sena crap

I've looked around and tried the search without success . I need to adjust the mic volume in my wife's 20s headset . She can hear me just fine but I can barely hear her which is good sometimes. but not always . Mic placement is good and I know it is an easy adjustment but I don't remember how it's done. I remember having to keep talking while the adjustment is made but don't know what to push to make it happen. I have other issues with Sena and would pitch it out but corded headsets for the wing are spendy.

A non-answer, cause I cant remember and don't have a manual handy either, but try downloading the SENA app on your phone. I know that some changes can be made from that, and I hope it is also easier to change settings that way in general.

From the Sena owner manual I found this:

4.5 Volume Adjustment
You can easily adjust the volume by rotating the Jog Dial. You will hear a beep when the volume reaches maximum or minimum level. The volume is set and maintained independently at different levels for each audio source even when you turn off and on the headset. For example, once you set the volume for mobile phone handsfree, it will not change even if you adjust the volume for your Bluetooth MP3 music. So you can always maintain the preferred optimum volume level for each audio source.

I looked for more but I failed. The app for the phone and the PC to control setting don't have mic volume adjustments. I am stumped.

Ray I sometimes have issues with this also. I have no idea how to adjust the volume. When I have problems with hearing my pillion, it is usually because the mic is not directly in front of their mouth - as in like lightly touching their lips. So if I have trouble hearing her I ask if the mic is right in front of her mouth, and then instruct to 'speak like a man!' which as you can imagine usually doesn't go over real well. If her mic is positioned close to her mouth that usually fixes it.

You do have the microphone for her headset positioned correctly in that the 'tab' on the mic is pointed away from her per the instructions?

I am happy with the Sena 20s but it is not perfect. I may try a Card Pactalk Bold.

My biggest issues with the Sena 20s are:

- Volume blasts my ears when a call comes in. I'll have the volume adjusted nicely for listening to tunes and then that ring comes in and 'ouch' hurts my big dumbo ears! (I use earbuds)

- Phone output quality inconsistent. While on the phone, sometimes folks can't tell I am on my bike. Other times they can barely understand me. Sometimes this is speed related, but not always.

- Low Battey warning is useless in that when you get it you are a couple minutes away of it going dead.

There is a method but I don't remember it . It involves having both helmets going sitting in front of you and while continually making sounds you adjust something and you can hear the volume change in the other helmet. I did it once and all was well but while in death valley in Jan. the sena did one of it's screw ups and while trying to get it working for both the passenger mic volume went away.

On the telephone thing. it works when it feels like it. I have the phone paired to the 660 Garmin. About once a month it decides to work. Most the time I have intercom and music and no phone although it's paired. Yesterday on the way home the gps showed it was paired to the phone but the tunes went away but still had intercom. I've jumped through all the hoops with tech support, don't understand the phone app shit and if I could afford the corded J&M headsets for the wing the Sena would become a target

Start talking to each other to open the Mic, while you are still talking ajust the jog dial (volume control) up or down as needed.

weluvbikn said:

Start talking to each other to open the Mic, while you are still talking ajust the jog dial (volume control) up or down as needed.

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I knew it was simple and with a simple mind I should have remembered it. To bad the rest of it isn't as easy.

On our old Sena SMH-10s, you could set levels like that when we have it connected by USB to our computers.

Use a setting in the PC application which also allows us to update the device firmware, set 3 priority phone numbers, etc.

SkooterG said:

Ray I sometimes have issues with this also. I have no idea how to adjust the volume. When I have problems with hearing my pillion, it is usually because the mic is not directly in front of their mouth - as in like lightly touching their lips. So if I have trouble hearing her I ask if the mic is right in front of her mouth, and then instruct to 'speak like a man!' which as you can imagine usually doesn't go over real well. If her mic is positioned close to her mouth that usually fixes it.
You do have the microphone for her headset positioned correctly in that the 'tab' on the mic is pointed away from her per the instructions?

I am happy with the Sena 20s but it is not perfect. I may try a Card Pactalk Bold.

My biggest issues with the Sena 20s

- Volume blasts my ears when a call comes in. I'll 10e the volume adjusted nicely for listening to tunes and then that ring comes in and 'ouch' hurts my big dumbo ears! (I use earbuds)

- Phone output quality inconsistent. While on the phone, sometimes folks can't tell I am on my bike. Other times they can barely understand me. Sometimes this is speed related, but not always.

- Low Battey warning is useless in that when you get it you are a couple minutes away of it going dead.

Click to expand...

Exactly the exact same gripes with my old smh10 too. I did put the cut off pinky finger of a latex glove over the mic then installed the foam back over the latex. It helps cut down on the road noise the person on the other end hears. Siri seems to work a little better too.

SkooterG posted, in part ...
Ray I sometimes have issues with this also. ... When I have problems with hearing my pillion, it is usually because the mic is not directly in front of their mouth - as in like lightly touching their lips. So if I have trouble hearing her I ask if the mic is right in front of her mouth, and then instruct to 'speak like a man!' which as you can imagine usually doesn't go over real well. If her mic is positioned close to her mouth that usually fixes it.

You do have the microphone for her headset positioned correctly in that the 'tab' on the mic is pointed away from her per the instructions?

Click to expand...

What he said: The mic has a slot only on one side: on the side you're NOT supposed to talk into.

I had the dickens of a time hearing Kelly talk, until I messed with her Sena while she was in the ladies' room. Sure enough, the mic 'tooth' was facing her. Twisted the boom around and had the most pleasant ride after that ...

Hope that helps, Ray.

This may be really really dumb thought, but which way is her microphone pointed (toward the mouth or away from the mouth)? It can get switched up underneath that foam wind noise dampener covering.

thorbo said:

This may be really really dumb thought, but which way is her microphone pointed (toward the mouth or away from the mouth)? It can get switched up underneath that foam wind noise dampener covering.

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That's what we're talking about; the "tooth" side of the microphone should face AWAY from the person speaking.

Yes the mic is in the right position. Increasing the volume is easy but I forgot how to do it and it's not easy to find the procedure. With that solved I still have the other issues to deal with like the phone. It works as well as my sex life once in the spring and once in the fall .

The only thing it does consistently is piss me off. I have found if the headsets are on before I start the bike things are more stable but if Garmin decides to see the phone I usually have to screw with it .

Last trip to Death Valley it acted up and four of us tried to outsmart it and wasted half an hour. Halfway through the day the music came on by itself and the intercom worked. after that I got 1 phone call and then missed three.

FJRay said:

Yes the mic is in the right position. Increasing the volume is easy but I forgot how to do it and it's not easy to find the procedure. With that solved I still have the other issues to deal with like the phone. It works as well as my sex life once in the spring and once in the fall

.The only thing it does consistently is piss me off. I have found if the headsets are on before I start the bike things are more stable but if Garmin decides to see the phone I usually have to screw with it .

Last trip to Death Valley it acted up and four of us tried to outsmart it and wasted half an hour. Halfway through the day the music came on by itself and the intercom worked. after that I got 1 phone call and then missed three.

Click to expand...

I don't connect my headset to the GPS. If you can do without that, you might have better luck. On the few occasions I want verbal directions, I use google maps or waze off the phone.

SkooterG said:

I don't connect my headset to the GPS. If you can do without that, you might have better luck. On the few occasions I want verbal directions, I use google maps or waze off the phone.

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What he said. GPS is sitting there, just below my view of the highway, and I can see, "In two miles, turn right onto Highway 420." I do miss the female English voice, however. Reminds me of the old and the new Mary Poppins.

GPS is no longer connected precisely because of what you mentioned: if you don't turn things on in the correct sequence, nothing connects properly. Sena is only used for intercom, telephone, and FM -- and FM reception is non-existent if you're more than 30 miles from the radio station.

I use the gps for my tunes. It pisses me off to spend good money on shit that is supposed to work as advertised . I never had one problem with the J&M wired headsets on my 03 wing and they offer a phone device that works well but there goes more money. What happened to just listening to the voices in my head????

FJRay said:

I use the gps for my tunes. It pisses me off to spend good money on shit that is supposed to work as advertised . I never had one problem with the J&M wired headsets on my 03 wing and they offer a phone device that works well but there goes more money. What happened to just listening to the voices in my head????

Click to expand...

Put the tunes on your phone! Pre-smartphone era I used to listen to tunes on my gps and Xm radio through the gps. Now it's Pandora on the phone or from my tunes on the phone. And as long as you have service connection using Google maps and Waze is easy-peasy. I still consider a gps a must-have for ease of gloved use and in areas of no service, but the smart phone is the way to go.

That said, I understand your gripe of spending $$$ on stuff that doesn't work as should.

^^^^^ +1

SkooterG said:

FJRay said:

I use the gps for my tunes. It pisses me off to spend good money on shit that is supposed to work as advertised . I never had one problem with the J&M wired headsets on my 03 wing and they offer a phone device that works well but there goes more money. What happened to just listening to the voices in my head????

Click to expand...

Put the tunes on your phone! Pre-smartphone era I used to listen to tunes on my gps and Xm radio through the gps. Now it's Pandora on the phone or from my tunes on the phone. And as long as you have service connection using Google maps and Waze is easy-peasy. I still consider a gps a must-have for ease of gloved use and in areas of no service, but the smart phone is the way to go.

That said, I understand your gripe of spending $$$ on stuff that doesn't work as should.

Click to expand...

My phone is my goto device for all maps, tunes (Spotify/TuneIn Radio/XM Mobile), etc. I use a 20S, and I'm tempted by the PackTalk Bold due to the new JBL speakers, but haven't made the leap. Also, in my experience, Waze and Google Maps will only have issues when there is no signal if you didn't enter a route. I've seen them cache all of the maps on a route so that if the signal does drop, you still have maps. That being said, I keep HereWeGo (which is free) on my phone for offline maps just in case. There are other free options for this as well.