Starcom1 (Bike intercom)

[anon]

From: DD-FJR Sent: 5/20/2006

Just bought a Starcom1 Rider - Pillion kit with bike fitting kit and cables for MP3 Player, GPS, Phone and the A80 Radio.
Total cost for ALL of the above (inc Bulkhead fiitng kit) was £156.95 (inc P&P)

To date I have had an Auto-Com active Sports 7 (wish I had never sold that as it was a brilliant system that took NO setting up, a real Plug & Go).

Interide system that just didn't want to work right either on the Bandit or on a friends FJR, it needed constant attention and I had problems with the PTT switch, VOX and the whole thing just NOT working/working when it felt like it
Maybe it was the way we set it up but we just couldn't get it to work correctly and after so many tries I sold it.
Now saying all of the above the person I sold it to (from what I can gather) has not had a problem with it
I am NOT knocking Interide (there are to many Devotees in this club ) but I just didn't get on with it from day one

The Starcom system arrived and was unpacked in record time.
Followed the instruction booklet (its won a plain english award and I can understand why ) fitted the headsets to our helmets, fitted a battery (PP3 last approx 4 hours, this was for testing only as it is now fitted to the bike and run from bike power).
On plugging in Rider 1 the unit springs into life, Music Connected , Phone Connected , GPS Connected , A80 Radio Connected, PTT Conneted .
Everything works
Music, Voice, GPS, Radio, Phone all crystal clear, everything drops out when we spoke to each other as it should, no problems on setting it up then
Fitted the whole lot to the bike and its now running from bike power, the system turns off once you disconect headset 1 (Rider) and only turns back on when you plug back in, no power drain there then .
Off out on the bike for a ride around a wet and very windy Dorset

Music................Great / Clear sound from the Stereo Speakers even with earplugs in
Phone................Dave phoned us when we were out and the Music cut out and we could both talk to him, he thought we had stopped
GPS..................Voice prompts were crystal clear and Music dropped off instantly
A80 Radio.........Managed to get Daves mate out on his bike to ride with us so I could test the radio and again crystal clear even at the Maximum speed allowed on our roads
My 1st impression of the Starcom System is its a Very good unit that does exactly what it says it will do, very much like the Autocom in many ways and I was very pleased with that system.

For the price and the equipment I got (plus it all works) I am very happy with the system, works direct out of the box, 0800 FREE-phone number if there are ANY problems (hopefully this will never get used )

Build quality is great, Better than Autocom & Interide hands down, very strong metal housing and strong connectors and dials.

Fingers crossed that this system will last for a fair while, with the Scotland run looming ever closer it will be a great chance to test out the whole system on a long run and see how it performs

If your looking for an Intercom/Bike to Bike system then I think the Starcom system is the one to go for if your looking for quality and ease of use / setting up



Colin

From: hairy_as_video_man Sent: 5/20/2006

Yep! Couldn't agree more....
JK

From: redrobbo600 Sent: 5/22/2006

Hi Colin,

Reports like this are really helpful to those of us casting about trying to decide which system to go for - many thanks!

Did your purchase include headsets? As I already have a pair of Cobra radios and headsets, I'd just be looking to get the extras needed to link them up with the box - suppose I should ask Starcom really.

Most of the various kits I've seen advertised don't seem to cater for the rider who already has radios and headsets, and wants to upgrade without ditching existing kit. I would have thought there'd be quite a few of us.

Cheers
Robn

From: DD-FJR Sent: 5/23/2006

Hi Robin

The Starcom came with Headsets (you will find that most of them are a different connection) I doubt if your headsets will fit the Starcom cable?
I still have the A80 Radio I bought when I had the Interide System (The only part I thought worth keeping )
Starcom sorted the correct cable for me to connect the A80 to the Cable they supplied, no problems

The guy I delt with is an authorised dealer, you can email him via this address:
[e-mail]

His prices are Lower than buying direct from Starcom themselves
Ask the question mate and see what they come up with

Cheers
Colin

PS: Thanks for the comments, makes it all worth while

From: redrobbo600 Sent: 5/24/2006

Thanks Colin - that's a great help. I'll contact the guy.

Had some bad news tonight though. The main reason for getting this is for better comms between me and my bro when we're out playing. He's recently bought a new house, changed jobs and is getting married in a few weeks. A quick clickety-clack on his calculator and something has to go to pay the bills - it's his gsxr600! boo hoo!

Still, never mind - he inherited a couple of old velocettes from our recently departed uncle which he hopes to get back on the road with - just might take a while.

Cheers
Robin

From: speighty581 Sent: 6/8/2006

I couldn't agree more Colin, the starcom is a cracking piece of kit. A couple of Observers in my group use them on all the training they do now, works a treat ! ! In fact just come back from a 'spirited' ride with them this evening. Had 2 Starcoms, 4 Autocoms and 4 Intarides and they all worked perfect. Needless to say we had devotees of every system.

Goes to show how this kit has become almost a pre-requisite whether riding solo with friends or 2 up, i personally couldn't imagine not being able to converse with people, even at just a basic level.

Now with 3 companies competeing for the market and the quality improving along with the technology can only benefit the consumer, ie us with reasonable prices, and make them more widely available.

Chris

From: DD-FJR Sent: 6/10/2006

Couldn't of put it better myself Chris