The first thing I'd like to say about Autocom is it's competitively durable. I've heard motorcyclists talk about having their Autocom for 10 years without an issue whether it was for bike to bike communication or their quality cables.

The second thing I'd like to say about Autocom is they're expensive. I got a deal on an Autocom 200 Plus on ebay, but the ptt cable for my Kenwood radio TK-3131 would be 72.00 and I have 2 bikes to do this to. I'm also unemployed, so making this with mostly items I had on hand, the wires and switch I put this together myself with the help of a friends donation. He sent me two short 5 pin cables that you'll see very soon.

Step 1: The Short of It Is..

It is easier to have a short cable like this, so you can slide the cover back to make your connections, to prevent having to cut into the molded Autocom cable, but you can do this without the 5 inch cable.

You will make a wired connection to the 1st pin and the 3rd pin. How you count, while you're looking at the pins with the space at the bottom, from the left, shown in the 2nd picture. The white wire is soldered to pin 5. This is a powered wire from Autocom you can run your radio with. If the 9v powered wire doesn't work for you, I found a buck converter on ebay for 3.50 that will reduce the voltage to what your radio requirements are.

Having good soldering skills will aid in preventing overheating the wires. How do you know you have competitive soldering skills, if you don't have an adjustable temp soldering iron, you're well on your way to melting more than solder.

So I didn't have to buy a new temp controlled soldering iron, I bought a 3 dollar dimmer and wired it to a 58 cent outlet to control how many volts were going to the iron, shown in the last picture. If you have a voltmeter you can find out what different amounts of voltage are going to the outlet and draw lines for settings of temperature on the dimmer dial plate. Perhaps it's another Instructable I can do as this dimmer has been used for heat control the last 3 or 4 years. Your solder connections should not take longer than 2 seconds to tin the wire to the pin, shown in picture 3 and 4.

Step 2: These Switches Are Everywhere, and Inexpensive.

You might even be surprised to find this switch activates your brake light on your motorcycle. So I had no problem on deciding to use this elsewhere on my motorcycle for another purpose. To close the circuit when I wanted to key up the radio.

Step 3: The Last Steps Are Without an Image.

Make your wire run to count for slack when you turn your handlebars.

Your Autocom vox (voice activation) cannot be bypassed but you can turn down the sensitivity.

Lastly, there is a jumper in the battery compartment that loops from #4 to #5. It doesn't matter which one you disconnect, just that you remove one wire. This enables you to use the ptt switch you installed. When you press the button, it keys up the mic.

This can be removed nicely too, it doesn't have to be cut, just do it carefully so it can be put back one day if so desired.