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Sena 20s

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Snoopster and Rainmaker have a lower profile Sena, 10 something. It has a two parts, I think, the control on the side and a battery in back.
 
Tourmeister said:
:tab If you are in the market for a communication system, this is another I would consider,

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/cardo-packtalk-headset-duo-pack

:tab Like the SENAs, one of the gripes is volume issues, especially if you want to listen to music or use the phone and have the intercom working at the same time. I don't know why, but consistent intuitive volume control for all of these units seems to be a thorn for the manufacturers.

:tab The big feature of this setup is that it uses BlueTooth (for backward compatibility) and also a newer DMC system that manages connections between multiple users better than BlueTooth. This is really only important if you know you will be using the communicators in groups. Keeping numerous units paired and connected via BlueTooth can apparently be a hassle. DMC manages this seamlessly without the user needed to do anything once the initial connections have been made. With Bluetooth, the order of units connecting to each other matters, so if riders swap positing within the larger group, it is possible to lose connection between paired units, which then severs the whole chain. DMC allows riders to swap positions and as long as each unit is within range of ANY of the other units, the chain remains unbroken regardless of rider order. It also seamlessly drops units from a group if they fall out of range and adds them back when they come back into range without any input from users.

:tab Another aspect to consider is that the profile of the unit seems better than the 20S. The bottom of the 20S hangs below the edge of the helmet about 3/4". I did not have any real issue with it, but the Packtalk unit doesn't hang down much at all. For some users that might be an issue depending on their jacket collar, camel-bak tubes over the shoulder, etc,...

:tab Like the 20S, these units have been getting really good reviews and they are similarly priced, but there are issues that people are griping about.
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Thanks for the info on this, we recently purchased four 10S to use in a 3 week off road group ride, and whilst the intercoms did work well, we had to constantly stop, turn off the units and restart as the intercom. Would randomly drop one or more people from the group when we got a bit spread out. It was annoying but we loved the intercoms. As a pair of riders they are superb, but for groups, they get quite limited. I didn't go for the 20S as the guy in the shop said it couldn't do group communication, I had not heard of the Cardo setup, so might take a look at that for our next big group ride in 2 years time.

Gary
 
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Love my 10s and the 10U in my Schuberth. Be warned though, my 10s are about 5 years old now and the outside finish is sticky to the touch. It's that soft feel stuff coming off onto everything, turning anything they touch black. Poor choice of finishes, but the electronics are still working great.
 
Thrasherg said:
Thanks for the info on this, we recently purchased four 10S to use in a 3 week off road group ride, and whilst the intercoms did work well, we had to constantly stop, turn off the units and restart as the intercom. Would randomly drop one or more people from the group when we got a bit spread out. It was annoying but we loved the intercoms. As a pair of riders they are superb, but for groups, they get quite limited. I didn't go for the 20S as the guy in the shop said it couldn't do group communication, I had not heard of the Cardo setup, so might take a look at that for our next big group ride in 2 years time.

Gary
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:tab The 20S can do groups. However, I think it can only do it with other 20S units. I tried adding Snoopster's 10R to a group and it would not do it.

:tab One thing that bugs me about the 20S is the volume issue. If the intercom is active (as in connected but no one is speaking), the voice/sounds from the unit are VERY hard to hear. This makes it very hard to use the unit when you can't tell what it is doing in response to manual or voice inputs. I am not sure if the volume gets louder if I first cancel all active intercom connections before trying to do anything else. That is something I plan to test. If so, that would definitely be something they could stand to change in any future firmware upgrades.

:tab If I am listening to music and the intercom is connected but no one is speaking, the music is at normal volume. It is lowered when someone speaks. As soon as they finish speaking, it goes right back to normal volume. So I am wondering if the volume issue with the sounds from the unit itself are somehow related to this function but it does it all the time when an intercom connection is made rather than just when someone is speaking? I need to play around with it some more.

:tab I did find out that listening to the FM radio will drain the battery quite a bit faster than just using the intercom. Of course I could not hear the unit telling me that the battery was getting low. It wasn't until the battery was basically dead that I heard at normal volume, "Battery Dead, Goodbye", and the unit shut off :doh:

:tab From what I can tell, the BIG problem with Bluetooth is in maintaining active intercom connections. When the units come back in range of each other after being apart, they do not reestablish intercom connections automatically. One of the operators has to manually reestablish the connection every time it is lost. So managing connections for more than a rider/passenger can easily get to be a real pain. The DMC feature of the Packtalk units is supposed to resolve those issues.

:tab For now, these will do what I need just fine. If I were frequently riding with large groups, especially of the same people, I might switch to the Packtalk units instead.
 
2N2OUT said:
Love my 10s and the 10U in my Schuberth. Be warned though, my 10s are about 5 years old now and the outside finish is sticky to the touch. It's that soft feel stuff coming off onto everything, turning anything they touch black. Poor choice of finishes, but the electronics are still working great.
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As a newbie to the forum take this for whatever its worth, but I have had the SMH10's for about 4 years now and have really appreciated their effectiveness in both the comm feature with wife on the seat behind me at high speeds as well as the phone function. The wind noise is negligible according to all those that I have talked to while moving 80mph down the freeway (would make Mom a nervous wreck to know that I was talking to her at that time...lol) but more than that, when I connect my iPod nano via the wired jack, it lasts for probably 8 hours or more.

Not sure about where they are now with the new technology but can attest to the fact that they beat the humming in my own head or the shouting over my shoulder that I was prone to in the past.:eek2:
 
We just got back from a 3 week tour of the west. Valuable lesson learned with Sena 20S...never ever take new technology on a motorcycle vacation w/out some type of dry run first. We struggled the entire time with the Sena system. Part of me wants to sell it and go to a simpler system. Part of me loves it.

Main gripes to far--
Random loss of bluetooth connection
Random loss of intercom connection
Voice control is not consistent
Punching button on side to make intercom work when voice command won't work
Inability to assign communication priority
Incompatibility with Google voice commands

Biggest gripe of all--
No automatic cut-off of intercom after inactivity. We have a Scala system that automatically closes the communication after a period of time w/no communication. Sena would be wise to look at this.

Overall, it seems to be a great system. Just have to decide it's fate with us.
 
:tab I have not experienced the loss of bluetooth connection to my phone (the only device I use other than another Sena20).

:tab I have experienced the loss of intercom. I think that happens from accidental hitting of the button on jacket collar maybe. Doesn't happen real often so it has not been an issue.

:tab Voice control seems to be speed sensitive. The more ambient noise, the less consistent it becomes. At 50mph or less, I rarely have any issues with it.

:tab The button thing takes getting used to. There are things that require you to "tap" the button (a fast push/release) and things that require you to "push" the button (a slow hold/release). Then the number of times you tap or how long you push also matters. Then you have to remember whether you need to tap/push the side button, the bottom button, or the button on the back. It does get easier with repeated use. I carry the quick command reference card with me ;-)

:tab If you have the app on your phone, it has a feature that lets you view all paired devices. The list of communicators allows you to change the priority for which unit is intercom 1, 2, 3, etc,... You can also assign a name to each device to make it easier to keep track of who is who. What I don't like is that device numbers change. I have two units. The other unit I use should ALWAYS be device one even if I connect to other devices. However, the most recently connected device is set as number one and the other is bumped to number two. That is backward and a pain if you are constantly connecting to new communicators. However, if you ride with the same people all the time, once you rearrange them with the app, they stay set until you add a new device, then they all get bumped up again. So it really isn't a big deal.

:tab This past weekend, my daughter and I were riding with a friend that just installed a new SENA 20S on his helmet. We had no trouble pairing it. His got set to intercom one and hers got bumped to two. I used the phone app to swap them around so she would be 1 and he would be 2. It is just more convenient since I generally talk with her more than him. However, we eventually just had it where we were all able to talk at the same time. That has drawbacks though. You hear sounds from ALL of the people ALL of the time. I was constantly hearing motor noises from his bike and a horrible constant high pitched whistle from his helmet!! The noise cancellation did not cut out those particular sounds. So if you have multiple people all connected, you will get a good deal of ambient noises. It does do a good job of cutting out wind noise though. A quick way to switch from talking to one person to all people and back would be good. I think there is a way to do it but I just haven't had a chance to play with it.

:tab Voice activation of the intercom transmitting would be nice. My experience with voice activation with other units has been that you always lose the first word. We used to always do a, "PUH!" and then start talking so that first sound would activate it. Not a biggie once you remembered to do it all the time.

:tab When just riding with my daughter as passenger, the intercom being active all the time is not an issue, although I don't think it necessarily is transmitting all the time. For instance, if we have an active intercom connection and she is listening to music, her music is at normal volume unless I break in by saying something. When I speak, her music volume is lowered. However, when I am not speaking, ambient noises do not cause her music to be lowered. So there is a difference in terms of what is being sent over the intercom and I assume the noise cancellation stuff is controlling that. So an "active" intercom may not necessarily be transmitting all of the time.

:tab From what I have read, these are common issues with most of the various communicators on the market. So I am not in a rush to go out and try another brand/model just yet. I think that if I were going to be riding in a relatively large group where everyone wanted to be on communications, I would opt for the Scala PakTalk just because of the ease with which it connects/disconnects from other Paktalk units. However, many of the issues mentioned here are also issues for the PakTalk.
 
Duke said:
I rode to work Friday morning, was a pleasant 79 degrees around 7am. Coming home yesterday at 4:30pm, well, radio said 104, bike read 105, when parked in stop and go traffic on 45 due to an accident the thermometer showed 118. It was hot!

So hot that this happened.
i-xShHPMG-XL.jpg


So I went to Home Depot and bought some 20 pound double stick 3M tape, will see how long it lasts.
Click to expand...

WoodButcher said:
Try and force the clamp to fit. I used foam tape on a helmet as a spacer once so the clamp would fit over a recess like you have.
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tricepilot said:
i-cSTQs2H-L.jpg


This isn't my pic, but what I did with my Sena 20s and my Schuberth C3 looks identical.

Install was done using the clamp mount, even though at first it appeared the adhesive mount would work better. I just worked the collar wire around the clamp.

I had never taken the padding completely out of the Schuberth before, but doing so, and reinstalling, was easy. Gave me a chance to clean it all with Motorex helmet lining cleaner.

I used the largest speaker pads, and left off the speaker covers themselves, because they hide behind the ear pads in the helmet.

Pairing with my iPhone was a snap, and making adjustments and settings using the Sena app is a breeze.

How do I like the Sena 20s? I just ordered a second one for Tricewife's helmet.

PM me if you have any install questions. Out of the box, it can appear complicated, but in reality, it's all very easy.
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So my adhesive mounting failed again... albeit a year later... Just wanted to confirm that Rusty & Tricepilot are indeed correct. The clamp solution, if you hold your tongue just right will work fine on my Schuberth C3 Pro. So much "firmer" now. I should have done this a year ago.

Also.. I am still in love with this device. I never realized just how much I enjoy chatting with Dianne when she comes along or when riding along with someone else who has a BT communicator.

The battery lasts longer than I can when using ear buds, easily over 1000 miles. When using the speakers, it lasts I guess maybe 6~8 hours? The Woodlands to Fort Stockton.... or The Woodlands to Mobile, AL.

i-PGRwMNc-X2.jpg
 
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I used the clamp for both my units. Worked and fit perfect. No problems.
 
+1 for clamp. I never even messed with the adhesive. I had my gopro mount fly off in big bend earlier this year after the adheasive failed. I don't trust the stuff! :zen:
 
My sena 20s dual pack should be in by Friday. My wife threw a fit about me spending that much money on them but I think she will like being able to communicate when we ride and I'm hoping it will make her want to ride more .

Signatures? We don't need no stinking signatures!
 
JMZ said:
My sena 20s dual pack should be in by Friday. My wife threw a fit about me spending that much money on them but I think she will like being able to communicate when we ride and I'm hoping it will make her want to ride more .
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Whoever recommended those to you is nuts! :sun:
 
Just received an answer from Sena tech support regarding the "auto-off" question I posed to them. Evidently there is an update to the 20S coming sometime in the future that will most likely have this feature. The response was cryptic, but they did acknowledge this was a feature that was requested and the good thing was when there was a firmware update they could possibly add it. If they do then I will be a happy rider. :rider:
 
Cool. The updates are real easy to do.
 
FYI:
here's an EASY FIX for my charging light always staying on BLUE( Vs. RED).

Recently, one of my S20 stopped showing the RED LED when I tried charging it. As such, this S20 wasn't getting charged up, so the near dead battery level would power the unit down after 10 mins of use, despite it being charged overnight (w/ BLUE light staying on.)

I recently did an version update on it. Lo and behold, the Red light now works, and I'm finally getting a full charge on it once again. Current version is now 1.7.
 
Updated the firmware to version 1.7. Looks like they might have done some tweaking to make the bluetooth more stable. Still no auto-shutoff when no conversation, at least I haven't had it happen yet.
 
My app says sena utility v1.8. ??????

Signatures? We don't need no stinking signatures!
 
drfood said:
Updated the firmware to version 1.7. Looks like they might have done some tweaking to make the bluetooth more stable. Still no auto-shutoff when no conversation, at least I haven't had it happen yet.
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I was riding with someone who had the VOX turned on using a 10R and it would auto drop after a bit. Down side it that it auto reconnected whenever she made a noise. I wonder if the 20s would do the same.
 
Rusty--Let's hope it does. That was the most annoying part of the vacation (I know first world problems) that Jay and I took. When the comm would open one of us had to physically close it by pushing the button. The Cardo systems never had that issue. I am going to test and see if they fixed it.
 
Just spent the last hour or so reading up on what I needed to do to bring my 5 year old Sena SMH10 units up to the current firmware. Seemed to I stall easy enough. Will connect the back to helmets and report back as to actual function.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
 
New SENA app that appears to use your phone's data instead of the limitations of Blue tooth to connect and chat using the SENA headset.

https://youtu.be/fEd989KnOao
 
mitchntx said:
New SENA app that appears to use your phone's data instead of the limitations of Blue tooth to connect and chat using the SENA headset.

https://youtu.be/fEd989KnOao
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So you have to have the phone out while riding to operate these features?

I would like the units to automatically pair when in range if they have already been paired previously. Kind of like having a friend list where anytime someone on your friend list shows up, you connect without having to do anything. That way, when riding, if you slip in and out of range you don't have to keep jacking with the unit trying to reestablish contact.
 
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