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RE: [ST] Mobile phones and Autocom



I recently hooked up my StarTac cell phone through an Autocom box.  The cell
phone has auto-answer, but I have to pull over to dial as I don't have VOX
dialing.  Took off down the highway, doing 70 mph and I hear a tone in my
helmet and figured that must be the phone signalling a call.  Said 'hello',
and it's my wife calling.  We talk a while, and she asks where I am.  She
flipped out when I told her I was riding down the freeway doing 70, told me
to hangup and slow down.  That was hilarious since she doesn't worry (much)
about my riding, but when she could talk to me realtime it caused concern
that I was going 'so very fast'.  So naturally I ran it up to 85 and asked
how it sounded now at that speed.  Tried a few other calls, it isn't easy to
touch the little phone buttons with a gloved hand.  I'd pull over, connect
the call and take off again.  No one I talked to could detect a difference
in the sound quality whether I was stopped or doing 80mph, the sound quality
was superb.  The phone was usable up to about 90mph, (closed course, don't
try this at home), even though I was wearing 29dBA earplugs.

Once the cool factor wore off, I'm not sure it's something I want to use
regularly.  It was really wierd riding along and carrying on a conversation.
It really takes away from the solitude of riding to be talking to someone.
If I have the phone on, then I can't use the excuse of 'Sorry honey that you
couldn't track me down, but I was out on the bike'.  I ride to get away from
it all, don't know that I want to take it with me.  Plus side is my bud and
I can use our cell phones with the free weekend minutes for bike-to-bike
communication. (My friend's bike is so farkled out, ST1100A with everything
except cappucino maker and porta-potty, he'll probably soon have a heads-up
caller ID display.)   I would turn the phone off in the twisties (Gee, can I
call you right back?  I'm right in the middle of a downhill decreasing
radius off-camber turn that I've come into a little bit too hot.)  Another
plus is I don't need to take off my helmet to make a phone call while pulled
over.  Note that the Autocom mutes your music when a phone call comes in,
and after about 8-10 seconds of no speaking, the music volume comes back up.
Seems that the most reasonable application of the cell phone while riding is
for people to find me, I'm not sure I want to be so available when I'm out
riding.  Having VOX dialing would likely change the usefullness of this for
me.  YMMV.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
it is socially unacceptable to be ahead of your time

iratollah
2001 Sprint ST Blue
1988 Hurricane 1000 Silver - The Motomistress (for sale)





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End of st-digest V2002 #191
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