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AutoCom Headset Installation - Need Advice!

B

BobFV1

Guest
Hi Gents (and Ladies) - I need your advice and counsel:

I took the plunge and bought an AutoCom Pro 7 unit yesterday. The installation of the unit to the bike was no problem at all, but I am befuddled and bedeviled by the installation of the two AutoCom Super B Universal Headsets I purchased. I need to install them in my Schuberth Concept helmet and my wife's Shoei Syncrotec. I found the instructions to be totally useless (the Shoei diagram assumes a removable liner, which I don't have, and the Schuberth diagram is just incoherent, IMHO.)

So if you all would be so kind, please take a look at these specific questions and feel free to provide any other tips/links:

1) How do you attach the speakers to the inside of the helmet - on the Schuberth the velcro doesn't work at all and on the Shoei there there doesn't seem to be enough room to just stick them to the lining.
2) Glue - your friend or cop out?
3) What kind of glue?
4) Tape - your friend? What kind??
4) Really stupid question - do you talk in to the black or brown side of the mike (it doesn't say in the book!)
5) What helmet mods are necessary - any cuts in the lining, removal of padding, etc???

Thanks in advance! By the way, feel free to take a (good-natured) cheap shot (one each) at my inability to sort this out!
 
I just did this a couple of weeks ago and the hardest part by-far (for me anyway), was not getting impatient with the installation.
I'm not familiar w. the guts of a Schubert lid however my wife's lid is a Shoei (model ?) and I wear and Arai Quantum e.
It's a bit scary pulling apart a high-$$ helmet at first, but I found the pads do come out with a little patience and persistence. I started with the cheek pads and once I worked them loose, the rest of the install was "cake"

Do the helmets first, and get them right before mounting the unit to the bike.
I bought a $7 cigar-lighter plug from Radio Shack so that I could test the entire installation without having to first install the unit on the bike. I installed the plug on the power leads and used one of those portable jumpstarters as a 12V power source.

First, determine which side of the helmet you want your plug to dangle from and then begin fishing/working the wiring inside/behind the pads....patience, patience, patience.

Once you've got the wiring in place and determined where to hide any slack, tape down w. some small bits of duct tape on the inside of the helmet shell.
I found the velcro on the speakers were quite adequate to keep things in place

The mic installation is equally easy...just takes patience and persistence. Work the mic boom behind the cheek and chin pads till you have it right.
Speak into the brown side

Turn it all on and test it out w. a portable Walkman or similar device. Keep playing/adjusting till you have the mic in the right spot relative to your lips and speaker placement right per Autocom's recommendations.

As I said, I did the helmets first...sitting in my dining room and got that part right before tackling wiring the bike. The whole speaker/mic install took me about 2 hours.

Here's some pictures , but they are more focused on bike wiring. Check them out and see if it helps you.
Go to motorcycle gallery and you'll find Autocom install

Take your time...it's easy.
Good luck and enjoy the final product
 
Subvet - Great info and thanks! I was in the Navy for four years right out of college, but I was a surface warfare officer, so I didn't learn anything particularly useful. I should have been an interior communications electrician, then I could really have a useful motorcycle skill set. I did make enough money to buy my first two brand new motorcycles courtesy of the Navy, though. San Diego Suzuki used to love to see me coming!

I think I'll give this project a shot and let you all know how it turns out. Any others out there with experience mounting the headsets, your comments are still very welcome.

Bob
 
Bob,
Well, I was an elisted man, so the one valuable takeaway I got from the Navy was how to be a janitor....I can run a mean buffer :)

I re-read your original post and realized you're using "flip-up" helmets? Sorry I missed that. Did you buy the open-face kit(s) from Autocom? I'd be interested to see how your install works out.

Incidentally, I never even removed the pads from the helmet, it was simply enough to loosen things up and I was able to work the wires in behind the pads....you'll discover this.

Also, if you normally wear earplugs, put them in when testing speaker placement. You'll discover this is important.

Good luck
 
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