RAM Aqua-Box for ONE XL-S/can't see in sunlight

Joined
Jun 1, 2008
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3
Hi everyone, new member here, although I've been lurking and doing a lot of 'research' here since before Christmas '07 when I bought two TT One XL-S's, one for us and one for our out-of-state-college-student daughter.

Anyhow, I've been wanting to use my TT on my motorcycle, so this week I got a RAM mount and their new Aqua Box, ran a fused line up from the battery to the handlebar with a waterproof outlet, etc. Works great at night, when you can actually *see* the screen, but in the daylight it's pretty much useless. Between the sunlight washing out the screen and the glare from the Aqua Box's touch-thru screen, you can't see jack. I even made a 3" visor to go on the box from some black ABS plastic I had in the garage, still can't see jack. Just wondering how many people here have adapted their TT ONE to use on a motorcycle, and what have you done to make it where you can see the screen during the daytime? You sure can't hear the voice commands on a bike (at least not on mine), and if you can't see it, it's useless. Any suggestions? Thanks,

KB
Aquabox1.JPG

Aquabox2.JPG
 
I am sorry to hear the Ram Aqua Box makes the glare possibly worse then it already was. I have used a 910 in the RAM mount (not the Aqua Box), and as expected, glare was a problem even with The Glare Stomper sunshade. however, I found that by selecting a color scheme with more contrast, it was usable in the day most of the time (even in the bright sun here in sunny California). I would experiment with different schemes. I used the france_palette_de_couleur scheme which I further modified with the color scheme editor to increase the contrasts.

I just opened a RAM bike mounting packable including the Aqua Box, which I am setting up for a friend with a 720. I put the 720 in it and took it outside to see how it looks - and glare is definitely a problem 9as it is without the touch screen door open. i am going to put a shade on it, mount it on my bike, and try it out.

I think it is more an issue with the brightness of the TomTom screens - they are light years behind some of the newer Garmins in this area.

As for the noise, that will be a function of your pipes and the surrounding traffic. I used my 910 in Austria, and at night in the rain (used a baggie), I could hear its instructions very clear, but it was on a local stock bike which are very quiet over there. You might consider using the audio out connection to link with ear phone (if the connector would power one) to hear the device.

I wish RAM made the small size in wide, as the medium wide is relative huge with respect to the 720, but it was the smallest one that would accommodate the 3 1/4" width of the 720. it looks like yous is swimming in the case also.
 
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I am sorry to hear the Ram Aqua Box makes the glare possibly worse then it already was. I have used a 910 in the RAM mount (not the Aqua Box), and as expected, glare was a problem even with The Glare Stomper sunshade. however, I found that by selecting a color scheme with more contrast, it was usable in the day most of the time (even in the bright sun here in sunny California). I would experiment with different schemes. I used the france_palette_de_couleur scheme which I further modified with the color scheme editor to increase the contrasts.

I just opened a RAM bike mounting packable including the Aqua Box, which I am setting up for a friend with a 720. I put the 720 in it and took it outside to see how it looks - and glare is definitely a problem 9as it is without the touch screen door open. i am going to put a shade on it, mount it on my bike, and try it out.

I think it is more an issue with the brightness of the TomTom screens - they are light years behind some of the newer Garmins in this area.

As for the noise, that will be a function of your pipes and the surrounding traffic. I used my 910 in Austria, and at night in the rain (used a baggie), I could hear its instructions very clear, but it was on a local stock bike which are very quiet over there. You might consider using the audio out connection to link with ear phone (if the connector would power one) to hear the device.

I wish RAM made the small size in wide, as the medium wide is relative huge with respect to the 720, but it was the smallest one that would accommodate the 3 1/4" width of the 720. it looks like yous is swimming in the case also.

Thanks for the reply, GAW. Yes, the medium-wide aqua box is definitley large for the XLS, but it was the only one that would fit. The others were too small.

The 'touch-thru' screen is sort of like a clear rubber material, and the glare from it is terrible. You could almost comb your hair in the reflection. Right now I'm feeling like I wasted $80 on the whole setup. I wonder if one of the anti-glare screens would work on the aqua box's screen?

The color pallette you are referring to, is that available for download, and where could I get it? Also, what is the "audio link out" you are referring to? I don't think this is available on the One XLS. I'd love to have a bluetooth headset that would work, or put a headphone-out jack on it, but I'm hesitant to open it up and start experimenting. Thanks,

KB
 
I have the TT One XL and yes sometimes when the sun is behind me it just about washes out the screen, I just installed one to the Ant Glare scratch resistant screens and rode today and it is still a problem, I have put mine on the night screen using 100% brightness and that has helped some, with the Ram Mount I have it just above the Gas Tank to see if that will/would help and I think it has some, but still not really bright.
 
I am not sure about the XL-S. The 720 has an audio out jack that might work with a headset - not really sure yet.

The problem with the 720 is that the rubber padding covers the speaker on the back, and as you found, muffles it down so you can hardly hear it. Even if you cut come of the padding out, not sure how much better it will be, as it is in a sealed case.

I have another RAM mount for the 910, and the speaker is not covered. I have used it with a baggie in the Rain, but do not think it would hold up to a real heave pounding. However, it might work as an alternative for non-weather days.

You would only need the actual mount for the unit - everything else is the same - just loosen up the middle piece and inser the regular RAM mount with the ball into it.

This way, you use the Aqua Mount on rainy and/or cloudy days - and visibility should be no problem. You still would not hear it, but you can see it OK.

On sunny days, use the cradle mount, which is open in the back (you of course would have to wire this into your motorcycle electric socket that you set up for the Aqua Box). It is still not great in the sun, but now you could hear it OK (unless you have straight pipes or thunder headers on you bike...).

Again, I have used in on sunny days (with a sunshade) and with the color scheme I suggested (I have seen it at times as an item offered through TT Home as a free download) makes it visible enough most of the time.
 
There is no audio output jack on the One XL-s. I wish there was, and I've thought about putting an earphone jack in mine, but I'm very hesitant to open it up...I may mess something up, and then I'm stuck with a bum unit.

I ended up going back to the standard RAM mount, the open style one that clips on to the sides of the TT. I ordered it at the same time I ordered the Aqua Box. I can see it much better, even in bright sunlight, although I still get some glare from the screen. I think an anti-glare screen protector would solve most of that problem. With the open style mount, I can also hear most of the commands. I made another visor thingy to go on it, it velcroes to the top of the mount and wraps around the sides, and that helped a lot. The Aqua Box is a good concept, they just need to make some modifications before it works as intended on a motorcycle... they need to offer different sizes for specific models, and it desperately needs a different touch-thru screen, one with a matte or anti-glare surface. I can deal with the overly large box, but the glare from the screen makes it unusable for a motorcycle in direct sunlight.
 
I also got the regular open RAM mount - best for sunny weather. Only use the Aqua box on bad weather days - even if you can't hear it, you will have no trouble seeing it.

I used Color Scheme Editor to modify the route color to yellow on the color scheme below for sunny weather and also on the germana color scheme for cloudy days - you see the upcoming turns pretty good.

Ride safe.
 
There is no audio output jack on the One XL-s. I wish there was, and I've thought about putting an earphone jack in mine, but I'm very hesitant to open it up...I may mess something up, and then I'm stuck with a bum unit.

I ended up going back to the standard RAM mount, the open style one that clips on to the sides of the TT. I ordered it at the same time I ordered the Aqua Box. I can see it much better, even in bright sunlight, although I still get some glare from the screen. I think an anti-glare screen protector would solve most of that problem. With the open style mount, I can also hear most of the commands. I made another visor thingy to go on it, it velcroes to the top of the mount and wraps around the sides, and that helped a lot. The Aqua Box is a good concept, they just need to make some modifications before it works as intended on a motorcycle... they need to offer different sizes for specific models, and it desperately needs a different touch-thru screen, one with a matte or anti-glare surface. I can deal with the overly large box, but the glare from the screen makes it unusable for a motorcycle in direct sunlight.

I have the Anti Glare Screen Protector and it really hasn't helped that much with the sun glare, at least now the screen is protected..........
 

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