Author Topic: Best helmet intercom set-up? (Read 39218 times)

SVonhof · « **Reply #80 on:** July 11, 2011, 06:58:55 PM »

Wow, I got my Sena this afternoon (ordered Friday morning)!

I am going to see if I can get it charged up and setup tonight to try on my ride in to work tomorrow.

ninjawarrior1400 · « **Reply #81 on:** July 11, 2011, 07:34:45 PM »

Using Sena SM10 just sent off for the upgraded models...

Ninja

556ALPHA · « **Reply #82 on:** July 11, 2011, 07:57:10 PM »

We used our Sena's for the first time on the bike Sunday. I stream music on the iPhone via Pandora. The intercom functioned great and Pandora sounds good as well. I am still trying to get the 765T Nuvi to give directions and play well with Pandore as well as use the iPhone for calls but I cannot seem to figure it out. I will try Pairing the iPhone to the Nuvu then the Buvi to the Sena tomorrow and see if that works. Also there were two different ways to pair the iPhone for Music/Handsfree so it will be trial and error.

SVonhof · « **Reply #83 on:** July 15, 2011, 07:44:44 AM »

I got my Sena synched up to the phone. It took a few tries as there are 3 different ways to synch it and I did all three and it worked. If you only do 1 or 2, it doesn't work at all or only gives you music. This is on an HTC Incredible. Today as I was riding in, I tried a phone call for the first time and it worked really good. I left myself a message at work and even without me yelling into the mic, it picked up well and you could easily hear what I was saying.

Might get to try the intercom this weekend, we will see. We tried it in the house with the helmets on and it worked fine.

Big Iron · « **Reply #84 on:** July 15, 2011, 10:04:14 AM »

To answer questions about sound quality - I have owned the Scala Q2's (dual set) for about 2 years and then I purchased the Sena's (dual set) about 1 year ago. The Sena set had way more bass and volume than the Scala's ever had, (plus the big button/dial on the Sena is so much more easy to control) Anyway, I took the old Scala's out of our full-face helmets and mounted them to our open-faced helmets, replacing them with the Sena set. Because its been summer and hot in south Texas, recently we have been using the open faced Scala helmets - it sounds as if I am listening to old AM radio- thin, tinny, and poor compared to the Sena. The Sena speakers are larger and a tad thicker but much better quality. I use my phone, bluetooth connected, for Mp3's and also streaming Pandora and Jango radio. If you are used to the earbuds that just hang in your ears, the Sena's will sound much better, BUT, if you are using the ear buds that you insert deep in your ear canal, there is no helmet-mounted speakers that will equal that kind of bass.

Sea Level · « **Reply #85 on:** July 30, 2011, 05:42:51 PM »

Quote from: 556ALPHA on July 11, 2011, 07:57:10 PM

We used our Sena's for the first time on the bike Sunday. I stream music on the iPhone via Pandora. The intercom functioned great and Pandora sounds good as well. I am still trying to get the 765T Nuvi to give directions and play well with Pandore as well as use the iPhone for calls but I cannot seem to figure it out. I will try Pairing the iPhone to the Nuvu then the Buvi to the Sena tomorrow and see if that works. Also there were two different ways to pair the iPhone for Music/Handsfree so it will be trial and error.

I don't think you'll be able to do it. Garmin's are determined to be selfish and proprietary and will not play well with anything else. I have a Zumo 660 and as long as it's paired to the Sena, my iPhone can't be.

The Zumo WILL BT with the iPhone, so I can get voice directions out of the Zumo and have telephone functionality through the Zumo as well (with the Sena priority programming: first phone, then directions, then intercom, then music). But nothing else out of the iPhone comes through the Sena, ie: no iPod, no streaming audio, no e-books, etc.

My solution: I have paired the Sean with the iPhone and disabled the BT on the Zumo. So, no voice directions, but I have full iPhone functionality into my headsets. That means I can listen to my favorite radio stations, or my collection of mp3's, or use the phone without issue. I can still follow the visual directions on the Zumo.

556ALPHA · « **Reply #86 on:** July 31, 2011, 06:25:13 PM »

That's exactly what I have decided to do for now. I don't really care for voice directions anyway. Now I do not have to worry about too many devices fighting each other. Actually I dusted off my 2720 and got it ready for an upcoming weekend trip. I like the 765 but it's hard to break old habits.

ZG · « **Reply #87 on:** July 31, 2011, 06:34:15 PM »

Quote from: 556ALPHA on July 31, 2011, 06:25:13 PM

That's exactly what I have decided to do for now. I don't really care for voice directions anyway. Now I do not have to worry about too many devices fighting each other. Actually I dusted off my 2720 and got it ready for an upcoming weekend trip. I like the 765 but it's hard to break old habits.

I'm just the opposite when using my Garmin, I listen to the directions in my helmet and rarely look at the actual display... When needed if in direct sun a quick shielding with my hand allows me to see what's up.

B.D.F. · « **Reply #88 on:** July 31, 2011, 06:35:17 PM »

I don't know that it is Garmin that is not playing nicely- I have had the same problem pairing multiple Bluetooth devices without a Garmin involved. The basic problem seemed to be that the original standards for Bluetooth do not spell out a method for dealing with more than one device.

But I also could not pair a Zumo with a Bluetooth headset and a Bluetooth cell phone; it would work occasionally or it would work if you cold- booted everything in a very specific sequence. I spoke to both the headset mfg. and Garmin and both basically said that it (multiple devices paired at one time) was a gray area. Garmin suggested trying different versions of the Bluetooth driver in the Zumo in the hopes that one would work better than others but that did not sound like a very amusing game to me. I ended up connecting the Zumo to a cell phone, and the Zumo to a Starcom1 via cables and everything works well. There is a cable to the helmet of course but the Starcom never needs charging and never suffers from a dead battery (it uses the motorcycle's electrical system).

Brian

Quote from: Sea Level on July 30, 2011, 05:42:51 PM

I don't think you'll be able to do it. Garmin's are determined to be selfish and proprietary and will not play well with anything else. I have a Zumo 660 and as long as it's paired to the Sena, my iPhone can't be.

The Zumo WILL BT with the iPhone, so I can get voice directions out of the Zumo and have telephone functionality through the Zumo as well (with the Sena priority programming: first phone, then directions, then intercom, then music). But nothing else out of the iPhone comes through the Sena, ie: no iPod, no streaming audio, no e-books, etc.

My solution: I have paired the Sean with the iPhone and disabled the BT on the Zumo. So, no voice directions, but I have full iPhone functionality into my headsets. That means I can listen to my favorite radio stations, or my collection of mp3's, or use the phone without issue. I can still follow the visual directions on the Zumo.

SVonhof · « **Reply #89 on:** July 31, 2011, 08:13:59 PM »

Has anyone had to contact Sena for anything yet? We got the dual set and the one I installed on my wife's helmet won't start playing the music automatically after using the intercom or phone and she cannot get it to play unless you actually hit the button on the phone. That is unacceptable to us as it isn't working correctly. I sent an e-mail to Sena last Sunday (one week ago) and never heard back from them (I even left a daytime phone number). I will be calling them tomorrow to figure out what is going on as well as let them know they need to work on their customer relations. We also figured out that her Sena jog doesn't work for switching songs on the MP3 or Pandora or Slacker, which mine works fine.

BTW, we did try totally unpairing the phones with the headsets and switching phones/headsets pairing and it's the same thing.

I hope to get a good response from them tomorrow and will post up what the result is.

556ALPHA · « **Reply #90 on:** August 01, 2011, 03:24:17 PM »

Quote from: SVonhof on July 31, 2011, 08:13:59 PM

Has anyone had to contact Sena for anything yet? We got the dual set and the one I installed on my wife's helmet won't start playing the music automatically after using the intercom or phone and she cannot get it to play unless you actually hit the button on the phone. That is unacceptable to us as it isn't working correctly. I sent an e-mail to Sena last Sunday (one week ago) and never heard back from them (I even left a daytime phone number). I will be calling them tomorrow to figure out what is going on as well as let them know they need to work on their customer relations. We also figured out that her Sena jog doesn't work for switching songs on the MP3 or Pandora or Slacker, which mine works fine.

BTW, we did try totally unpairing the phones with the headsets and switching phones/headsets pairing and it's the same thing.

I hope to get a good response from them tomorrow and will post up what the result is.

I am having the exact same issue. It is not every time but often enough to be a hassle. Please let us know if you receive an answer. Thanks.

Maybe this link addresses the issue we are having, it is a firmware update. Read the notes.
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=3087.0

SVonhof · « **Reply #91 on:** August 01, 2011, 05:48:00 PM »

The e-mail response I got (at my work e-mail Friday after I left for the day and can't see the e-mail until Monday morning) was that they have some phones that just don't like the Sena's and they have a firmware release coming out in about 2 weeks that should address the issue.

556ALPHA · « **Reply #92 on:** August 01, 2011, 06:20:27 PM »

I downloaded the Firmware update and it seems to help. I called Tech Support and they spent a while on the phone with me going through the process as I had a driver install issue. They were VERY helpful and patient in resolving the problem.

SVonhof · « **Reply #93 on:** August 01, 2011, 06:32:47 PM »

Our firmware was the latest, but my wife's headset seems to be fine now (except she can't get the intercom fired up) but now mine is acting up.

Problem is, I can't call from work and spend any time on the phone with them. Also am not allows to hook anything up to the work computers...

ZG · « **Reply #94 on:** August 01, 2011, 07:11:38 PM »

Quote from: SVonhof on August 01, 2011, 06:32:47 PM

Our firmware was the latest, but my wife's headset seems to be fine now (except she can't get the intercom fired up) but now mine is acting up.

Problem is, I can't call from work and spend any time on the phone with them. Also am not allows to hook anything up to the work computers...

You should have just bought the Scala G4 team set.

No problems here with our G4 set up, happy as a clam! Mama too, and she's higher maintenance then me!

556ALPHA · « **Reply #95 on:** August 01, 2011, 07:37:08 PM »

Quote from: SVonhof on August 01, 2011, 06:32:47 PM

Our firmware was the latest, but my wife's headset seems to be fine now (except she can't get the intercom fired up) but now mine is acting up.

Problem is, I can't call from work and spend any time on the phone with them. Also am not allows to hook anything up to the work computers...

Unless I misunderstood 3.1 was just released today....http://www.senabluetooth.com/support/download_document.php
But when I clicked on it the date came up as July 25th. I have NO PROBLEMS when switching now. I may have bought the G4 but the inability to charge on the fly was a deal breaker. In addition the advrider guys really seemed to collectively support the Sena, and it is a 50+ page thread

ZG · « **Reply #96 on:** August 01, 2011, 08:49:35 PM »

Quote from: 556ALPHA on August 01, 2011, 07:37:08 PM

Unless I misunderstood 3.1 was just released today....http://www.senabluetooth.com/support/download_document.php
But when I clicked on it the date came up as July 25th. I have NO PROBLEMS when switching now. I may have bought the G4 but the inability to charge on the fly was a deal breaker. In addition the advrider guys really seemed to collectively support the Sena, and it is a 50+ page thread

Wrong!! Big misconception on that, you CAN charge them on the fly, it's just a mini-USB port on the G4 to charge them, you just have to get one that plugs into a "cigarette lighter" and plug it into the accessory port instead of a wall outlet, the charging port on the G4 is easily accessible even when mounted on the helmet... I wouldn't want to ride around by choice with it plugged in and the cord attached, but in a situation that needed it is an option.

Ok, a little off topic, but at what point will we stop referring to these as a ""cigarette lighter"...

I don't even smoke...

dras · « **Reply #97 on:** August 01, 2011, 08:55:26 PM »

Quote from: ZG on August 01, 2011, 07:11:38 PM

........ and she's higher maintenance then me!

I dunno Jay, we've seen pictures of your bike!

ZG · « **Reply #98 on:** August 01, 2011, 08:57:51 PM »

Quote from: dras on August 01, 2011, 08:55:26 PM

I dunno Jay, we've seen pictures of your bike!

Good one bro, I deserved that!

ZG · « **Reply #99 on:** August 01, 2011, 09:53:36 PM »

Quote from: ZG on August 01, 2011, 08:49:35 PM

Wrong!! Big misconception on that, you CAN charge them on the fly, it's just a mini-USB port on the G4 to charge them, you just have to get one that plugs into a "cigarette lighter" and plug it into the accessory port instead of a wall outlet, the charging port on the G4 is easily accessible even when mounted on the helmet... I wouldn't want to ride around by choice with it plugged in and the cord attached, but in a situation that needed it is an option.

Ok, a little off topic, but at what point will we stop referring to these as a ""cigarette lighter"... I don't even smoke...

To add to this, finding a "cigarette lighter" style charger for the G4 is not hard to find, my Blackberry car charger works just fine, you can get these at any Radio Shack or whatever, it's the same port and works like a charm...

Sena's got nothing on the G4 and doesn't have the built-in FM tuner which I use every morning commute...

News:

Author Topic: Best helmet intercom set-up? (Read 39218 times)