Sena 20s Day

Yesterday was Sena 20s day. My buddy Dennis-Denny Gass, managed to score a pair of these hard-to-get Bluetooth intercoms last Friday. I started the sorting-out & install process. Got it pretty well figured out & mostly installed on the helmet. (Am washing the removable pads to freshen them up & will install them with the speakers later today)

BAD- Never was able to get the device manager software to work on my netbook for configuration & update BUT GOOD- there is a smartphone app that installs in a jiffy, shows firmware revision, enables easy configuration of the unit and provides a GROUP function of up to 9 Sena 20s devices.

BAD- the audio multitasking feature doesn't mix multiple audio sources, only the highest priority audio source with the intercom. BUT that's a lot better than blocking intercom when using an audio source.

Good- much easier to pair than a Cardo and supports many more paired devices. There are two ways i can get audio mixing and use of all my devices- GPS, Radar Detector, Smartphone, Intercom with other 9 Sena devices, plus one cardo using the universal intercom function. My two ways enable me to use wired earphones for the GPS & Radar detector for hifi mp3 music on the GPS, or I can use a simple $15 Bluetooth transmitter to go cordless.

Of course, I can plug in my etymotic earphones to the sena directly and bypass the helmet speakers.

The same velcro pads in my helmet from the Cardo G9 work with the Sena speakers & mic.

The 20s does NOT come with an AC charger, but compatible smartphone chargers are only a few bucks.

Pretty easy to configure & use for a unit that does so many things!

See manual here: https://www.sena.com/wp-content/uploa...n_20140701.pdf

Youtube how-to videos:

Norm, thanks for the review as I am considering the 20S..... I am interested in pairing up my GPS, another rider, and a bluetooth FRS/GMRS radio, so I am interested in further reviews as you get more experience.........

I have read about pairing with Cardo, which it does as a phone. The 20S has the ability to pair two phones, however the Cardo if paired to a phone will have the phone's pairing pushed out as it is replaced by the Sena pairing. Thus a Cardo user must re-pair his phone once he doesn't need the Sena connection. So, all this multi-manufacturer pairing is a bit hokey......

I am not sure if the Motorola MU350R FRS/GMRS pairs as a phone or another type of device with a different protocol...... I assume phone. I am concerned when you mention you can't get audio mixing without going to additional transmitters........ that sux.

My current Cardo unit is paired to my GPS and another rider, my phone is paired to the GPS...... which I have no intention of changing........ I may add a radar detector.

Unfortunately, the manual only goes so far in explaining what you can pair up, it doesn't give you real world experience..... again thanks for sharing.

RaYzerman19 said:

Norm, thanks for the review as I am considering the 20S..... I am interested in pairing up my GPS, another rider, and a bluetooth FRS/GMRS radio, so I am interested in further reviews as you get more experience.........I have read about pairing with Cardo, which it does as a phone. The 20S has the ability to pair two phones, however the Cardo if paired to a phone will have the phone's pairing pushed out as it is replaced by the Sena pairing. Thus a Cardo user must re-pair his phone once he doesn't need the Sena connection. So, all this multi-manufacturer pairing is a bit hokey......

I am not sure if the Motorola MU350R FRS/GMRS pairs as a phone or another type of device with a different protocol...... I assume phone. I am concerned when you mention you can't get audio mixing without going to additional transmitters........ that sux.

My current Cardo unit is paired to my GPS and another rider, my phone is paired to the GPS...... which I have no intention of changing........ I may add a radar detector.

Unfortunately, the manual only goes so far in explaining what you can pair up, it doesn't give you real world experience..... again thanks for sharing.

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The 20s works with Cardo by acting like a cel phone paired to the Cardo, as you said. Yes, the Cardo has to be re-paired to the user's cel phone after they are done working with the Sena. BUT

The Sena accomplishes this trick with "universal intercom pairing." It does NOT use one of the cel phone pairings to accomplish this, so you can still pair to a phone and one of several other devices, including the SR10 which is a bluetooth gadget for interfacing with two-way radios and several other things.

The audio multitasking is not everything it could be but it beats Cardo's strict priority system hands down.

Finished up my Sena 20s install on the FJR yesterday, Jul 15. I wanted to have mp3 music & GPS instructions from my Zumo 660 mixed with the radar detector audio from my Valentine one. Bluetooh the combined signal to the 20s using a Bluetooth audio dongle transmitter. Mix this audio with the intercom & smartphone units also paired with the 20s using audio multitasking. It works great!

I successfully tested this plan with the audio transmitter last week, but wanted the transmitter out of the weather and wanted it to run on bike power. The BT audio transmitter has an internal battery that will run it for 6-8 hrs, and charges via a mini usb jack. https://www.amazon.com/eForCity-Universal-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Audio/dp/B007JFF3RO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1405510881&sr=8-7&keywords=bluetooth+audio+transmitter


This model transmitter can transmit while charging. I mounted it in the LH fairing compartment next to the Valentine One audio control box and connected it to a previously built earphone audio feed that mixes the V1 & GPS audio using a simple isolation transformer.

For power, I built an adapter cable using a cannibalized USB cable and a $2 Radio Shack 5 volt regulator IC. The power circuit uses 100ma current when charging the BT transmitter, so the regulator dissipates .7-.9 watts and doesn't need much of a heat sink.

The BT transmitter must have charging power on, then be turned on to transmit while charging. If power is turned off in this mode, the BT transmitter shuts off. I want to leave it on for the day when traveling, so it needs to be connected to a circuit with a separate switch that does not go off and on with the ignition. I have such a circuit with a switch for my voltmeter, and its display also serves as a reminder the switch is on.

Haven't taken a trip using the 20s yet (that's coming up weekend of the 24th) but the 20s so far is proving to be everything I wished for.

Interesting information. I've tried unsuccessfully to get the audio multitasking to work.

I'm using my iPhone paired as a mobile phone (both HFP and A2DP) along with a SENA SR10 paired as a 2nd mobile phone (Should be HFP only) that I have a Zumo and a Valentine 1 running into. I've tried this setup with both firmware 1.0 and 1.1 and the issue is that any audio on the SR10 causes the 20S to switch sources from the iPhone to the SR10. In so doing, it pauses any playing audio on the iPhone. When it switches back (after a configurable amount of silence on the SR10), it never starts the audio playing again. Starting it back up again would be a great first step but from section 5.5 of the 1.1 version of the user guide, I am under the impression that I should be able to listen to audio from the iPhone and hear the GPS prompts or V1 bleeps and bloops at the same time. At the very least, the manual is clear that this should work while on a cell phone call which it is not currently doing. My fall back plan is to go back to running all of my audio through an SM10 as an A2DP signal but I'm pretty disappointed at how this feature is working at the moment because it's the feature that I was most looking forward to.

My favorite implemented parts of the 20S:

- The clamp. As someone that has broken pins on the SMH10 main unit and has gone through more helmet clamps than I care to admit to, the all in one (earbud and speakers) clamp design is much better. No pins to break off the main unit, a solid click when the unit slides into place and an integrated earbud port as opposed to the jack that hung off the old clamp.

- Ambient Mode. This allows you to hit a button and listen to the sounds around you. As someone that regularly walks into gas stations with a helmet on and ear plugs in, this feature is fantastic.

Hopeful that SENA will work out whatever is going on with the iPhone/SR10 audio multitasking through a firmware update but it sucks to get a new toy that doesn't live up to expectations.

Lipps said:

- Ambient Mode. This allows you to hit a button and listen to the sounds around you. As someone that regularly walks into gas stations with a helmet on and ear plugs in, this feature is fantastic.

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THAT is something that gets me excited enough to save up for a 20S.

I was hoping that they would have added that to the SMH10-B when they implemented side-tone but they didn't.

Can anyone with a 20S comment on speaker quality and volume vs. the SMH10B?

Just got mine today, let the fun begin......

R

Alright - digging this up from the shallow grave.....

Interested in the new units - Fairlaner (et al), how ya'll feeling about them now that you have had a bit more time with them..... Looking to have comms with the woman on the back mostly, but would entertain the idea of all the new fangled stuff involved with them since I have a bike mounted Galaxy S4 and could stream music get gps vocal directions or accept calls (far from important to me)...

One thing I was seeing - I could share music I'm playing from my phone and have comms at the same time ?!?!

Never owned a comms unit so I know nothing about the good and bad of these things but Its getting about time to consider something here with tech getting better and them working more like they should.... I'm sure they have tons of hoops to jump through with the govt restrictions of sharing music as well as transmitting devices and everything else they probably have to deal with....

Fill me in......

Thanks

Warp

I'm using a Starcom 1 right and would like to know if the Sena 20 is better than the Starcom. Plus how can I hook up my Escort X50 to it so I can tell when it's time to pull over.

Check out Forum Member Alex and his https://www.realtimeindustries.com/ website for excellent deals on Senna 20's.

I took two guys to his brick and mortar store in Belle Fourche SD last week and they got a hell of a deal.

Just checked and the link doesn't show the Senna 20's but he has them in stock and at great prices for both singles and pairs.

Here are 16 how to video's that were a great help to me:

Great Link Niehart

The one thing I've found negative about my 20S is the FM radio doesn't work particularly well, at least where I live. Lots of static. Now I dwell quite a ways out of town but I get these same FM stations fine in my cars and through my iPod. So either my unit is defective or the design requires a stronger signal than I'm getting out here.

This isn't a big deal, but it'd be nice if it worked better.

Earbud capability is a nice feature. My Sennheiser earbuds work great with this unit. The max 20S sound level through the speakers seems a bit lower than through the SMH10.

RichDoyle said:

The one thing I've found negative about my 20S is the FM radio doesn't work particularly well, at least where I live. Lots of static. Now I dwell quite a ways out of town but I get FM fine in my cars and through my iPod. So either my unit is defective or the design requires a stronger signal than I'm getting out here.
This isn't a big deal, but it'd be nice if it worked better.

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Sadly enough, this is the nature of the beast. They say they will fix in one of their updates but I not going to hold my breath until that happens.

The mike setup for flip-up helmets is almost worth the price of admission.

if u want the radar to work you will need the Sena SR10, this will work for the radar and a GMRS radio.

R

Trying to make my SM10 work as we click.

bigjohnsd said:

Check out Forum Member Alex and his https://www.realtimeindustries.com/ website for excellent deals on Senna 20's.
I took two guys to his brick and mortar store in Belle Fourche SD last week and they got a hell of a deal.

Just checked and the link doesn't show the Senna 20's but he has them in stock and at great prices for both singles and pairs.

Click to expand...

this is nice - thanks bigjohn....

though sometimes with some of the comments I have read about Sena's lack luster CS I wonder if it might be smarter to go through Amazon for the no questions asked 90 day return policy if you get a non-functioning unit or something...

Guess YMMV....

To follow up on the FM, it's not a critical item when really traveling. As we're all aware, fiddling with trying to manage changing stations as one travels around is often more hassle than it's worth, and probably too distracting. It's only locally that I'd find it useful.

As far as Sena CS, I don't have a problem with it. I have had to get problems with my SMH10 dealt with a few times (under warranty) and they responded appropriately. On the other hand, there were those problems. On yet the other hand, only 1 was clearly a Sena problem. The other 2 might be due to interrupted software update activities, as that's when they popped up.

Fairlaner said:

if u want the radar to work you will need the Sena SR10, this will work for the radar and a GMRS radio.
R

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Richard, how are you mixing those sources? I thought the Sena alone could pair with the GPS with bluetooth, but how do you add the radio and rD?