Radar: remote mute button question

[markgoodrich]

Have foolishly gone and bought another radar detector (thanks, bobbybob, for the refurb suggestion). As I was thinking the install through, I found a power cord which has an integrated remote mute button for the Escort (available also for Valentine and Beltronics), which seemed like a great idea, put the button somewhere near my left thumb. Works like a charm in testing.

 

BUT. I use earphones with an Autocom. Plugging into the audio out jack of the Escort kills external speaker, as it should. However, no sound through the earphones, either direct or through the Autocom.

 

Anyone have an idea on how I can get the nifty mute button to allow sound through the earphone jack, and of course function to mute it?

 

If not, it's only ten bucks, someone local can have it. I think it'll work with a Valentine.

 

And, if not, Escort has a direct wire cord which I presume will allow me to use the earphones. But no mute.

[bobbybob]

Mark, if you're not getting sound from the Escort thru the Autocom, its probably because the Escort's audio output is mono, not stereo, and the Autocom input is stereo--I had that problem too and a stereo patch cable just would not work at all. To solve it, I got a Radio Shack (known these days as the SHACK) monaural audio patch cable from the escort, which then plugs into a SHACK monaural-to-stereo converter cable (or was it a plug) and then into the Autocom's stereo input. Otherwise, I either got no sound or garbled garbage, depending on how I jiggled the plugs around. The cables from Shack were real cheap--and they work. Try it. I don't think its an issue with the remote mute button.

 

And dint the Escort come with a power cable/remote mute/etc ? No way to adapt that to work for you? Mine came with both a direct wire cord AND a cigarette plug cord with mute/LED lights on the plug.

 

Heres a link--mine came with this cord included.

https://www.escortradar.com/store/coiled-smartcord-red.html

 

 

But wait: heres yet ANOTHER option---a direct wire SMART cord--just what you need.

https://www.escortradar.com/store/direct-wire-smartcord-red.html

[Angel]

I have an escort thru the autocom setup.

1. I had the "no audio thru the headphones (via autocom) problem" until got a $20.00 escort isolation patch cord from Mix-it.

2. I also have a direct wire smart cord installed.

 

This set up works perfectly for me. I usually listen to music/audio books thru the autocom. However, whenever there is a radar signal present the music input is interrupted by the escort. I can then choose to mute the escort warning and continue listening to my music.

 

I installed the mute button on the left handlebar with double sided tape. I can mute the escort warning with my thumb without to much effort. When my Muscle Memory is working correctly i don't even need to look at my handle bar!

 

 

 

 

 

[markgoodrich]

Well, the mono-to-stereo wire-up didn't work, Bob.

 

Angel, your setup is similar to what I'm trying to do, only I want to use the little mute button that came with the thing I bought (and link to in my OP). All I can think is that somehow the gizmo kills the audio-out through the 1/8" jack. Doesn't seem sensible, but the thing works perfectly using the Escort's native speaker.

 

PITA to think I have to spend another $45 to get this simple idea to work...radar into the earphones through the Autocom. One of the reasons I went with the Escort was to avoid the separate $50 widget the V1 requires. ONE of the reasons. $150 cost was the other.

 

If I ask Escort, they'll just tell me the aftermarket widget voids the warranty, I'm sure.

 

This can't be this hard....

[bobbybob]

Mark--sorry--I forgot to mention the audio isolation transformer. I had ground loop hum/static (or no sound sometimes) and that solved it, along with the audio cables I mentioned earlier. The audio cables were necessary because with the mono to stereo mis-match, I was hearing audio in only one helmet speaker side. Not sure why Angel doesn't have the same issue. Isolators are cheap--shouldn't be more than $10 but some cost $50--crazy--only 2 little coils of wire inside. Not even a diode.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ground-Loop-Isolator-Hum-Noise-Filter-for-IPOD-MP3-NEW_W0QQitemZ110427353668QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b5fbb244

 

If I read you correct--you have YET to have heard ANY audio from your Escort thru the Autocom either WITH or WITHOUT the gizmo you bought. Correct? If thats the case, you need to get it working without the gizmo (as already suggested) and then try the gizmo again. If my assumption is incorrect, sorry.

 

[markgoodrich]

My relationship to the Mystery has always been tenuous. However, I did have enough sense to add in a GLI, which made no difference.

 

So, puzzzling and reasoning, I decided to power the unit with the cigar lighter plug, from my car, which entailed precarious balancing right next to the Camry until I could get the stand down, on the sloping driveway. Tested the unit with earphones in the car, and it worked fine. Pulled the unit out from the car, stretching the coiled cord, and plugged the patch cord assembly into the Autocom, and the unit worked, albeit in only one ear. So: the problem was in the mute widget wiring, no? Uh, no.

 

I put the bike back in the garage, plugged the unit back into the Autocom, attached the mutey widgetry, added the GLI between the patch cord assembly and the Autocom, and touched the appropriate wires to the battery terminals, and as before, the unit started up, but this time I could hear it through the earphones. Started the bike, to test for noise, and the GLI is doing its job.

 

Going to be a BIIIIG PITA if I have to plug it into the car each time I use it, before plugging it into the bike wiring

 

I will note, however, that Neil Young's whining lament "I was thinking about what a friend had said, I was hoping it was a lie," was not reduced in volume when the radar alerted. The cure for that, of course, is to listen to K. D. Lang's version. Young should stick to writing, and hold his tongue.

 

So, as I said, my relationship to the Mystery is tenuous at best. I have no idea why, after 20 tries, it worked perfect after plugging the unit into the car.

 

Now, if I could just figure out how to pop the left handlebar control pod apart, I could drill a hole and install the little mutey button....

[bobbybob]

not even gonna *attempt* to comment on all that. philo was right.

 

(well maybe i will: don't forget to plug the mono-to-stereo converter in the correct way--if you're using one. if you're not, you gonna keep having weird problems.)

[Angel]

Glad you were able to sort it all out.

 

[tobyzusa]

Mark, you do know that Escort will auto-mute after ~ 10 seconds right? Think this is the default setting. You don't need no external mute button!

[markgoodrich]

Mark, you do know that Escort will auto-mute after ~ 10 seconds right? Think this is the default setting. You don't need no external mute button!

 

That's too long, I'm very impatient.

[bobbybob]

I'm pretty sure mine mutes after about 3 seconds.

[Rolf]

Just curious, what model did you buy, and where did you buy it?

[markgoodrich]

8500, $149 shipped from Escort's Ebay store, factory refurb. Same guts for radar/lidar as the newest model, save no POP mode, and of course no GPS. If I get a ticket, it's bobbybob's fault.

[Albert]

OK Mark, in my never ending quest at "keeping up with the Goodrich's", I too ordered one of these. In the interest of uniformity, how are you planning to mount yours to the RT?

[markgoodrich]

No, Albert, you're keeping up with bobbbybobobybybybbybob.

 

I have a BMR co-pilot shelf, and lots of high-strength Velcro.

[FLrider]

Mark, you do know that Escort will auto-mute after ~ 10 seconds right? Think this is the default setting. You don't need no external mute button!

 

That's too long, I'm very impatient.

 

My V1 can be adjusted to mute after 3 seconds and you can program it so that alerts of X, or K bands alert at a different volume than Ka or L.

 

Surely the escort will do that.

 

3 seconds still too long???

[FLrider]

OK Mark, in my never ending quest at "keeping up with the Goodrich's", I too ordered one of these. In the interest of uniformity, how are you planning to mount yours to the RT?

 

Do you have any other stuff mounted somewhere? If you are going to start adding things like GPS or Video or whatever, you may want to consider the Migsel. Very flexible.

 

http://www.migsel.com/store/extra/prodImages.php?productId=13

 

 

[FLrider]

"The road goes on forever, and the farkling never ends.

Mark of Austin"

 

Next Farkle For You - Laser Countermeasure Device

 

 

[bobbybob]

Mine is velcroed to this Ram mount, which is attached to a clutch cover ram ball. Works great.

 

http://www.ram-mount.com/Portals/0/Skins/NationalProducts/drawings/ram111b.jpg

 

[Albert]

Yes I have the Migsel mount where my gps is located. I plan on using that for the radar as well (I think I have some extra mounting plates and balls around).

 

What's really amazing, I ordered the Escort on Monday and it arrived Tuesday (free shipping too)!!

[markgoodrich]

Larry, I had a Migsel on the bike. Switched to a CalSci shield and the vent set up high-frequency vibration on the gps...meaning I couldn't read the thing. This whole mess started out with that.