StarCom Communications

[DingoZ]

Okay folks, here is a review of the StarCom1 Digital Communications Kit I purchased a few days ago.

Background Info.

StarCom1 is a universal motorcycle communication system that can combine...
► Rider to passenger hands free and natural conversation.. Just talk!
► Bike-to-bike communication, vox (voice controlled) or PTT (push-to-talk)
► Stereo music, at CD quality, from any portable music system.
► Mobile phone. Enjoy a normal phone conversation at speed..
Totally hands free
► Satellite Navigation or radar, allows voice commands to be heard clearly
► High speed clear communication.

Some features..

Standard on all systems:
►Active Noise Reduction
►Intelligent Source Selection
►Helmet plug On/Off
►Auto Volume Level Adjust
►VOX
►Full Duplex Intercom

The digital design incorporates AMS (automatic microphone sensitivity) a system that turns the microphone volume up when you talk and down when your quiet, and the levels are digitally automatically adjusted to suit the road speed and noise level.


Okay, so I get this kit and it comes with everything you need in it. I got Kit-B which is the rider/pillion kit (comes with an extra headset set).

Open it up and think okay..!!...Is this it. The unit itself is about the size of a credit card, and or a small pack of cigarrettes...

Lay out all the parts, and dig out the instructions. Piece of cake to install the instructions say..... So it's out to the bike, with the only thing that needs to be "installed", which is the power supply lead. Whip the seat off the bike, and go "Bugger", everything on my bike is contained, either in moulded plastic or is inside sheathed wiring looms. There is not a visible wire anywhere to be seen. So the kit comes with two plastic wire crimpers, but seeing as there is not a wire handy (and I'm not really sure of which is the correct one to attach to anyway), it's off to WMC to see the techs there to see if they can shed some light.

Sure enough, is a simple matter to attach to the end of the supplied wire, a pair of eye connectors, which allows me to connect straight to the battery screws. Voila - with a couple of turns of the screw driver the hardest part of the installation is complete.

Back home, and the seat is off again, and it's time to lay out the system and find out the best positioning for the cables. One for me goes to the front, and comes out under the seat just behind my left leg. The wire for the pillion goes to the back and comes out behind her left arse cheek....

Connect up the wire for the MP3 player, which runs out to the front as well. and its on with the seat again.

** Just like to add at this point that the unit while connected straight to the battery, (with an inline fuse), is NOT DRAWING any power. The circuit is only completed when the cords are plugged into the helmet..So it is safe to leave connected up, as it won't drain your battery while it's not being used.

And speaking of helmets, it's time to attack the installation of the speakers and mic inside the helmet.

Pretty easy. The speakers and mic are in one wiring loom. Removed the liner from inside the helmet, and slotted the speakers into the approx position (handy as there is a pocket in the cheek pads which is spot on for my ears.. ) Positioned the end of the cable slightly to the left rear of the helmet, as there is a small gap in the padding there. Put the wind skirt back into place and thats it all done.....Took about 10 minutes all up.......

The book advises to test once the helmet has been done, by hooking up a MP3 player or similar and playing some music to see if you have got the speakers in the right place or not. So it's out to the bike. Plug the player into the connector wire provided, on with the helmet, grab the springy cord connector and plug it into the helmet, then plug into the connector coming out from under the seat. And bugger me, I got tunes coming through into my helmet. Yup had got the speakers in just about the right place, a few adjustments and it's all good. They come with sticky backing so you can fix them in place. And they are velcroed as well. BUt I'm not using the sticky backing feature as the pocket of fabric holds them in nicely. The mic is next to be fixed in place, same again with sticky backing.

The unit straight out of the box is set to factory defaults. BUt they are easy enough to change, as the main unit has leds, and three simple buttons, Volume, Func, Up or down. Instruction manual has clear and simple directions for setting the varied functions, and it is not hard and does not take long at all...

The partner's helmet was next. That took even less time. Then it was a matter of waiting for her to get home so we could test out the unit's Rider to Pillion intercom. This is really to simple. Both plug in and just speak. jumped on the bike and off we went. Both busy yammering away, clear as, could understand what I was hearing, just like as if we were talking normally. There is no need to shout, you just talk in a normal voice. If your music is playing, as soon as either speaks, the system mutes the music, and you don't loose any words, when no one speaks for 10 secs (or for how ever long/short of duration you set) the music comes back on.

So that was around the block, suburban kind of speeds. What about motorway or higher speeds. Well let me tell ya, went for a blat up to Otaki, and same thing. Even at 100+, the sound is crystal clear. The unit cuts out the wind, and ambient noises and automatically adjusts the volume to suit. All still while neither party having to use a raised voice.

Back home and, all thats left to do, is decide on the best layout for the connector wires, and then will be cable tieing them in place. And thats it, job done. Oh yeah the best thing about this is, the main unit can be disconnected and taken away from the bike, in case of inclement weather or if the bike is not going to be used for periods of time.


So my recommendation is if you are looking for a system that can do nearly everything communications wise, check out these systems..

Purchased from Road and Track - Lower Hutt - Talk to David..
Cost - For the Digital System $730.00
Installation hassles. Zero
Satisfaction with performance. 100%

Check out both websites for further info.

Road and track ... http://www.radardirect.co.nz/new/frameset/

StarCom .... http://starcom1.com/

Oh yeah I forgot to mention, it really added to the partners experience of being a pillion, by being able to talk while we were riding. She could let me know if she was getting uncomfortable or wanted to stop, and grab a coffee or such like....Bonus in my book...

Pic 1 > The unit itself
Pic 2 > What the kit contains - Basic one on the left - Rider/Pillion one on the right
Pic 3 > Diagram of features
Pic 4 > Riders Connector - bungy cord from helmet plugs in here.
Pic 5 > MP3 - Phone Cable - MP3 player goes in top of tank bag. When not in use cable goes back under seat out of the way.
Pic 6 > Stick on mounts, which the end of the connectors go into when not in use. (waterproof as they are, just a way to keep things tidy).



Enjoy

[unrealone]

Nice write up and good effort with all the detail.

Sounds great but $730 leaves me wondering... considering there are other options for around $250 (that bluetooth model comes to mind) that I've been told work just as nicely.

[DingoZ]

Nice write up and good effort with all the detail.

Sounds great but $730 leaves me wondering... considering there are other options for around $250 (that bluetooth model comes to mind) that I've been told work just as nicely.

Yup looked at several different models. Even tested a BlueAnt Interphone, could not find one cheaper than $350.00 for one unit. So two would cost you $30.00 less than this unit. And it needs recharging after use. Has only 5 hours of talk time. Has to be paired to a bluetooth capable phone. And paired to your gps etc etc. The sound quality is not as good, and does not have as good noise cancelling features. And it is something which goes on the side of your helmet. I found it annoying, and it produced a wind whistle as well, which came through my left ear. (ended up with a bad headache after 15 minutes). Also the BIKE TO BIKE feature of the Blueant has a very limited range. With the Starcom and decent walkies, you can get up to a km or even 2 in some cases.

The Starcom allows for the rider to listen to music, and if the pillions taste does not match, the pillion can listen to their own music without any cutover. And if the rider or pillion speaks, the music mutes for both... Also if you connect to a GPS/Navigation system, that has voice command activations, this system allows you to do this without having to push any buttons. Same goes for phones. Both the rider and pillion can have their phones connected at the same time, and use them independantly from each other.

You get what you pay for I suppose. I weighed up the cost of buying cheap shit, versus the initial cost for something that is going to last.

But each to their own. The Starcoms are up their in cost, cheaper than some systems, dearer than others. All depends on what you want to end up with I suppose....

[unrealone]

Yup looked at several different models. Even tested a BlueAnt Interphone, could not find one cheaper than $350.00 for one unit. So two would cost you $30.00 less than this unit. And it needs recharging after use. Has only 5 hours of talk time. Has to be paired to a bluetooth capable phone. And paired to your gps etc etc. The sound quality is not as good, and does not have as good noise cancelling features. And it is something which goes on the side of your helmet. I found it annoying, and it produced a wind whistle as well, which came through my left ear. (ended up with a bad headache after 15 minutes). Also the BIKE TO BIKE feature of the Blueant has a very limited range. With the Starcom and decent walkies, you can get up to a km or even 2 in some cases.

The Starcom allows for the rider to listen to music, and if the pillions taste does not match, the pillion can listen to their own music without any cutover. And if the rider or pillion speaks, the music mutes for both... Also if you connect to a GPS/Navigation system, that has voice command activations, this system allows you to do this without having to push any buttons. Same goes for phones. Both the rider and pillion can have their phones connected at the same time, and use them independantly from each other.

You get what you pay for I suppose. I weighed up the cost of buying cheap shit, versus the initial cost for something that is going to last.

But each to their own. The Starcoms are up their in cost, cheaper than some systems, dearer than others. All depends on what you want to end up with I suppose....

Yep good points for sure. Just the price factor really. I've spotted those Blue ant units for $250 awhile back (maybe the shit NZD has made it go up :P) - two units = $500. In terms of bike to bike with this StarCom you'd be looking at $1460 roughly for two units?

For the serious tourer/cruiser the StarCom option sounds far better. I guess the Blueant is more suited for the not so long distance rider.

Definately pay for what you get. I have no doubt this unit works as well as you say it does.

[sootie]

Yep good points for sure. Just the price factor really. I've spotted those Blue ant units for $250 awhile back (maybe the shit NZD has made it go up :P) - two units = $500. In terms of bike to bike with this StarCom you'd be looking at $1460 roughly for two units?

For the serious tourer/cruiser the StarCom option sounds far better. I guess the Blueant is more suited for the not so long distance rider.

Definately pay for what you get. I have no doubt this unit works as well as you say it does.

New reviews don't count. You trip over them everwhere. (Probably encouraged by some manufacturer!)
Who has done at least 5,000 kms using a bike comms system & would like to offer a review??
(Yes, I am a cynical bastard!)

[James Deuce]

Sounds like a fucking nightmare. Pay money to be distracted while doing something that comes third in the potential serious injury and death stakes behind DIY and Horse riding as well as enabling pillion participation.

Time for a nice big orbital nuke explosion of about 100 Gigatons to sort out electronics everywhere.

[Gremlin]

New reviews don't count. You trip over them everwhere. (Probably encouraged by some manufacturer!)
Who has done at least 5,000 kms using a bike comms system & would like to offer a review??
(Yes, I am a cynical bastard!)

I suppose I should, of my Baehr, but not in this thread.

OP, would be very interested in you posting an update in 10k time or something, to see how you've found it (durability, performance etc), otherwise, enjoyed the review. Like you, I've gone for wired, as bluetooth is too limiting, so I've had a Baehr setup for a few years.

[sootie]

Sounds like a fucking nightmare. Pay money to be distracted while doing something that comes third in the potential serious injury and death stakes behind DIY and Horse riding as well as enabling pillion participation. .

I have personally ridden more than 10,000kms with live bike to bike comms & greatly enjoyed it.
I find your comments quite puzzling. Do you have a double walled glass panel between the driver & all passengers in all your cars to stay safe from listening to them?

As far as I can work out, the reason about 80% of all Goldwing riders use bike to bike comms is because they can actually buy gear off the shelf which really works in conjunction with the huge windscreen Goldwings sport. The rest of us struggle to buy stuff that works at speed & distance & stays reliable. That really was the point of my previous post.

I have slowly come to the conclusion that group riding in city traffic (which is very hard for some of us to avoid at times) is really not safe UNLESS there is at least some bike to bike comms and riders know how to use it intelligently.

[Ocean1]

I've gone for wired, as bluetooth is too limiting

Don't you run over the wire all the time?


And, for that matter why can't we have both, helmet to bike via blueteeth and bike to bike with the higher powered protocols? Might even be cheaper to make...

[Ocean1]

Do you have a double walled glass panel between the driver & all passengers in all your cars to stay safe from listening to them?

Depends on the reasons one rides, eh?

Some of us do it to get the voices OUT of our heads.

[Gremlin]

Don't you run over the wire all the time?

And, for that matter why can't we have both, helmet to bike via blueteeth and bike to bike with the higher powered protocols? Might even be cheaper to make...

You can certainly have bike to bike and bike to helmet bluetooth. Already exists. Sena and Scala (I think there are more) simply pair to other bluetooth devices. However, I don't believe Scala and Sena could pair to each other, and the latest helmet bluetooth comms only supports 4 devices in total. Not practical enough for me, plus battery life.

Not sure what you mean by running over the wire? Meant jokingly? My comms is fully installed inside the bike (with a wiring loom that makes most scream ) and only have one cable exiting out beind and under the tank for my helmet to plug into. Two cables if I brought the pillion line out as well. The helmet cord is coiled and stretchy so takes up it's own slack but still flexible enough if I'm standing and moving around on the bike (for adventure riding). Under pressure, the connection between bike cord and helmet cord will unplug itself if we're too far apart. Had before when uh... sliding and also stepping off the bike when it wants a rest.

Granted, this info is for Baehr, not sure if Starcom is same thing...

[Ocean1]

Not sure what you mean by running over the wire? Meant jokingly?

Yup.

You can certainly have bike to bike and bike to helmet bluetooth. Already exists.

Yes, I have a pair. What I was suggesting is that you could use bluetooth from your helmet to the bike, which could relay the signal using a higher energy signal. Best of both worlds, you can connect several items wirelessly to the bike, which can use a far longer range tranciever that don't need charging at all.

[sootie]

Yup.



Yes, I have a pair. What I was suggesting is that you could use bluetooth from your helmet to the bike, which could relay the signal using a higher energy signal. Best of both worlds, you can connect several items wirelessly to the bike, which can use a far longer range tranciever that don't need charging at all.

I think you are missing a really big point here. When I want to ride my bike, I dont want to begin by having to fit a front wheel or even having to readjust the mirror positions. By the same token, I do not want to have to recharge Bluetooth batteries, fit radios, adjust volumes etc.

Sometimes (as on my own today) I choose not to turn the radio on, but it is always there & ready to go. The only power source it needs is the bike ignition. hence: sit on bike, push it outside, start it up & ride!!! Come home & put it away!!! (Putting my gear off and on is a damn nuisance - may be I could live & sleep in it??)

Bluetooth interfaces are great for secretaries (sorry PAs) to roam around filing cabinettes with while on the phone. (It also looks really cool).

My wife says I am not particularly cool, and while I am riding my bike, I tend to stay on it (if possible) & not roam around. I have found this is a good idea in general. Hence a short length curly cord connection to my helmet matters not one jot, especially if it saves me having to charge both ends of some Bluetooth connection which sometimes needs re-pairing & never works as well anyway. (I have tried it.)

Why does everyone want to complicate everything? Probably all you want is tell everyone you are going to stop for a pee, and will catch them up again soon .....

[James Deuce]

I have personally ridden more than 10,000kms with live bike to bike comms & greatly enjoyed it.
I find your comments quite puzzling. Do you have a double walled glass panel between the driver & all passengers in all your cars to stay safe from listening to them?

As far as I can work out, the reason about 80% of all Goldwing riders use bike to bike comms is because they can actually buy gear off the shelf which really works in conjunction with the huge windscreen Goldwings sport. The rest of us struggle to buy stuff that works at speed & distance & stays reliable. That really was the point of my previous post.

I have slowly come to the conclusion that group riding in city traffic (which is very hard for some of us to avoid at times) is really not safe UNLESS there is at least some bike to bike comms and riders know how to use it intelligently.

I don't have a car. I use public transport. I put the headphones in and don't wash all week. Keeps me a seat to myself.

There's no such thing as group riding in my book either and I think the Police need to stamp it out using Anti-Gang-Assembly laws, because everyone knows that everyone on a motorcycle is a bikie. Group riding is mob insanity. I don't ring up a bunch of mates to go for a group drive or a group ride on the train, and I don't understand the mentality that they're OK after all the deaths recorded in KB over the last 10 years that mostly happened on group rides. The definition of insanity is doing something over and over expecting a different outcome.

I certainly don't ride a motorcycle to answer a phone, chat with a pillion (in fact I tend to avoid taking a pillion - I'll do it to get someone home who has left their bike in a paddock, but only after expressing my displeasure at being put in that position), and I sure as hell won't listen to music on a motorcycle, I value my hearing too much. It's already over 90dB in that helmet of yours without sticking in "noise-cancelling earbuds" (they're bollocks) or helmet speakers (that I wouldn't be able to hear through my ear plugs anyway) that you have to crank up to overwhelm ambient noise to have any clarity at all, putting you into CV deck operations sound levels without any hearing protection. Not many carrier deck handlers have any hearing left after a couple of tours even with standard military hearing protection.

And finally, I do not ride a motorcycle to chat with my wife. It's my three times a year alone time.

[Ocean1]

I think you are missing a really big point here.

It's my point, who's missing it?

Usually I ride alone, that's when I don't need or want sophistocated coms.

Sometimes I get to ride only if I can maintain a minimum business presence. That's when I'd like the sort of com's I've got in my office: multi-system and 100% reliable. You can assume that if I'm thinking out loud about how to achieve that inside my helmet that there's a fairly good reason for it, the option is sometimes either work on the ride or stay at home.