Yep, that's in the manual. Also, holding the jog dial for 2sec to start/stop music is a lot easier than double tapping, waiting, then saying 'music'...
Got in a pair a day or two ago. And got them mounted and set up today. And one of them breaks up during transmission. It just cuts in and out. I know its on the transmission because it also cuts out on the hearing end of a phone conversation. Any ideas?? Besides getting another form Sena???
Ya...same thing for initiating voice command like Siri...has to be in standby...Cardo units can be in FM or A2DP and I think intercom mode. sigh....too bad...these things could have been great.
I bought a second 'base' to install onto another helmet and will swap the unit to whichever I'm using. (One is full face, the other an Arai tour x3 multi)
If you ask me, as a long time Cardo G4 Teamset user, SENA did walk into the same "trap" as Cardo did a long time ago. SENA always had the advantage over Cardo that it was extremely user-friendly with it's big jog-dial. Simple to use with your gloves on for almost anybody. My Cardo set always was a complete pita to use, simply because I could not remember what all button combinations and 1-2-3 pushes etc etc were, that is, IF you found the button to begin with, or understood from where you were engaging them to begin with. Now, SENA has done the same. Many, many features (whom we probably will only sparsely need) but added in a way that directly threats user-friendliness. No longer is it easy to use. If you look at what is posted in this thread, it has become rather difficult to use instead. I think that is a trade-off that should not have happened. Instead of focusing on "being the first to add THIS" or having the most features or the most bluetooth connections, I personally think that they should have made user-friendliness the complete and utter first priority. For customers on a motorcycle, you can NOT sacrifice user-friendliness (which is safety really) to any feature-hunt or competition with any competitor. The user/customer should have come first. Not the feature list. It seems, that this his now changed with SENA. I also think, that there is a limit to what the average user can handle on a motorcycle in terms of knowing what to do whilst fiddling around on your helmet with your left hand during driving. Yes, there are probably exceptions, and yes, there are those who can remember everything, every key-combination, every number of pushes, and what not, even whilst safely driving and watching the traffic around you. There are those. But there probably are MORE who think this is not the way to go. I don't. At some point I think the list of features and how to engage them is becoming too long to handle on the side of your head with gloves on, and need a different, more visual, approach. Like a projection on the inside of your visor (if you want to be completely way ahead of any competitor) or a link back to a gps unit or monitor with the controls placed there within visual range. So that you can control your bluetooth headset just as you do your GPS during drive. This do-it-all-on-the-side-of-your-head is, from a certain difficulty level, no longer feasible. I think it looks like it that the new SENA device has passed that threshold.
I don't think Sena has reached that point at all. Assuming that you have completed all of the setup prior to actually riding the bike then all you have to do is tap the side of your helmet twice and say what you want; intercom, music, fm, or call. I do not see a scenario where you would want to be messing around with intercom pairing or device setup while riding so everything is actually quite simple.
I would suggest you read the last pages of this thread again. Many people are venting the complexity of the operational side of this device. You can put SENA on a pedestal, but that is not going to help bettering the product AT ALL. Better to state how it is. It is becoming a difficult device, just as another inmate above also said.
I'm not finding it overly complex, actually far from it. Just wish my features(fm radio and vox) would all work as indicated. Other then that i personally think the sena 20s is really well done. Hopefully the next firmware release will address those issues.
My smh10 is awesome. My 20s has a couple of issues but sena is taking care of me. It might seem complex now, but we are just starting to use these devices. Many don't even look at the manual.
It seams like I'm the only person with the new 20S that is interested in bike to bike intercom. Well today me and a buddy had a chance to check it out. I made sure that HD was disabled on both units. And the best we could get in an open, line of site situation was a quarter mile, possible a little over. But in a wooded area it was much less. I don't understand how Sena could possibly get over a mile on them. They are better or longer reached than the SMH10 but I don't think I will be selling my SR10 and 2 meter HT just yet. Now the question is: With several 20S's linked or paired together, will the BT "piggy back" from the 2 futherest riders thru the middle riders thereby giving it more range?? Or will it work like a 2 way radio??
Meh...you have people who don't read the manual or watch the plethora of videos who just want to complain. It's *very* simple if you just take the time to read about it. Some people aren't happy unless they're unhappy.
Hi All, Coming off of an Autocom system that was using my Zumo 550 as a Hub for PTT radio, phone, Nav, MP3 and XM. Happy with all that as long as I'm not tangled in the cord or need to continue a conversation with 911 while I'm needing to get off the bike to help someone. Is what I need is a A2DP Bluetooth transmitter Dongle to plug into my Zumo so I can get the Stereo XM and MP3 out to the Sena 20s. My plan is to permanently mount it on the bike with key on power for operation. Looks like I'll need to provide USB 5v power but that'll be easy enough. So the question of the day is, out of the hundreds of cheap and expensive ones I'm finding on EBay and Amazon, are there any "Favorites" out there that I should look into? and just as important, any ones to stay away from! Thanks all mike
Depends from pairing order but if you pair 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4 etc and ride in this very order then you will get longer distance indeed as they are chain linked and rely signal forward. Its the same for all BT headset manufacturers - Midland, Cardo - they all do promise 1.6 km (1 mi) but in reality its close to 700-900 meters (~900 yeards).
Not putting Sena on a pedestal at all, I am simply saying that I do not find the device as complicated as has been alluded to. Take care of the setup before you start riding, with the manual if needed, learn the interface for what you will be using while riding, and ride. Kind of like a GPS device, planning a route on one is a bit complicated but navigating that route while riding is pretty simple.
I got a dual setup for my friend and I. Updated to 1.1.1 and set it up. The intercom was damn near flowless and the HD audio went about 1/4 mile in a long strip mall parking lot until he went behind a building. The FM radio is complete crap on reception. I mean it is a steaming pile of dog crap on the reception even with the antenna up. the rest of it thus far has been great, just a learning curve of what sequence of buttons does what and how to get back into what mode I need to be in to so whatever function I need to. I think the only thing I didn't see documented really well was how to easily get back into standby mode...like the home button on a cell phone. Once you figure out how to easily get back to square one the rest is cake
I keep seeing reports of the awful FM reception on the 20S. I have an SMH-5FM, and I'm satisfied with the FM- it kinda sucks but it does well enough for me. Does anyone with a 20S have previous direct experience with the FM on the 5?
With regards to the fm radio I guess it is the same for all bluetooth helmet devices: no antenna means more chance to crap reception. The very small antenna will only work with a very strong local reception. It's the same with my cardo G4's. Another good reason for having something of a bluetooth base unit somewhere on the bike, with an option to connect some real antenna.
I always thought the FM radio's were useless on the BT headsets unless you are just lucky enough to be in a strong FM area. My experience with the Scala Q2's on the FM was less than stellar. Add to that, I'm not much of a FM music fan to begin with, even in a car, so its definitely not a feature I even care about on my headset. I put in a suggestion long ago to Sena that they should lead the industry with a micro SD card that could be inserted into the unit and to read your favorite MP3's and with the app they created they could have integrated some sort of playlists feature into that. That way you would always have music even if your music device wasn't connected or its batteries had died. Then there was no worry about signal or BT connection or battery life of your connected peripheral. As long as your sena had battery power, you had music at your fingertips.
