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Bluetooth Communicators - Sena, Cardo, other?

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    #1

    Bluetooth Communicators - Sena, Cardo, other?

    My son is looking to pickup a Bluetooth Communicator, and ironically, I'm finally open to considering moving from my Autocom setup as well since I can't fit the Multistrada the way that I wish with my current setup.

    I know that many love their Sena's, but reading some reviews, I also see plenty of bitching and one guy that out and out said that he wanted his Autocom back. Others that have Sena that say that they wish that they had Cardo. I know that they've been out for a long time now, but are BT communicators ready for Prime Time? Which unit is best, why? Do I need custom plugs with drivers, or are the stock/provided units adequate while wearing ear plugs?

    I just saw that last month Loggiebone sold a pair of Cardo units. Had I saw that pre-sale, I'd have likely bought those to cut our teeth with, but if you were buying new today, what would you spend your money on, why, and do you have first hand experience with the product?

    Thanks in advance.
    Matt
    Street: 2011 Ducati Multistrada S :: 2000 Honda VFR @ 39k :: 2002 BMW K1200RS @ 13k ... round 3
    Track: 2008 Suzuki GSX-R 750 :: 2008 Honda CBR1000RR
    Dirt: Honda CRF450X
    IBA #25520 - Iron Butting the Blue Ridge Parkway

    If loud pipes save lives, imagine what learning to ride that thing could do.
    Tags: None
    #2
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      #3
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        #4
        I use the Sena as most of the folks that I ride with that have coms use one but it's supposed to pair with other brands anyway. I mostly use it for the RADAR detector and the speakers work fine with earplugs. What I thought was a piece of crap was their unit that provided Bluetooth connectivity for things like RADAR detectors. You could run numerous things through it, phone, music, etc but just didn't work for me. I went through two. I bought a $20 bluetooth transmitter and it works great. I can Bluetooth my phone separately if I want but I don't, all I want is the RADAR detector. The only bad thing about Bluetooth is that when the battery goes you don't know. If you're depending on that for RADAR detector alerts you might not be protected towards the end of a long ride. I reach down and hit the volume button on my Uniden every once in a while to make sure it's still communicating. On the Uniden it gives you a beep when you do that. I keep a pair of wired noise reducing earplugs in the tail bag as a backup. I did a review of those on here, $25 and they work great.
        Last edited by Capnrip; 07-25-2019, 05:56 AM.
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          #5
          I use the Sena. When I bought them I did so because it was the best out at the time. This has been several years ago now. I still have Sena units, even the ones I purchased for the family years ago that I have moved from helmet to helmet. I replaced my original one a few years ago due to it breaking on a trip and not wanting to be without waiting on the broken part. I will buy the Sena SRL unit for my Neotec next, as the monstrosity I have hanging off that helmet is killing me (Sena 20s can't be mounted with the slim bracket).

          There are some peculiarities on the Sena (as Wes mentioned), once you get it working it just works like a champ. As far as power goes on long trips I have adapters to plug into power so that isn't a big issue for me.
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            #6
            Sena works great.

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              #7
              I've been using the same Sena I bought with the GSA almost 5 years & 36,500 miles, still working great.

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                #8
                Yep, have a few Sena stuff. The 20S soldiers on, few quirks but no big deal. I have a dual pack of them.
                Also have the 10C which I really like. You have a good cam when you ride always. Great for pics and vid, low res. And a decent communicator.
                Chattanooga, TN
                Certified Hooligan.
                2018 S1000XR, 2014 R1200GSAw, 2015 Husqvarna FE501S

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                  #9
                  Thanks all for the input. Personally, I'm still on the fence about going full wireless, but I found a good deal on a dual pack of the Sena 30k units. My son really wanted one and so i joined him and bought the dual pack, it will be great being able to talk with him and I can try it out for awhile before selling off my antique autocom collection(s) if I like the Sena. Bmorganjr will be happy as he's been after me to buy a Sena for about 4 years now.
                  Matt
                  Street: 2011 Ducati Multistrada S :: 2000 Honda VFR @ 39k :: 2002 BMW K1200RS @ 13k ... round 3
                  Track: 2008 Suzuki GSX-R 750 :: 2008 Honda CBR1000RR
                  Dirt: Honda CRF450X
                  IBA #25520 - Iron Butting the Blue Ridge Parkway

                  If loud pipes save lives, imagine what learning to ride that thing could do.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Capnrip View Post
                    What I thought was a piece of crap was their unit that provided Bluetooth connectivity for things like RADAR detectors. You could run numerous things through it, phone, music, etc but just didn't work for me. I went through two. I bought a $20 bluetooth transmitter and it works great.
                    Wes,

                    Since I made the plunge and bought a Sena 30k, I will need one of these as well. I was looking and considering this one below even before you mentioned that the Sena one was shit.

                    https://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-Bl...ustomerReviews

                    Can you point me to the unit that you purchased and are happy with? I tend to find recommendations from friends that have BTDT to be the best course.

                    Thanks.
                    Matt
                    Street: 2011 Ducati Multistrada S :: 2000 Honda VFR @ 39k :: 2002 BMW K1200RS @ 13k ... round 3
                    Track: 2008 Suzuki GSX-R 750 :: 2008 Honda CBR1000RR
                    Dirt: Honda CRF450X
                    IBA #25520 - Iron Butting the Blue Ridge Parkway

                    If loud pipes save lives, imagine what learning to ride that thing could do.

                    Comment

                    • Capnrip
                      #10.1
                      Capnrip commented
                      07-26-2019, 10:52 AM
                      Editing a comment
                      Absolutely Matt. Let me get home this afternoon and I'll get you the info and a picture of the setup.
                    • Capnrip
                      #10.2
                      Capnrip commented
                      07-26-2019, 11:54 AM
                      Editing a comment
                      Matt,
                      Checked my Amazon account and they show the one I have as unavailable. However it looks exactly like this one. https://www.amazon.com/TROND-Bluetoo...=1WG52466RPIRL. Not had a single problem with it. Make sure whatever bluetooth transmitter you get works on the same version of bluetooth as your Sena. Would be odd if it didn't but doesn't hurt to check.

                      I liked my Marc Parnes but since I've had audio alerts I'd never go back to it. If you want to try that I'll send you mine but when the light flashes you don't know if it's the door at Dollar General (sets off K) or something you really want to know (Ka Band=cop with RADAR). Marc Parnes wouldn't work with my Uniden unless I wired it internally. With my Redline you could plug it right into the audio jack.
                      Last edited by Capnrip; 07-26-2019, 12:00 PM.
                    #11
                    Matt, there are a lot of issues with 30K as opposed to the 20 units. Please check.
                    As far as the RD stuff, the Marc Parnes LED lights are really useful. I had a 20 $ BT transmitter, but it was so F**ing unreliable. It takes away what the RD offers you.
                    Chattanooga, TN
                    Certified Hooligan.
                    2018 S1000XR, 2014 R1200GSAw, 2015 Husqvarna FE501S

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                      #12
                      Did a Lake Superior Circle Tour last month with 4 Riding Buds. We all had Sena Units, but not all the same model, and we mostly got them to work well but the first couples days it was a struggle. Note: we all updated to the latest Firmware just before the trip began.

                      Me: Sena 20S EVO
                      Rider2: Sena 20S - not EVO
                      Rider3: Sena 30K
                      Rider4: Sena 30K
                      Rider5: Sena 30K

                      We had tried manual pairing and it just was't reliable nor consistent. We later tried using Voice Commands ("Hello Sena") and more specifically "Intercom X". For instance, we'd turn on our Senas and beginning saying "Hello Sena"..."Intercomm 1". If that didn't work then try again and say "Intercomm 2". If that didn't work then try again and say "Intercomm 3". Fijnally, if that didn't work then try again and say "Intercomm 4".

                      This was the most reliable way to connect throughout the rest of the trip. Even so, sometimes one or two riders would drop out and I'd have to go through and do the "Hello Sena"..."Intercom X" voice commands until we got him/them reconnected.

                      I suspect Sena has done more rigorous development/validation of the Voice Command Software on the latest units. I never wanted to even try the Voice Commands but now use it without hesitation.
                      Last edited by R111S; 07-26-2019, 09:51 AM.
                      '11 BMW K1300S - Cobra SP2 Slip-On Muffler, OEM Centerstand, Grip Puppies, OEM Rear Rack, OEM Bags, Three Vent Holes in Filler Neck, Kuykendahl Riser Plates, Kickstand Foot, Ilmburger Rear Hugger, Throttle Meister, Stebel Horn, ABM Synto EVO Brake/Clutch Levers, Corbin Seat, Z-Technik Smoke Windscreen, R&G Frame Sliders

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                        #13
                        So, R111S, which one of those was better. That's a good sample of their offering.
                        Chattanooga, TN
                        Certified Hooligan.
                        2018 S1000XR, 2014 R1200GSAw, 2015 Husqvarna FE501S

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                        • R111S
                          #13.1
                          R111S commented
                          07-28-2019, 03:57 PM
                          Editing a comment
                          Hi Mani, I can't really say since I haven't personally tried any of the others. No one on the Trip had any negative comments outside of the Pairing issues we battled the first couple days of the trip.

                          Certainly I like my 20S EVO (my 2nd Sena). My first Sean was a SMH-10 and it was exclusively used for Bike-to-Bike communication. In the same usage my 20S EVO has clearer sound and less wind noise due to the noise cancelling. I sometimes use the FM Radio when making short trips in town. I've paired my Sumsung Android Phone once to listen to Google Play Music.

                          Finally, I decided to upgrade to the 20S EVO for the following reasons:

                          1. My old SMH-10 was having intermittent issues with one of the speakers.
                          2. I was concerned with the 4-pairing limit on the Lake Superior Trip (5-Riders using Sena).
                          3. I've read some negative reviews on the Sena 30K units...maybe these issues have been addressed by now?
                          4. The 20S EVO Software was at Rev. 2.0 (added intercom compatibility with 30K) so I figured the major bugs were fixed.
                          5. The 20S EVO costs less than the 30K and for my particular Use Cases (mostly Bike-to-Bike comm) works well.
                          Last edited by R111S; 07-28-2019, 04:04 PM.
                        #14

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                          #15
                          totally agree. I think my 10C ( with the camera) gets used the most.
                          Chattanooga, TN
                          Certified Hooligan.
                          2018 S1000XR, 2014 R1200GSAw, 2015 Husqvarna FE501S

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