That's me on my new motorcycle, a 2004 Suzuki V-Strom 650 (sometimes
known as a DL650). As if ham radio wasn't an expensive enough
hobby, I had to start a new one last year.
Of course, I had to install as many electronic gadgets on it as I could.
On the left is the control head for a Kenwood TM-G707A VHF/UHF
transceiver, on the right is a Garmin Quest GPS receiver with voice
routing. The accessory shelf was designed by Ray Fagan and is
available through
California
Sport Touring.
While I started with the original Garmin suction-cup mount and modified
it for motorcycle use, the management of the external audio amplifier
that
the Quest requires was a problem in the motorcycle environment -- It
was always getting loose inside the cowling or getting in the way of
other equipment. With the introduction from Garmin of a mount
specifically for motorcycles, it made sense to upgrade. Garmin
integrated the amplifier into the mount and did away with the "bridge"
amplifier design that causes problems with grounded audio
systems. A
piece of 1/8x2-inch aluminum L-stock provides a solid connection
between Garmin's mount and the shelf.. Stuck to the back of the
L-stock is a isolation filter which I added to break up the ground loop
between the Quest and the AmpliRider which was introducing noise into
the system.
The Kenwood G707 main unit fits under the Strom's seat:
Let me give you a quick tour from front to back (bottom to top of the
picture):
Just in front of the storage box, you can see the 6-circut auxiliary
fuse block which takes mini ATM fuses. To its left, stuck to the
edge of the box with mounting tape, is a relay activated by the
ignition switch which allows half of those circuits to be switched, the
other half un-switched. There is also a ground terminal strip just out
of the picture below the relay. The radio is on an un-switched
circuit so I can use it when I'm parked, but I've added a
timer in line with the power that cuts out an hour after the engine is
switched off to
prevent the radio and amplifier from running the battery down.
Just inside the storage box is a blue box which contains interconnects
between the radio and the helmet wiring. I started with a Motocom
helmet setup for Kenwood radios, but I didn't like any of the
transducers and ended up replacing just about everything except the
wire and the connectors -- More on that later. The box also
has a 3v regulator to provide power for the electret microphone.
Behind (above) the blue box is the TM-G707A main unit. The
transmitter puts
out 50W on 2M, and 35W on 440. I chose the G707 because the
microphone connection was in the main unit instead of the control head,
and the controls are relatively simple and have a large, readable
display. You don't have a whole lot of ability to manipulate
radio controls while riding a motorcycle (and wearing protective
gloves). It can also be modified fairly easily to operate on FRS
and GMRS channels, which are used a lot in bike-to-bike
communications. I didn't do anything to permanently mount the
Kenwood,
it is just wedged under the seat support and padded with some foam
rubber. Where can it go?
Running over the radio is the seat support and latch. Behind
that, with the blue and green plugs going into it, is the
AmpliRider audio
mixer/amplifier. This takes audio from the Kenwood, the Garmin
Quest, and one other input (usually for my iPod) and mixes them
together to drive the helmet speakers. The volume control is
remote and mounted on the handlebars