Starcom vs. aeroscreen, who will win(d)?

[gundersen]

I have decided to ignore the noise issues for a while, and focus on getting the basics up and running.

So far, I have been unable to find a usable configuration that will allow me to talk/listen whilst driving anything above 30mph with the aero.

Have anyone gotten this to work? if so, I would very much like to hear:

1) What headset are you using

2) How is your starcom unit configured (vox, muting etc.)

3) Any other useful bits of info that might help

 

Currently I am using a set of standard starcom peltor ear defenders, but the wind noise is deafening and vox is not working probably

[martinwhitcher]

Had Autocom, then starcom which was better now using scala g9 which is fab! bluetooth,walkie-talkie (PMR?) and radio all rolled into one

[Pete - W.Sussex]

Scala G4 for me

[Piers Rendell]

I have just bought a Throat Mic with remote earpiece, that does not pick up wind noise - or so it says on the box. It works on vibration and is designed for racing cars etc.

 

I'm trying it out on the way to Leyborne Castle tomorrow to meet up with the Kent Chapter. I will know more tomorrow.

 

Piers

R300KWK

[Superwhite R283]

Very interested in any replies on this one. We have a starcom digital and its great with a screen and I've played around a lot with the controls but can't seem to sort the wind noise issues over about 40/50 mph when areo But there are so many possible combinations of settings

[gundersen]

@Piers: Looking forward to the review

 

@daz: I am in the exact same spot, many different settings on the box and add to that the different types of headsets and you got yourself a big pile of steaming hot confusion.

 

But generally I can gather from the lack of responses that there isn't many, if any, that has gotten the Starcom to work with an aeroscreen

[Andy Lef]

Piers *arrowup*

 

How did the throat mic work on your trip? Good day for it....

 

Andy

[PizzaOvenKing]

Hi all,

 

I used a throat mic from ebay with some Mitex radios for a blast up to Scotland (Dumbfries) there was 2 Caterhams and 3 other super cars (Aston Martin etc), well we in the Caterhams had throat mics and in the ear ear peices. We both wore a "snood" type thing to give the mic a bit better protection but it was really clear and teh guys in the tin tops were very jealus of the fact we had push to talk on our left hands so full hands free radio use.

 

Excellent highly recomend throat mics

[Ian B]

what model of throat mic did you use? (any links to it?).

 

Piers' wingman reported that his wasn't very good and practically unintelligible on the way to Leybourne on Saturday, so will be interested to find out the differences

[Grim Reaper]

I've just made up some adapters to convert the Autocom 7 pin lead to a 3.5mm earphone jack and a 2.5mm mic jack to allow me to use my new Ultimate in ear monitors which are being made as I write, just need a throat mic on its own with a 2.5mm mono plug on it to finish off the system.

if anyone has any links to such an item please let me know.

[Superwhite R283]

Martin and Pete: Have you used your Scala open faced? If so what's the wind noise like?

 

Just looked at the scala products and looks like they might be able to work with some ear defenders, with a bit of work....

[martinwhitcher]

Hi daz,

 

I have just brought some more bases and attached them to some 3m peltor ear defenders. Initial feeling is great and means main controller can be swapped between helmets and ear defenders.

 

If you want to take a look feel free to pop over.

 

 

[Superwhite R283]

Hi Martin

 

Yes please YHT

[CanAm]

As Eric would have told you if he was here, the USAAF used throat mikes in WW2. They seemed to work OK in B-17s.

[rgrigsby]

The later model Autocoms have a background noise sensor which seems to make a huge difference, you just need to position in the car carefully and then aeroscreen or not the VOX works.

[Ian B]

Quoting Alan Brady: 

As Eric would have told you if he was here, the USAAF used throat mikes in WW2. They seemed to work OK in B-17s.

 

Like these

😬

 

Or in a real Lancaster

😶‍🌫️

 

[gundersen]

Quoting rgrigsby: 

The later model Autocoms have a background noise sensor which seems to make a huge difference

Funny thing is, that TecStar (owner of both starcom and autocom) strongly recommends Starcom for "kit cars". I wrote to both starcom and autocom sales and got an offer for starcom from both

[gundersen]

I was looking on ways to make the starcom work with the aero, and I got to thinking. Since most motorcyclist wear a helmet, the motorcycle style headsets might not be the best suited to un-helmeted aero driving.

So I thought that the ultralight/microlight air planes might be an environment more similar to our caterhams than a motorcycle.

They are not exactly cheap, but not prohibetively expensive. This company makes several types, and their top model cost $275.

I found this description of headsets, and their properties...

 

Has anyone tried using such a headset in the Caterham? or any general thoughts as to the probability of it working 😬

[Grim Reaper]

One of the problems using the ear defender type headset when in aeroscreen mode is that the wind hitting and passing over the earmuff parts adds to the noise.

Keeping the amount of 'sticking out' parts to a minimum certainly helps to reduce that.

I've used several types of earplugs over the years and the best I've found so far are these here, they are a wax and cotton mix that moulds to fill the outer ear and smooths the profile of it which results in less wind noise.

They are however, expensive and even though they are reuseable up to a point, they do pick up dirt and get old very quickly.

I took this concept to the next stage about 5 years ago and had some silicone earplugs made up by a local audiologist, I think that the difference in material meant that they were not quite as good at reducing the noise level, and because they didn't fill the ear as well as the wax version were not so quiet with the aeroscreen.

All said, they are far better than the disposable ones, easy to clean and have cost about £12 a year so far.

I have now taken another step this year and just ordered some of these here, I found that wearing the autocom headsets for more than a couple of hours left me with painful ear 'shell' pain, as well as being a bit sweaty, so am hoping this will cure those problems.

I have noted that they are not as ear filling as the wax ones again though they are apparently made from two different silicones, they've not arrived as yet but when they do I'll update on their effectiveness.

I have made an adapter to convert the autocom 7 pin lead to 3.5mm earphone socket, but losing the headset means the boom mic is no longer an option so I'm looking at throat mic's as an alternative. I can't find any that are just mic though, they all have a CIA agent style one sided earpiece attachment which I don't need, so I may have to do some modification and remove that part from a suitable set, just need to find the best performing throat mic headset to perform surgery on.

[gundersen]

I get what you are saying, and it makes sense. But surly the environment in a ultralight or microlight aircraft is ATLEAST as extreme as a Caterham with aero. And I assume that radio communication is quite important to them, so they must have found some way of making it work