, he got straight from the owner of Softline in Germany. Can’t say enough about the customer service.
My set-up required a custom loom from Softline for the 276C GPS, which had to come from Germany. Speed sourced the 276C cable by Garmin locally and included it in my kit. When the kit did arrive, everything was well packed, clearly labeled and the instructions, though translated from German were pretty clear. This is quite the rugged little unit, too.
I first installed the unit under the pillion and ran my Centec to the tool pocket below the rider’s seat. Cables to the audio inputs and power ran under the tank to the Centec and mixer. Realizing that I was gonna need an extension for my headset, I zipped down to Radio Shack and picked one up – more on that later. Hooking everything up was a snap – or so I thought… I fired the unit up and tossed on my helmet, now equipped with a high quality headset also from Softline, and turned on the satrad. Schaweet, it worked! Next test, the GPS. Way cool, two down! How about the CB? Yup, 10-4, good buddy! MP3 player, check! Intercom, check! Holy crap! That was too friggin’ easy! All that I had left to do was tune the volume and the ‘squelch’ on the Softline to my liking.
So, I put all the dash panels back on, buttoned up the tank, dropped the seats back on and hooked up my headset to the extension I bought earlier got my gear on and fired up the Feej. The starter sounds way cool coming through the headsets, but when I flipped on the satrad, I got an otherworldly feedback scream that damn near popped my ear drums! I fiddled with the volume and squelch and rechecked all the connections and it was still piercing away.
A quick email to Speed that night and he, Softline and another helpful FJR owner (Dobias, was that you?) all jumped to help! Wow! Some suggestions were made as to the possible problem including the idea that the unit may be faulty. I opened everything back up and traced all the lines making sure nothing was crossed, etc. Everything looked good and I plugged back into the system for a headset check and it worked fine. Then I saw the Radio Shack extension cord lying on the floor… Hmmm… 1 + 1 = 2! Fuckin’ dumb ass that I am! “Unshielded”, printed right there on the label! Plugged the extension in line and it squealed like a pig! Argh! After that issue was fixed, as the helpful FJR owner had warned, I got the ignition noise feeding back. Crap.
After looking at the amount of wiring running all over the place (even thought it was all neatly bundled, routed and tie wrapped, I decided to relocate the unit to the fairing pocked. This requires cutting a hole in the bottom of the pocket to feed to wiring loom through, but eliminates yards of wires and keeps the wires out of the engine bay. Buttoned back up, I test rode the unit and it’s damn near perfect! I had to fiddle fart with the squelch, but I’ve got it right in 3 attempts at adjustment. Plus, I can make adjustments on the fly because of its location in the pocket. The "MANR" - Active Noise Cancellation Module system is simply outstanding. What I’ve found is that the intercom will cut the music, etc and the faster you go just talk a little louder and it does not keep layering. I self tested the unit at speeds in excess of 120 mph and got clear sound through the headsets. I did have to move the microphone around a bit to eliminate the wind rush, but that was just a ½” move up.
Right now, the unit is set up to mix the GPS, MP3, SatRad, and CB. I can also hook up my cell phone, but that ain’t ever gonna happen! Also, In typical German fashion, the GPS has audio priority, then the intercom, then your tunes/CB.
On a scale of one to ten, I rate this unit a solid 9.5. I just wish there was a bit more volume adjustment because the comedy channels (and all spoken word stations) are a bit hard to hear on the satrad. The music is fine though… Speed has given me the part number for a 20 db booster that I’ll prolly order. On the same scale for installation ease it gets a 10 as it’s plug and play and on operation and initial set up, again, VOX, PTT all a 10.
For more info clicky here.
Now you old tart where are the pics??? Hmmm???
