Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
Just an F.Y.I. You can not charge the BT-S2 while in use either.
Inexpensive Bluetooth Review BT-S2
- Thread starter Daniel
- Start date
Just an F.Y.I. You can not charge the BT-S2 while in use either.
ST Gui
240Robert
Andrew Shadow said:
Good to know. Being able to charge it from the bike is handy for longer rides. Stop for breakfast/coffe/lunch/dinner/hot chocolate etc and plug it in for a sip and you should be fine for the day.
I've been running with my BT-S2 all summer. I don't listen to music a lot and use it more to be aware of phone calls which I will pull over to take, With my pillion partner I found it was lasting for 2 - 4 hr. rides over 2 days no problem. I'm sure that getting an hour long lunch charge into the unit would make it last all day. Banggood has them on again for the best price I think I have seen this year... other online sites have had the same price I know. But here it is again.
https://www.banggood.com/1000m-Moto...lid=121127&sc_lid=103823257&sc_uid=dC64CAsbep
https://www.banggood.com/1000m-Moto...lid=121127&sc_lid=103823257&sc_uid=dC64CAsbep
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
I ran mine for about 6 hours in intercom mode- not a particularly high amount of chatter. After we split up I ran the remaining hour home with the radio on. It was not charged during this time and the battery never died so battery life seems to be O.K.
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
@33 secs
From the comments under the video:
For the benefit of anyone attempting to pair a Sena 20S with the BT-S2 headset I believe that there is an error in the instructions that Daniel found on another site. I attempted to pair my BT-S2 with a Sena 20S and could not get them to do so. I downloaded the Sena 20S manual and discovered an error in these instructions.
In # 3 three of these instructions it states to "Tap the jog dial to place the 20S into Universal Intercom Pairing mode."
At this same point in the process the Sena 20S manual states to "Press the Phone Button to enter into Universal Intercom Pairing mode and the blue LED will flash rapidly and you will hear multiple beeps."
I previously succeeded in pairing with the Sena 20S only once but had difficulty doing so and it took many attempts. I now suspect that that was probably due to hitting the phone button by mistake and not even realizing it. I hope to be able to meet up with the other rider soon so we can try it again.
Hopefully this will be of some help to someone!
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STraymond
Site Supporter
With my old Sena SMH10s I am able to BT pair my phone and my Garmin GPS. The BT-S2s will not let me pair both. The S2s won't even let me pair my phone to the Garmin (as a phone) and the S2 to the Garmin as a stereo headset. Probably have to hardwire Garmin audio output into the S2.
Anybody else have the same experience?
Anybody else have the same experience?
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ST_Jim
In the Hotel California...
With the new 2018 Gold Wing being Bluetooth centric, the subject of BT headsets will keep coming up.
Although it's waterproof and apparently supports charging during use, it looks like the BT-S2 is not a good choice due to only supporting one connection.
The Wing will need one for the bike, one for rider-passenger (or does the bike intercom between it's BT connections?), one for bike-to-bike, etc. I'm not sure the 20S is the greatest choice due to it's issues with large group bike-to-bike (does the 20S Evo fix this?), and lack of a waterproof spec. The Sena 30K, with mesh, holds more promise, but I haven't seen enough real-world experience yet. And the new Sena's still aren't advertised as waterproof. I believe the SMH10 can be charged during use, but I'm not sure about the 20S, 20S EVO, or the 30K.
Perhaps the Cardo Scala PackTalk?
Any other good candidates out there?
Although it's waterproof and apparently supports charging during use, it looks like the BT-S2 is not a good choice due to only supporting one connection.
The Wing will need one for the bike, one for rider-passenger (or does the bike intercom between it's BT connections?), one for bike-to-bike, etc. I'm not sure the 20S is the greatest choice due to it's issues with large group bike-to-bike (does the 20S Evo fix this?), and lack of a waterproof spec. The Sena 30K, with mesh, holds more promise, but I haven't seen enough real-world experience yet. And the new Sena's still aren't advertised as waterproof. I believe the SMH10 can be charged during use, but I'm not sure about the 20S, 20S EVO, or the 30K.
Perhaps the Cardo Scala PackTalk?
Any other good candidates out there?
ST Gui
240Robert
Andrew Shadow said:
I got it as a unit for my secondary helmet. It's a Bilt modular with internal sunshade that I bought on close-out. It's primary use is around town/short range and not for any real distance as it's a little noisier than the Neotec.
For me my primary use case for the BT-S2 is pairing it with my phone. I can listen to music radio GPS and take or make a call if I have to. For any riding with my buddies it's the Shoei/Sena hat.
ST Gui
240Robert
It supports three BT connections: phone rider headset and passenger headset. The bike doesn't do intercom at all. That's the purview of the headsets. That could be a problem in states that currently won't allow attachments to helmets. However all the YT videos seem to center around Go-Pro use.
I won't travel in a large group so mesh or no mesh that's fine by me. One feature I do like is the 30K's apparent ability to open a hailing frequency to other BT headsets and apparently non-Sena products.
I don't know how it works but a rider with a 30K can either call or be called by another rider if one realizes the other has a BTHS— similar to using a CB. So if you see someone on the road and he or she is riding a Honda you can give The Nicest Person a 'Hey now!'
One connection is one device, this is the same as the SMH-10. Intercom (if supported) is not generally considered another device.
STraymond
Site Supporter
ST_Jim
In the Hotel California...
See, this is where I get confused: the new 2018 Gold Wing connects to three devices - phone, rider headset, and passenger headset. It has hardware/software which passes audio to the two headsets to play music from the FM radio, the SXM radio, and MP3 (or even the phone), and GPS audio. It has hardware/software which passes audio from headset to the phone for call. Why can't it have hardware/software which pipes audio from headset to headset to form an intercom? It has the audio streams it needs, it just has to mix audio and perhaps have a means of lowering music volume when talking. Granted, the newer headsets support this anyway. But some of the older lower cost headsets (and BT-S2) only support one connection - phone or intercom - not both simultaneously. Seems like that would be a desirable feature.
What I've been reading about the 20S, EVO, and even the 30K is it's not ready for prime time as far as group bike-to-bike communications. Lot's of audible noises, dropouts, etc. It's fine for a limited number of connections like intercom, phone, and now bike. Also BT really is set up for point to point, not point to multipoint (broadcast). They've had to create proprietary solutions that work with their headsets, but not another brand.
I would also kind of like to reverse engineer the Wing's CB interface to patch in an FRS/GMRS/HAM radio for bike-to-bike. Have a selector switch to route PTT and audio to the desired radio (don't need all at the same time). Or dispense with the CB, but tap into the cable harness for the needed connections to my radio. I expect Kennedy Technology to have such an interface soon. I don't see BT as the correct solution, despite the "mesh" headsets.
I wonder if you can use a “Y” adapter. I have one of these to charge my hearing aid accessories. I shall try that out when I get home in a few weeks. My unit arrived in Stratford this week.
ST Gui
240Robert
kiltman said:
I think that would be asking for trouble. I don't think that such a cable is compliant with USB standards so it might be hard to find. There are some micro-USB Y-adapters to connect a HDD to two ports on a computer but I don't believe those are USB-compliant either.
It's likely all moot as I don't think anybody even makes such a cable. Cobbling one together strikes me as one of those 'hold my beer while I solder' moments.
Actually, I don’t think the BT-2 jack is a microUSB - at least not the same type as every other device I own uses. It appears to be a unique jack that is somewhat different from a microUSB.
Maybe some of the more IT expert folks could comment.
Maybe some of the more IT expert folks could comment.
Sorry, yes I minimized my information. You can use 2 devices as long as they are on seperate profiles. One device on the hands free profile and the other on the advanced audio. But some devices will need both. Forinstance, my phone sends my music audio over the audio link but phone comes over the hfp link. Give up one of those for some other device and you lose it.
Now sometimes you could re-route, pair the phone hfp to the garmin, then the garmin hfp to the sena while advanced audio comes from the phone.
But I just do phone exclusively to my headset and use the garmin in visual mode. (Since I don'thave a Zumo I don't miss much.)
STumped
Because I usually am . . . .
Considering how cheap this unit is, you could buy two units and charge one while using the other and STILL be less than half of ONE Sena headset. Not that I'm knocking Sena, I love my SMH10 unit! I just figure that if it's that cheap, just buy another and you'll always have one ready.
Mount 'em on opposite sides of your helmet, turn them both on, and you can talk to yourself.
ST Gui
240Robert
You are correct! It's definitely not micro-USB. I have no idea if it's proprietary or some little-know IEEE standard (or at least one unknown to me!). But a micro-USB won't fit.
Or it will— once.
+1 If I was to use this instead of a Sena for trips I'd definitely have two. The second one would give me a spare charging cable as well as always having one charged.
+1 even though I haven't used mine yet. The build quality is decent it has all the basics if not a bell or whistle or two of the Sena and the price is right. I hope to try mine soon.
It might even be practical enough to carry one in the bag as a spare on a trip should the Sena go toes up. And for someone who hasn't gone Sena already two would mean a very easy swap for charging or backup.
I wish I knew the pin-outs because I’d be tempted to simply make a little jumper with the BT-S2 jack on one end and a female microUSB on the other so that I could use all the zillions of other chargers I’ve got on it.
The only thing I don’t like about the el-cheapo Chinoise Bluetooth unit is that stupid odd-ball connector.
The only thing I don’t like about the el-cheapo Chinoise Bluetooth unit is that stupid odd-ball connector.