Ok guys - dumb question but what the hell - what's the best way to integrate stereo audio (from an iPod or XM Radio) and the audio signal from a Valentine 1 ?
I plan to run both to my Etymotic ER6i earphones but will I need an Autocom or other pricey gadget. Thanks to Bulldog I just reveived my RAM Mount for the V1, and I just ordered the V1 power adapter, cables, and the motorcycle audio control unit.
WIll I really need an Autocom ? Should I consider the visual-only V1 alert provided by Marc Parnes Products:
http://www.marcparnes.com/Visual_Alert.htm
Has anyone used this thing ?
Thanks guys !
Question on integrating Audio source and Radar
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Question on integrating Audio source and Radar
Tony
Lifetime #156
2013 K1600GT
Lifetime #156
2013 K1600GT
-
jimcameron
- Basic User
- Posts: 38
- Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:03 am
- Location: Annapolis, Md.
radar
Tony
Do you know if they use "instant on" radar in NJ? Here, in Florida its use minimizes the effectiveness of any detection.
Do you know if they use "instant on" radar in NJ? Here, in Florida its use minimizes the effectiveness of any detection.
JimC
Jim, yes the NJSP and some locals are using Instant on X band. I know it's just about impossible to defend against, but it's better than being naked. My V1 combined with a smart, effective and defensive driving strategy seems to work.: i.e. not crazy speeds, not being out ahead of the pack, no tailgating, reading traffic, keeping right. etc.
Ironically I've been stopped twice in the past year or so (local cops) not for an infraction but because the officers wanted to check out the bike. I didn't really mind that, but the temporary pucker factor I could do without !
Ironically I've been stopped twice in the past year or so (local cops) not for an infraction but because the officers wanted to check out the bike. I didn't really mind that, but the temporary pucker factor I could do without !
Tony
Lifetime #156
2013 K1600GT
Lifetime #156
2013 K1600GT
Tony,
If you want to HEAR the V1, then I think you need a mixer, such as this:
http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/pr ... Item=MIXIT
Or a screamer:
http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/pr ... tem=RADSCR
If you want to SEE the V1 warning, then there is this red light that mounts in your helmet
http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/pr ... ?Item=HARD
I have not used any of these, so I don't know how useful they are. CycleGadgets usually sells good stuff.
If you want to HEAR the V1, then I think you need a mixer, such as this:
http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/pr ... Item=MIXIT
Or a screamer:
http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/pr ... tem=RADSCR
If you want to SEE the V1 warning, then there is this red light that mounts in your helmet
http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/pr ... ?Item=HARD
I have not used any of these, so I don't know how useful they are. CycleGadgets usually sells good stuff.
Bob
2002 Atlanta Blue
Lifetime Member #74
2002 Atlanta Blue
Lifetime Member #74
Re: radar
jimcameronjimcameron wrote:Tony
Do you know if they use "instant on" radar in NJ? Here, in Florida its use minimizes the effectiveness of any detection.
Tony is right. It seems to be only the State Police who have instant on radar. I have been stopped on my bike and in my car by local police. A radar detector is most useful against the small town speed trap that seems to be very common here. Those guys use regular old radar.
Bob
2002 Atlanta Blue
Lifetime Member #74
2002 Atlanta Blue
Lifetime Member #74
-
ProductUser
- Lifer
- Posts: 346
- Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:16 pm
- Location: Mesa, Arizona
I have the HARD system for the V1. It does have a couple of drawbacks: 1) sunlight, at certain angles, can make the red LED hard to see; 2) there is a slight delay between the V1 and when the HARD system LED flashes.
In most cases, in my opinion, you want to be able to detect a radar signal from the vehicle in front of you; one would prefer not to be the first vehicle being tracked. I wish I could have a miniature ECM pod mounted on my R
ProductUser
In most cases, in my opinion, you want to be able to detect a radar signal from the vehicle in front of you; one would prefer not to be the first vehicle being tracked. I wish I could have a miniature ECM pod mounted on my R
ProductUser
This is what I have been using for a couple of years, no problems so far. Much cheaper than most. It does not have any amplification, but with earplug type speakers, it works fine.
http://www.accessoryworkshop.com/
http://www.accessoryworkshop.com/
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dallara
Hey TonyT...
Hey, TonyT...
Good questions all. I can only tell you what I have learned from experience and *LOTS* of experimentation.
On the subject of the XM Radio - I have an original XM Roady, and if you have a spot to mount the antenna and fool with the friggin' antenna wire, you can actualy use your earbuds right out of its jack, and use the level control to adjust volume...
That said, all that wiring, etc. to get power to it and run the antenna, etc. is a royal pain in the arse. At one point I built a "box" that housed a Mix-It mixer/amplifier and mounted the Roady and its antenna, along with my Escort 8500 radar detector - drew power from the bike and mounted on my fabbed camera mount... Worked okay, but first I ran into ignition noise problems, got a suppressor to cure that, but then the sound wasn't as good... tried a different suppressor, worked better but still not as good as I wanted it... Messed around endlessly trying to cure noise issues and got tired of messing with it...
Enter my iPod Mini, which I still use. More on that in moment...
For the XM Radio I have decided to pop for one of the new XM2Go-type rigs (Delphi, Pioneer, Tao) as they have FM transmitters internally (for the car), have more power output for earphones via their own amplifier, and *HAVE THE ANTENNA INTERNALLY* so no separate antenna and wire. They have rechargable internal batteries (more on that in a moment, too), bigger buttons than the Roady, and even have internal memory for recording songs (like an iPod), and you can put it in your pocket (like my iPod), so you have no earbud wires running from you ot the bike or tankbag, etc.
Great thing about the iPod Mini and the XM2Go rigs? No need for ignition noise suppression!!!
Now, how to charge the iPod or the XM2Go... I have a fused power wire that runs up under my tank to the steering head area, and when I am not using it is looped a time or two and velcro-tied out of the way. Both my tank bags (Magnetic Marsee 20 Liter Teardrop and factory BMW tank bag) are rigged with electrical plugs for this power wire. Inside the bags I have power cord adapters for cigarette lighter plugs, so I can charge my cell phone, my iPod, or the future XM2Go rig on the bike when I am not using them, etc. So far it has worked great!
Now, to the radar detector... I rigged another fused power wire that runs up below the instruments, with enough lead that it has to be wrapped in a few loops when not in use and also held with a velcro-tie (like used for computer cable organization). When it is extended I use the velcro ties to route it up the right handlebar to a RAM-Ball mount on my right master cylinder, and this powers up the Escort 8500, as you can see here:
Now, I use, and *LOVE* Marc Parnes' "Visual Alert", as you can see on top of the detector in the picture. You can't miss it - daylight or dark - and you can actually adjust the intensity with the volume wheel on the Escort to tone it down for night riding (it's friggin' *BRIGHT* - You can't miss it when it goes off!).
Now, I still wanted to use my Escort in my car, and mounted the "Visual Alert" to teh top of the Escort wouldn't do for me, so I dug out an older Escort slide-in detector mount I had laying around, pulled the suction cups, and mounted the Parnes Alert to it, as seen here:
This way I can unplug the Parnes Alert, pull the detector off the magnetic base RAM mount, stick in my Escort suction cup mount and have it in the car in seconds.
On the subject of "instant-on" radar... Yep, it's deadly... *IF* you are the only vehicle on the road. However, if there is any other traffic out ahead of you, even a mile or two out front, and the cop *pings* them, your detector will go off, and that's the beauty of the detectors. If the cops are out hunting, and there is other traffic out there, you'll know about it. I have been driving with radar detectors for over 30 years (all the way back to the original Super Snoopers, Fuzzbuster boxes, and early Escorts, right through to the DSP Escorts, Valentine's, and the Escort 8500's...), and I don;t like to be on road trip without 'em. They have saved me countless numbers of tickets...
Sure, I've "tagged and bagged" a couple of times when I was the only one out there for miles and got nailed by some "instant-on" Ka-band, but to me a good detector is worth every penney.
BTW, Marc Parnes is a *REALLY* nice guy, and a pleasure to deal with. I cannot recommend his products enough.
Just my two ducats...
Cheers!
Dallara
Good questions all. I can only tell you what I have learned from experience and *LOTS* of experimentation.
On the subject of the XM Radio - I have an original XM Roady, and if you have a spot to mount the antenna and fool with the friggin' antenna wire, you can actualy use your earbuds right out of its jack, and use the level control to adjust volume...
That said, all that wiring, etc. to get power to it and run the antenna, etc. is a royal pain in the arse. At one point I built a "box" that housed a Mix-It mixer/amplifier and mounted the Roady and its antenna, along with my Escort 8500 radar detector - drew power from the bike and mounted on my fabbed camera mount... Worked okay, but first I ran into ignition noise problems, got a suppressor to cure that, but then the sound wasn't as good... tried a different suppressor, worked better but still not as good as I wanted it... Messed around endlessly trying to cure noise issues and got tired of messing with it...
Enter my iPod Mini, which I still use. More on that in moment...
For the XM Radio I have decided to pop for one of the new XM2Go-type rigs (Delphi, Pioneer, Tao) as they have FM transmitters internally (for the car), have more power output for earphones via their own amplifier, and *HAVE THE ANTENNA INTERNALLY* so no separate antenna and wire. They have rechargable internal batteries (more on that in a moment, too), bigger buttons than the Roady, and even have internal memory for recording songs (like an iPod), and you can put it in your pocket (like my iPod), so you have no earbud wires running from you ot the bike or tankbag, etc.
Great thing about the iPod Mini and the XM2Go rigs? No need for ignition noise suppression!!!
Now, how to charge the iPod or the XM2Go... I have a fused power wire that runs up under my tank to the steering head area, and when I am not using it is looped a time or two and velcro-tied out of the way. Both my tank bags (Magnetic Marsee 20 Liter Teardrop and factory BMW tank bag) are rigged with electrical plugs for this power wire. Inside the bags I have power cord adapters for cigarette lighter plugs, so I can charge my cell phone, my iPod, or the future XM2Go rig on the bike when I am not using them, etc. So far it has worked great!
Now, to the radar detector... I rigged another fused power wire that runs up below the instruments, with enough lead that it has to be wrapped in a few loops when not in use and also held with a velcro-tie (like used for computer cable organization). When it is extended I use the velcro ties to route it up the right handlebar to a RAM-Ball mount on my right master cylinder, and this powers up the Escort 8500, as you can see here:
Now, I use, and *LOVE* Marc Parnes' "Visual Alert", as you can see on top of the detector in the picture. You can't miss it - daylight or dark - and you can actually adjust the intensity with the volume wheel on the Escort to tone it down for night riding (it's friggin' *BRIGHT* - You can't miss it when it goes off!).
Now, I still wanted to use my Escort in my car, and mounted the "Visual Alert" to teh top of the Escort wouldn't do for me, so I dug out an older Escort slide-in detector mount I had laying around, pulled the suction cups, and mounted the Parnes Alert to it, as seen here:
This way I can unplug the Parnes Alert, pull the detector off the magnetic base RAM mount, stick in my Escort suction cup mount and have it in the car in seconds.
On the subject of "instant-on" radar... Yep, it's deadly... *IF* you are the only vehicle on the road. However, if there is any other traffic out ahead of you, even a mile or two out front, and the cop *pings* them, your detector will go off, and that's the beauty of the detectors. If the cops are out hunting, and there is other traffic out there, you'll know about it. I have been driving with radar detectors for over 30 years (all the way back to the original Super Snoopers, Fuzzbuster boxes, and early Escorts, right through to the DSP Escorts, Valentine's, and the Escort 8500's...), and I don;t like to be on road trip without 'em. They have saved me countless numbers of tickets...
Sure, I've "tagged and bagged" a couple of times when I was the only one out there for miles and got nailed by some "instant-on" Ka-band, but to me a good detector is worth every penney.
BTW, Marc Parnes is a *REALLY* nice guy, and a pleasure to deal with. I cannot recommend his products enough.
Just my two ducats...
Cheers!
Dallara
Thanks !
Guys, thanks for all the quick replies. AZ1150, I just ordered the Audio Mixer from Accessories Workshop. I think that's the type of solution I was looking for. ProductUser, the HARD system sounds really cool, but I switch between a couple of different helmets. Bob (rdsmith3), thanks for those tips. BTW you missed a nice time the other night - Yong and I went for sushi at a great local place. Close to my house and his client's office.
Dallara, thanks for a great post. Nice rig by the way. I run a XM Delph Roady 2 with a custom reservoir mount from MyRadioStore.com. It looks and works great. I'll post pics when I get all my stuff set up.
That's it for now guys. Off to my daughter's All County Gymnastics Meet....
Thanks again,
Dallara, thanks for a great post. Nice rig by the way. I run a XM Delph Roady 2 with a custom reservoir mount from MyRadioStore.com. It looks and works great. I'll post pics when I get all my stuff set up.
That's it for now guys. Off to my daughter's All County Gymnastics Meet....
Thanks again,
Tony
Lifetime #156
2013 K1600GT
Lifetime #156
2013 K1600GT