Sena SMH-10

[charlie b]

Yes, they all have the option of PTT or VOX.

Or, when my brother and I travel together, we just leave the channel open all the time, like riding in a car. Yeah, you do hear all the off the cuff comments, like "that guy is an idiot", but, you also have the emergency notifications, like "DEER", "SAND", etc. We usually have them on for up to 12 hours a day and no issues with battery life. They do take a good 3-4 hours to charge back up again in the evening.

 

[Coyote Chris]

I don't think Anyone wants to listen to me sing! LOL! There is no PTT on the Sena but there is a button to start the duplex intercom and another push turns it off, which is even better than a PTT. Meet the future!

Yes, they all have the option of PTT or VOX.

Or, when my brother and I travel together, we just leave the channel open all the time, like riding in a car. Yeah, you do hear all the off the cuff comments, like "that guy is an idiot", but, you also have the emergency notifications, like "DEER", "SAND", etc. We usually have them on for up to 12 hours a day and no issues with battery life. They do take a good 3-4 hours to charge back up again in the evening.

 

[charlie b]

That is what PTT amounts to on bluetooth sets. It is not a spring loaded mike button like some might assume.

To speak on the intercom you push a button to turn it on. When done with the conversation you turn it off. We just leave it on all the time.

VOX does work OK, but, has it's issues. It does remind me of the "old days" when you'd say 'mmmm' to open up the channel before you talk (same with squelch circuits). The VOX circuit first turns on the intercom, then seeks out the other party, then connects. Takes a least a second or two. Sometimes wind noise would activate the VOX circuit as well. The funny one for me is that playing music too loud would trigger it as well. When wearing ear plugs the volume is high enough that the mic would pick it up and trigger the VOX circuit.

 

[Coyote Chris]

I agree with you about VOX. The push on / push off button for intercom seems to be a much better idea....so if rider "A" pushes his/her button and then speaks, rider "B" hears rider "A" and then has to push his/her own button? Then they are talking in full duplex....Works for me.

That is what PTT amounts to on bluetooth sets. It is not a spring loaded mike button like some might assume.

To speak on the intercom you push a button to turn it on. When done with the conversation you turn it off. We just leave it on all the time.

VOX does work OK, but, has it's issues. It does remind me of the "old days" when you'd say 'mmmm' to open up the channel before you talk (same with squelch circuits). The VOX circuit first turns on the intercom, then seeks out the other party, then connects. Takes a least a second or two. Sometimes wind noise would activate the VOX circuit as well. The funny one for me is that playing music too loud would trigger it as well. When wearing ear plugs the volume is high enough that the mic would pick it up and trigger the VOX circuit.

 

[charlie b]

Yes, if either one of the units that is paired hits the button they both connect. Takes a second or two to turn on. Same with VOX.

 

[Mellow]

I would prefer a PTT button that could be wirelessly added to the handlebar. One reason I like the J&M CB setup is your hands stay on the bars and the on/off is one motion... w/Sena it's one motion to turn on and another to turn off. It's not that big of a deal, just a preference. I have an SMH10 and really like all the missing wires and I don't ride with others much - or play well - so just the music/phone/gps integration is good enough for me.

 

[charlie b]

That's kinda why my brother and I just leave the intercom on all the time. Would be nice if there was a convenient PTT switch, that had no delay in it.

 

[Coyote Chris]

At first I was with you on this, having worked on police motorcycle radio installations for way too many decades, it was what I was familiar with...although teaching troopers to push the button FIRST then start talking can be a challenge....but now, with this intercom system being full duplex, I kinda like the idea of hitting a button once (the Uclear you have to hold for 2 seconds) doing the talking, and then hitting the button again to go back to my elevator music.....or silence.

I would prefer a PTT button that could be wirelessly added to the handlebar. One reason I like the J&M CB setup is your hands stay on the bars and the on/off is one motion... w/Sena it's one motion to turn on and another to turn off. It's not that big of a deal, just a preference. I have an SMH10 and really like all the missing wires and I don't ride with others much - or play well - so just the music/phone/gps integration is good enough for me.

 

[charlie b]

Well, in a couple of weeks I'll have a UClear to play with and can let you know about it

 

[Coyote Chris]

Thanks! There are a number of nice features of the UClear but for my own needs, I have to wonder if perhaps a Sena isn't a bit better...truth be told, both would serve. Let us know what you think....

Well, in a couple of weeks I'll have a UClear to play with and can let you know about it

 

[Coyote Chris]

Decided to buy the Uclear....100 plus. I don't like the operational controls as well as the Sena's but the deciding factor was the lack of a boom mic on my open faced helmet. The boom mic would have just been a hassle, especially since I seldom ride with anyone with communications.....

 

[charlie b]

Sorry I didn't post earlier.

Have been using the UClear 100Plus for a couple of weeks. Sound is great. There is a little more muffling of my voice when using the phone, but, it is still clear. Just have to learn not to mumble. Have not used the intercom with anyone else yet.

But, I did pair the intercom with my old SENA SMH-10. This was also where I learned something important.

The current intercom systems will pair with other brands. BUT, and this is a big one, they do not use the intercom circuit!!!!!! They use the headset to phone bluetooth connection. What does that mean? Much less range, ie, how far away from your phone can you get before you lose the connection. Usually advertised asabout 30 ft, clear line of sight is usually closer to 50-100ft. I will be testing this next month with my brother. FWIW, this is not limited to the UClear, it applies to the SENA as well.

Seems when the headset mfgs went looking for a common standard they just went to the phone connection instead of coming up with a standard for the intercomm itself. This one made me upset cause it is not mentioned in any of the reviews I read, and, it is a VERY important distinction.

So, if you rely on the headset for intercomm a lot, then get a common mfg model.

Back to the UClear. Best part is no boom mike on my modular helmet, and, the sound seems a bit better. But, that is probably due more to less noise in the new helmet (Symax III vs Shoei RF1100).

How loud can it be? A LOT! UClear specs the output of the system speakers at 140dB!!! Well beyond hearing damage. Plenty ould enough that the sound is pretty clear even with ear plugs at 80mph. I will probably be able to listen to audio books now (again, possibly due to new helmet as well as the headset).

One IMPORTANT installation note. The angle of the speakers in the helmet has to be EXACTLY the same on both sides. If they are off by even 5 deg your voice will sound muffled or you won't be heard at all. The noise canceling part uses that angle between the mics to shut out the excess noise. So, if misaligned they shut out your voice too.

 

[charlie b]

OK, just a bit more that I have found different between the SENA and the UClear.

One of the things I really liked about the SENA was the voice for commands. Instead of a bunch of beeps it talked back to you. Not important? No, but, VERY convenient. Like when selecting the intercom. You hit the button and it tells you, Intercomm connecting. Or when turned on it will tell you when the phone (and which phone) is connected. Or when pairing with a new system it tells you what mode it is in instead of having to 'decode' flashing lights. It also has a really nice quick dial feature that does not depend on the phone capabilities (if you have tried voice recognition on a phone while riding at 80mph in between semis with a cross wind you know my frustration with that).

The SENA is much more user friendly and the controls are really nice even with winter gloves on.

And voice with a standard microphone is clearer, if you can adequately protect it from wind noise (I cut a little pocket in the chin guard of the Shoei for the microphone. Can't do that with a modular. Maybe if you got one of the wired microphones and routed the wire carefully along the modular's hinge area it might work.

So, there are some definite advantages to a SENA over the UClear.

I have not tried any of the current brands of other types. I can say that my 1st generation Cardo unit was a good one. I was not thrilled with their controls layout, but, having an FM radio in the headset was nice at time. Just don't know what the currents ones are like.

 

[DirtFlier]

[...Where is a magazine compare when you need one?...]

If I'm not mistaken, within the past 6-months either Rider or Motorcycle Consumer News had a comparison of various bike-to-bike communicators. Of course, what they like and what works for any individual might be completely different, similar to helmets, boots, bikes, etc.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I feel like charlie b is giving me perhaps a better comparison than I'd get from a magazine. I often wonder if the magazine reviews are really honest. If they tell the total truth, the magazine can lose advertising revenue, so the individual reviewer gets fired instead.

It was Motorcycle Consumer News that had the communicator review. They have no advertising revenue to lose, and I always used to trust them. That ended (or was at least tempered) when they reviewed the NT700VA back in April or May of 2010 and had several factual errors in their review. None of the were big errors, but they were all simple things that a rider who'd actually spent any time on the bike wouldn't have made.

 

[charlie b]

Well, brother and I tried the universal intercom feature.

He has a new SENA SMH-20. I had tested my UClear 100 with my old SENA SMH-10 and it worked fine (even if short range). We never could get the SMH-20 and UClear to pair. Don't know what the problem was. I thought it was because we had our phones paired first, but, we turned off the phones and still could not get them to pair up.

So, I'll probably never test the universal intercom feature.

FWIW,brother likes his SMH-20. He said the speakers are better and it comes with an integrated FM radio (which is a feature I'd like to have). His only complaint is the volume dial is harder to work with winter gloves on. They made it a low profile 'disk' instead of the big knob that I liked on the SMH-10.

 

[charlie b]

So I went out to webBikeWorld and read the review on the latest Interphone F5MC model. Someone at the end of the article asked the question I wanted to ask.



Then there's this comment on the Sena review page:


So...is the ability to connect to other brands done differently? or better? on the Interphone F5MC than on the Sena BT headsets?

Chris

Chris,

It does seem like the F5MC does the universal intercomm thing differently to get the range they say they do. I could get about 100 ft with the SENA SMH-10 and the UClear. Enough, but, not great.

Someone could try the F5MC and if it didn't work as advertised then send it back for a refund. Note: Revzilla and others will not accept returns of electronics devices once the packages are opened. So, you'd have to deal direct with mfg.

Things are changing fast in the intercomm world. Seems like every year there is some new feature.