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Bluetooth Headset Setup

2

2andblue

COG Executive Director
Member
No - not using group intercom. Never had to before trying to link in GPS. Experience here Chris with the group intercom box?

I too tried to handle the first software corruption on the SENA helpline, was so frustrated after getting off the call. We were on vacation and no SENA dealers would help reflash the software, had to go to a motorcycle dealer in or around George’s Lake, New York who helped and saved our vacation…. Once you use communicators for entertainment or simple talking with your passenger or other riders you will never want to ride quietly again..

Back to the group box - any experience here Chris that you can pass along? I would be happy to start a new thread with us as the test case..

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
First off, I'm not an expert here. I just have tried to understand how and why things work, and when I'm fortunate enough to muddle through and it does work...I try to understand why to repeat what I did.

First off, despite the Garmin Zumo XT GPS being the latest and greatest...you're going to find it is taxed for the processor speed. So anything going through that, can get a glitch. An example is when I'm playing music off the GPS and come to a school crossing, the music stops and there's this delay while the GPS switches internally to warn me of the crosswalk. There's nothing I can do about it, so I live with it.

Our Sena's are about the same. I'd love three BT channels...but no one makes that. So I have to try to figure out what I can do within the constraints of the hardware that wasn't made to add my radar detector to the mix.


To answer your question, the Sena Customer Service person confirmed that "Group" intercom was not the same as "Universal" intercom or "Phone" pairing. I kind of suspected that. I tried to pair the radar detector transmitter through the Group and Universal intercom, and nothing paired. Second, she confirmed there's something in the hardware that differentiates between an "intercom" pairing and a "phone" pairing. So your "Group" intercom with your wife, is no different than you and I on different bikes pairing up. Hopefully, they used a Sena to Sena pairing, and not a Sena to Universal pairing. I'd recommend just repairing the helmets in the comfort of your living room with no rush.

Just a little bunny trail. As you said, once you've ridden with comms, you'll never want to go without again. I know one guy who we talked nonstop for hours like we were sitting side by side in the car. Another guy where we talk very little. It's also nice to warn the other rider for when you pull into a parking lot, and find a lot of sand in the entrance.

Once you get the group intercom pairing completed, go out to your bike and start the GPS. Read up on how to make a second mobile phone pairing. This is not the same as just pairing two phones. On my Sena 10C Pro, I press the phone button and after about 10 seconds, it'll say "Mobile Phone Pairing". But for the second phone BT channel for the GPS, you press the jog dial for about 7-10 seconds till you get to "Group Intercom Pairing", then within 2 seconds, press the phone button. The voice will then say, "Second mobile phone pairing." I think that's a reason I was getting an unreliable connection a couple years ago. I was trying to pair the phone and GPS on the same phone BT channel.

So I recommend your phone only be paired to your GPS. If you have a Garmin GPS, it is really convenient to use the GPS display to control your phone calls.

That leaves your GPS with only the Sena headset and phone pairings. If other pairings show up, I'd recommend deleting those.

1649801467243.png

The Sena BT headset will have two connections. Sena recommends using the second mobile phone pairing for the GPS on my 10C Pro. That leaves the primary mobile phone channel open for the radar detector transmitter.

I was down at the church today and turned on the Group Intercom (even though I was by myself) and had everything else running. No issues most of the time. I did find when I played music, that occasionally the music would be playing but the sound wasn't coming through. Changing to the next song would be enough to jar the headset into saying, "oh yeah, I'm supposed to be juggling that ball too". Music was playing in this case off the GPS's internal storage, not the phone. I think it is simply a case of me using all the capabilities of the equipment and I'm at the limit of what it can handle, both in terms of processor speed and memory.

Other options? I skip the radar detector transmitter and go back to using Marc Parnes' Visual Alert...or my wired noise-isolating earbuds. The Visual Alert is certainly attention-grabbing. The second option still lets you hear the details of which radar band you're picking up, but you've got one more cord to deal with if you get off your bike. That's why I was originally looking into getting a BT earbud that would be noise-reducing like an earplug.

I hope that helps.
Chris
 
Daboo said:
First off, I'm not an expert here. I just have tried to understand how and why things work, and when I'm fortunate enough to muddle through and it does work...I try to understand why to repeat what I did.

First off, despite the Garmin Zumo XT GPS being the latest and greatest...you're going to find it is taxed for the processor speed. So anything going through that, can get a glitch. An example is when I'm playing music off the GPS and come to a school crossing, the music stops and there's this delay while the GPS switches internally to warn me of the crosswalk. There's nothing I can do about it, so I live with it.

Our Sena's are about the same. I'd love three BT channels...but no one makes that. So I have to try to figure out what I can do within the constraints of the hardware that wasn't made to add my radar detector to the mix.


To answer your question, the Sena Customer Service person confirmed that "Group" intercom was not the same as "Universal" intercom or "Phone" pairing. I kind of suspected that. I tried to pair the radar detector transmitter through the Group and Universal intercom, and nothing paired. Second, she confirmed there's something in the hardware that differentiates between an "intercom" pairing and a "phone" pairing. So your "Group" intercom with your wife, is no different than you and I on different bikes pairing up. Hopefully, they used a Sena to Sena pairing, and not a Sena to Universal pairing. I'd recommend just repairing the helmets in the comfort of your living room with no rush.

Just a little bunny trail. As you said, once you've ridden with comms, you'll never want to go without again. I know one guy who we talked nonstop for hours like we were sitting side by side in the car. Another guy where we talk very little. It's also nice to warn the other rider for when you pull into a parking lot, and find a lot of sand in the entrance.

Once you get the group intercom pairing completed, go out to your bike and start the GPS. Read up on how to make a second mobile phone pairing. This is not the same as just pairing two phones. On my Sena 10C Pro, I press the phone button and after about 10 seconds, it'll say "Mobile Phone Pairing". But for the second phone BT channel for the GPS, you press the jog dial for about 7-10 seconds till you get to "Group Intercom Pairing", then within 2 seconds, press the phone button. The voice will then say, "Second mobile phone pairing." I think that's a reason I was getting an unreliable connection a couple years ago. I was trying to pair the phone and GPS on the same phone BT channel.

So I recommend your phone only be paired to your GPS. If you have a Garmin GPS, it is really convenient to use the GPS display to control your phone calls.

That leaves your GPS with only the Sena headset and phone pairings. If other pairings show up, I'd recommend deleting those.

View attachment 32179

The Sena BT headset will have two connections. Sena recommends using the second mobile phone pairing for the GPS on my 10C Pro. That leaves the primary mobile phone channel open for the radar detector transmitter.

I was down at the church today and turned on the Group Intercom (even though I was by myself) and had everything else running. No issues most of the time. I did find when I played music, that occasionally the music would be playing but the sound wasn't coming through. Changing to the next song would be enough to jar the headset into saying, "oh yeah, I'm supposed to be juggling that ball too". Music was playing in this case off the GPS's internal storage, not the phone. I think it is simply a case of me using all the capabilities of the equipment and I'm at the limit of what it can handle, both in terms of processor speed and memory.

Other options? I skip the radar detector transmitter and go back to using Marc Parnes' Visual Alert...or my wired noise-isolating earbuds. The Visual Alert is certainly attention-grabbing. The second option still lets you hear the details of which radar band you're picking up, but you've got one more cord to deal with if you get off your bike. That's why I was originally looking into getting a BT earbud that would be noise-reducing like an earplug.

I hope that helps.
Chris
Click to expand...
Thank you Chris. We’ll be starting for ground up on all connections again and will see if I can do the same as your above explanation.

Appreciate the time it took to write this up!

Wayne
 
chrismpero said:
I've never had a COMM system over the last 3 bikes and close to 100k miles of rideing. I'm seriously considering the new Cardo system as I've heard great things, ie waterproof and better sound with the JBL speakers.
Click to expand...
Chris @chrismpero, I'd look at more than just Cardo before buying a BT headset. Nothing wrong with Cardo at all. But if you ride with others and find they are all using Senas, then you want to look along those lines primarily.

All BT headsets have a "universal" group intercom function. But to pair with others using that, you almost need to know how to make their headset pair, as well as yours. Chances are, they won't know how to make it work and you'll be standing out in the parking lot for about 15 or more minutes, getting totally frustrated.

I think Sena's lawyers are responsible for the Sena headsets not saying "waterproof". Use some common sense. Two examples here.
  1. I have the Sena 10C Pro and had the original 10C before that. The power and memory card openings are on the underside of the headset. I've used mine in pouring rain for hours on end with a USB cord plugged in to charge them, and had no issues.
  2. I had the Sena 10C EVO. The power plug was on the upper side. I just couldn't see that working in rain and returned it, hence why I have the "Pro" version instead.
Sound quality is a function not only of the hardware, but also the owner. Sena offers some upgraded speakers for some models. I haven't needed them. In the setup options, is a setting to boost the audio volume. That's one thing someone can do that might make a huge difference. The other is speaker placement. If the speakers are not centered directly over your ears, but are up or down or off to the side of your ear opening...you won't hear well. I slipped my hand inside my helmet and felt to see if the center of the speaker was aligned with my ear canal opening.

Chris
 
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