Questions To Sena And Cardo Users

[Uncle Phil]

I am contemplating an upgrade from my wired Valk CB systems to Sena or Cardo at some point since nobody seems to use CB anymore to communicate on motorcycles.

1. Can Sena users communicate to Cardo users and vice-versa without doing a Mexican hat dance?

2. Does the 'to the passenger' communication work well?

3. I already have my GPS, radar detector and music source 'merged' through an Amplirider.
I do not have nor do I want a 'smart' phone and do not wish to make phone calls while I ride.
Since this setup works just fine right now, I have no desire to change that part of it.
So does either system have a dongle so I could just plug into the output of the Amplirider (1/8 mini jack) and BT connect to the headset?

4. What kind of 'real life' communication distances in hilly terrain do you see?

5. What kind of 'real life' battery life do you see?

 

[bstig60]

Sena has the SM10 dongle that should handle what you want. Sena and Cardo should communicate within their range once they are paired. You will have to pair with the rider on the other bike. My older Cardo's will pair up to about a mile if I recall correctly. They also have FM radio as part of the unit. Battery life is going to be determined by how much you use the units. I recharge mine every night when on a trip. Both the dongle and the headset.

 

[Mellow]

You lost me at 'don't want a smart phone'... lol

My senas have always given me around 12-13 hours of usage when paired to my gps and listening to music via the gps.. not sure if you gain battery life with any other configurations as that's how I've always used them.

 

[Uncle Phil]

The 'distance' limitation (unless you use the cell phone option that burns minutes) seems to be the real stick in the mud for me.
It would be nice at the BRG to be in contact with the sweep but we can get spread out some pretty good distances and cell phone coverage can be spotty at best.

 

[Uncle Phil]

You lost me at 'don't want a smart phone'... lol

Well, being in the technology business since dirt, the less of it I have when I'm riding, the better I like it!
My cell plan costs me a grand total of $100 a year on my old flip phone.
Verizon is dying to get me off my old grandfathered plan for sure!

 

[Mellow]

Well, being in the technology business since dirt, the less of it I have when I'm riding, the better I like it!
My cell plan costs me a grand total of $100 a year on my old flip phone.
Verizon is dying to get me off my old grandfathered plan for sure!

LOL.. there's probably a whole infrastructure supporting your phone they can't unplug contractually... lol...

 

[paulcb]

The 'distance' limitation (unless you use the cell phone option that burns minutes) seems to be the real stick in the mud for me.
It would be nice at the BRG to be in contact with the sweep but we can get spread out some pretty good distances and cell phone coverage can be spotty at best.

I've been on those rides and with the distance, hills and trees in between, there's no way you'd stay connected to the sweep with a helmet comm system such as the Sena or Cardo. My Sena SMH10 works well within a 1/4 mile or so, and maybe up to 1/2 mile with direct line of sight, but not beyond that.

AFAIK, most smartphone plans have unlimited minutes since most people text instead of call these days. Bike to bike, the Sena works very well on a phone call as long as you have cell coverage.

 

[J. Fitzgerald]

UP, my experience with the SENA and communicating with another rider is pretty much line-of-sight. I think your only hope of communicating between the leader & sweep in most cases will be via cell phone. As mentioned above, the SM10 will Bluetooth your other devices to the headset.

jf

 

[capnkirk]

I currently have a pair of Sena 20S EVO units and will say they are great for music, GPS, phone, even FM radio. Button sequences/menu usage on the unit is cumbersome but once you learn the options you use most, not bad. I just wish they worked well for intercom. Isn't that their #1 job after all? Even with my pillion, we constantly have failed connections and/or mid conversation drops. Their firmware update process is awful too. Many systems won't recognize them on a USB bus unless there is nothing (absolutely nothing) else connected via USB and that is only with the cables they supplied with the units.

The 10S I had before worked much better as an intercom. Unfortunately, it got ruined in a rain-squall.

 

[Shawn K]

I have an SM10 Bluetooth dongle for sale if you decide to go that route.

For Sale - Sena SM10 Bluetooth Transmitter - FS/FT | For Sale

A while back, I bought a set of Sena 10S headsets and an SM10 Bluetooth transmitter from my dad. Used the headsets, never used the SM10 (just wasn't anything I needed). Rather than having it sit in the garage, I thought I'd see if anyone wants the SM10. I have the accessory cords, flat mount...

www.st-owners.com

 

[Uncle Phil]

Sounds like since what I have already works for music, GPS, and radar and I'm not going to invest in a smart phone, the short range of the Sena and Cardo won't be of much value to me. The only thing I would be gaining is ditching the helmet cord which is just not a big issue for me. And there is something about the throttles on my ST1100s that seem to keep me separated some distance from the rest of the pack and out of the range of these units.

 

[st11ray]

Greg and I both have Cardo Packtalk Slims. We could pretty much only talk with line of sight at the BRG ride. I don’t know how far they will go on “open” roads, haven’t tried that yet.

 

[ST Gui]

Sounds like since what I have already works for music, GPS, and radar and I'm not going to invest in a smart phone, the short range of the Sena and Cardo won't be of much value to me. The only thing I would be gaining is ditching the helmet cord which is just not a big issue for me.

No- a Sena or Cardo probably won't do what you want even if you had a smartphone. Few smartphone plans will be $100 though there may be one or two Luddite-centric.

My and my buddies' Sena 20Ss have quite good distance line of site but it drops to 20-maaaybe 50yds when comin' round the mountain. An S curve can reduce the signal to a garbled mess. But the signal clears right up as soon as the gap closes or the road straightens out.

 

[drrod]

Decent comparo of the intercom units readily available.

 

[Patrevan]

The bride and I have a set of Cardo Q3. They are about 5 yrs old. I would describe them as 'as advertised'. Batteries good for about 8 hrs of near continuous use. (There was another model - maybe Q9 which advertised at 12 hrs.) Passenger to passenger communication is very effective. Too effective ;( I've done two very long rides with another rider (Vancouver Island - Cabo San Lucas, then Vancouver Island to Key West). Unobstructed line of sight between bikes is reliably about 1 km. Google Maps is much better than most GPS and blue tooth connection gives audio through the headphones. I can remember phoning the wife one day whilst cruising along in the Baha. Press two buttons activates Siri. Call home says I. Phone rings and I have a seamless call and the wife can't believe I'm driving the bike in Mexico and talking to her. I ride the St a 1/2 hr each way to work each day and listen to podcasts. Again, easily done. I do not miss being tethered to the bike and all that goes with that. Lose the tether Uncle Phil.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Lose the tether Uncle Phil.

The 'tether' is not an issue for me.
What folks don't seem to understand is I don't want phone communication when I'm riding.
Most of the time my cell phone is turned off - and that is for a reason!
And I am sure not interested in podcasts or any of that stuff.
I don't really care about real time weather and traffic updates when I'm on the road.
Life is an adventure or else it is a rut - which is a grave with the ends kicked out.
Plain, pure music (Classical, Baroque, Bluegrass) is all I want to hear in my headsets.
When I'm on the road, I don't call 'home' unless there's a problem - and my wife does not call 'home' when she is on a RV trip.
We trust each other and hourly/daily communication is not necessary after 45 years.
I'm long past having the 'latest and greatest' or else I'd be riding something besides ST1100s.
I've been in the technology business for almost 50 years and I don't care to be 'surrounded' by it when I am on the road.
It would make it just another 'busman's holiday'.

 

[Mellow]

I liked my J&M CB a lot when I had them on my bikes... very decent range, loud volume via the hardwired stereo input.

The thing I hated was due to the helmet cords, they would break often, might get 2 years out of a cord... but sometimes only 1... Those were almost as much as a single Sena unit alone.

UP, sounds like you'd be giving up range and a helmet cord... for something you have to remember to charge, and maybe still need even more cords and separate unit to get your music/gps... doesn't make sense to me... given your priorities... sometimes, what you have is just the best option already.

 

[bstig60]

I have a CB on my GL1800 and wish I had one on my ST1300. Many of the people I ride with have CB's. It's a great way to communicate and you have a decent range. Never had a problem with the helmet cord breaking on the Hondaline set up on the Goldwing. I am on my 3rd Goldwing with CB.

 

[T_C]

If not doing rider to passenger or bike to bike communications there is really no need for a headset. Most of my LD trips and my daily commute are all done solo. For that I found the best solution is just plain old wired ear piece(s).

No charging and better sound quality (above 20mph that's a moot (mute? ) point), better price point, less wind noise on the helmet.

Now, I don't have a mic so my cord to bike connection is pretty simple, 1/8" single wire into my phone.
Sure I'm 'tethered' to the bike, but that is simple enough. When I stand up I grab my phone fporm the handlebar mount and put it in my pocket. Now i'm just tethered to my pocket.

The Sena 10, Sena 20 headsets and the bluetooth conection for my headphones all sit at home waiting for another day to be used.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Joe - Ah, J & M - I got rid of the J&M headsets and went with EDSets headsets which solved the 'cord' problem. I can't remember the last time I had to replace a helmet cord since I swapped to EDSets (and I do use them on a daily basis). He spent a lot of time developing a solution to that problem and ended up putting some Kevlar in his cords, IIRC. There was a video years ago of him wearing one of his cords out on the edge of a table trying to get it to break! He is also an audio specialist (IIRC a former professional musician) and his speakers are really high quality. In the end, you are correct - I won't get the range with Cardo or Sena that I want (though one day they will get that figured out) so there would be little advantage for me. But I do appreciate all the real world experiences - as I always say, if I am gonna shoot, I wanna be with the boys that have shot the guns not the boys that have read a book about shooting the guns!