Four idiots trying the Sena 10r (Possible caption competition)

[smurff]

I guess this should be a caption competition

Just thought I would put my thoughts about the Sena 10r here because we couldn't find this type of information out and thought it was good to maintain this.

Why Bluetooth vs Radio: After all the reading, we decided that Bluetooth headsets gave us Voice Activated rather than Push to Talk (PTT). Personally I am on the fence with this because I have flown with PTT while learning with @admin (Simon W) and I found having to PTT was a pain. However the 2M (I'm assuming it was, @admin (Simon W) can correct me) was clearer.

Why Sena vs cheaper models: We went back and forth with this. And I think it came down to two things. First, the cheapers models we found *possibly* only allowed two pilots. Now to be honest with you, there was some doubt whether some units could do more but without buying them, we couldn't be sure. Where as the Senas could do 4+. Second, the Sena RideConnect app. This app allows more people to connect and uses your phones 3/4G therefore mitigating the Bluetooth range issue.

Why Sena 10r vs Sena 10S or others: Again this was a balance between price and features. The 10r was smaller, streamline (thinner) and less weight. Personally this isn't a massive issue for me but one none the less. The 20s allowed more pilots, 8 I believe. This was the only thing that made us think we need this one because *some* of the time we do fly with more than 4. However the majority of the time it will be 4 or fewer. AND if the RideConnect app works, then we would have this with the 10r. So we went with the cheaper 10r

Fitting to the helmet: Now to be honest, Lee Moss @MOSS fitted my one. And the fact I have a Cycle helmet with Peltors. So the battery is fitted to the back. The wires are sunk into the polystyrene and the ear piece is in the Peltors. It didn't take him long and please contact him for any questions.

Setting up: The instructions were/are terrible. The booklet that came with it assumed you had the motorcycle handlebar controller. And looked very generic e.g. we figured out that some of the instructions were actually for the 20S. First you have to pair with the phone. This is where the instructions were wrong. Once you turn the unit on (hold centre and + button) you wait for the voice to say Hello. Then hold the centre button for more than 5 seconds until it says *Intercom* pairing. Then press the + button. She should say *Phone* pairing. Then on your phone the Sena should appear in your Bluetooth list. Once it's paired. Download the Sena app which will connect and update the device to the latest firmware. The app also provides the latest instructions however as I said before, they are wrong in some areas. As we try things out I will update this post. Now onto pairing with other Senas. One thing they don't tell you, or at least we couldn't find, is that the order in which you pair with other devices will store in the Sena as that number. E.g. I paired with Russell and he is friend number 1 on my Sena. Then with Barry, he's number 2 and so on. When using Bluetooth there does seem to be a master slave configuration. So I start by pressing the + and - button together to start group pairing. Then the others press the + button to join. There is a significant delay of sometimes a minute. Then all of a sudden we can hear and talk. The RideConnect app is more simple. I started it and it gives a 4 digit code. Which the others enter to join. We have also tried this while we are at home / driving and it works. I am informed that Russells daughter thought he looked great driving the car with his flying helmet on talking to me.... poor girl. The quality of sound in both cases were good.

In the air: On this particular day, only two of us were able to fly and that's all we have managed to test while flying. We ran out of time to be honest. We flew using Bluetooth and it worked well. However once it got out of range and we lost connection. We restored this by flying close and I started again and it was fine. We didn't try the RideConnect app in flight. That's for next time. The quality of sound while flying was good. However at times when the engine was loud and the wind was fast past the MIC, we had to ask each other to repeat. I'm reading up on this and thinking theres some things we might be able to do with the MIC but thats not for this thread yet.

Things for the next flight: More than 2 pilots; try Bluetooth and then RideConnect in flight to compare; Anything anyone wants us to if you leave a post here. Happy to try.

Update 27th September 2017 - Three of us went flying with the Bluetooth enabled. We had already paired before so, following the instructions I turned on my Sena, held the + and - buttons together until I heard "Group Intercom". Then I told the other two guys to do the same and within a few seconds, we could all hear each other well.

We all took off and we could all speak and hear each other. However, after a short while I lost connection to one of the Pilots who flew quite high. We are not sure what the distance was but we are not convinced it was over the advertised 900 metres. Furthermore into the flight I lost the remaining pilot and this time I was convinced we were within this range. We flew back to within I guess 500 metres, I pressed the + and - buttons and then I could hear the second pilot. We never regained the third pilots voice. So not a great report for using Bluetooth with three pilots. I think if we all flew close, it would be OK. Next to try is the RideConnect app which uses the phones 3/4G instead of Bluetooth.

 

 

Cheers

Danny

Edited September 27, 2017 by smurff
Updates

[admin (Simon W)]

Any normal radio with VOX (can be set to be voice activated) 

Thanks for taking the time to write it up mate, as I know many are playing with them at the moment. 

SW

 

[AndyB]

"My other helmet is a twin cam"

[alan_k]

Black helmet to White 'What are you looking at one eye?'

[Lee Jackson]

On 21/09/2017 at 10:43, admin (Simon W) said:

Any normal radio with VOX (can be set to be voice activated) 

Thanks for taking the time to write it up mate, as I know many are playing with them at the moment. 

SW

 

I really didn't know this!!! I think all my radios have VOX, but would it really work with wind/engine noise?

Anywho, I'm using the 20s and get along fine with it... albeit I've only ever been paired with one other pilot. I do need to try the ride connect app soon though.

Good idea to post this here Danny.

[admin (Simon W)]

You can normally set the activation volume fairly accurately. I have used VOX enabled radios with background noise in the past and not had an issue. I also some times use it to film Audio from people and record it from the radio speaker (so it sounds like they are on a radio)  

SW

 

[custom-vince]

With  my send you simply cannot hear the engine. Check your mic is round the right way. Little plastic pip faces out, have the mic as close as 1cm to your mouth.

Let us know how that changes things for you, it was a light bulb moment for my setup.

[smurff]

On 10/19/2017 at 08:21, custom-vince said:

With  my send you simply cannot hear the engine. Check your mic is round the right way. Little plastic pip faces out, have the mic as close as 1cm to your mouth.

Let us know how that changes things for you, it was a light bulb moment for my setup.

Cheers yes we did check that. While at the Bore chase, there was a part where two of us idled for a few minutes and it was crystal clear. I guess I should do an update