Cutting The Cord. Or, going wireless.

[BikerGeek99]

Sometime back in 2008, I installed a StarCom Advance unit on the FJR, with headsets in the helmet for me and the wife.

All in all, over the years, this has been a solid comm solution for us. We can talk to each other (yeah - the wife and I actually like to talk to each other), listen to XM, and hear that one word that drives every GPS owner nuts: "Recalculating."

Over the last 18 months or so, however, I have been wanting to cut the cord. As such, I have been keeping my eyes on the developing Bluetooth solutions. I've been reading up on the 'speriences of other folks on this forum as well as on other forums. RaZyerman, yamafitter and I had a very in-depth discussion on going wireless at .. uh ... one of our Tech Days. IV? V? VI? Hell if I can remember.

On our way home from CFR in June, I got fed up with either me or Sooze constantly having our helmets coming unplugged.

Screw it, I said. (No, really - that's what I actually said.) Time to go wireless and figure this shit out.

I had been eyeing a Sena group buy on another forum. After bringing this up to another local FJR owner (who happened to change my rear tire for me on Sunday) who recently purchased through this group buy, I pulled the trigger and ordered the Sena SMH-10 dual headsets with the Universal Microphone. 'Dual headsets' means you a pair of headsets, and what 'universal microphone' means is you get the option of installing either the boom microphone, or the 'universal' microphone, both of which are included with each headset. The 'universal' microphone is basically just a small mic velcroed in front of your mouth. In the helmet, of course.

Next, well, my Scorpion EXO700 has some miles on it, and I've been wanting to go back to a modular helmet, so also in the mix is a new Scorpion EXO900 in my favorite neon-hi-viz-yellow.

One night last week, I grabbed an adult beverage and plopped my happy ass on the couch and installed the SMH-10 in my EXO900. All in all it went well, and the install seems fine so far, even though I did not secure the helmet speakers with velcro - they are just kinda wedged into the speaker recesses in the helmet. The speaker recesses are just a wee tad bit smaller than the speakers themselves, so we'll see if they stay there on their own or not. Since it is a modular helmet, I went with the boom microphone rather than the universal mic.

Once installed, I sat on the couch with my helmet on, looking like a dork while I fiddle-farted around with getting the SMH-10 to pair with my iPhone 5, and with the Zumo 550 on the FJR. Got that done and realized one small detail (that I had been concerned with in the first place): the Zumo does not send the XM audio via Bluetooth.

Hmmm.... OK - that leaves a couple of options:

1. Ditch XM via the Zumo and, if we want tunes, we do it through our S-M-R-T phones.

2. Find some kind of Bluetooth dongle that will allow us to listen to XM outta the Zumo.

Since I really wanted to type the word "dongle" as many times as possible on the internet, more research ensued.

Dongle dongle dongle dongle dongle dongle dongle dongle.

I feel better now, and sorry about that - must be a side-effect of that Asian hummus I had with lunch today.

Where was I?

Dongle!

OK - so after doing as little research as possible, I settled on a solution from Sena: it is their SM-10 Dual Stream Bluetooth Stereo Transmitter. Or, as I prefer to call it, dongle.

What the SM-10 is: a Bluetooth transmitter.

What the SM-10 is not: a Bluetooth receiver.

Got it?

What THAT means is in order for the SM-10 to transmit anything, the device has to be physically plugged in to the SM-10 dongle. So you CANNOT pair your phone to the SM-10 and send music from your phone. What you CAN do, and what I did, is I plugged the audio out from the Zumo 550 cradle into the Audio in on the SM-10, and paired my SMH-10 with the SM-10 and - Viola! - A2DP stereo XM.

Also, unlike most Bluetooth transmitters, the SM-10 allows two (count 'em - 2!) headsets to be paired with it, which is perfect for us since, at most, there will be two of us on the FJR at any given time.

Some more tidbits about the SM-10 dongle:

1. In addition to the Audio jack, it also has an Aux jack. So, what I may do, is get the cable I need and connect my Motorola GMRS radio. We'll see how motivated I get.

2. The SM-10 is battery powered. It comes with a cigarette power cord, and a USB data (think firmware upgrade) / power cord. No A/C power cord which is, if you ask me, silly. However, RocketMoto.com sells a direct-wire power cable which I will probably buy and just have it powered directly from the bike in place of my StarCom Advance.

2a. If / when I go the direct-power route, I will need to replace the StarCom audio cable currently running from the Zumo 550 cradle to the StarCom Advance because if I use that cable, I only get audio in my right ear, which is annoying and makes me feel like a dog chasing its butt. Since both the Zumo and SM-10 will be bike-powered, that audio cable will need to have one of those line filter thing-a-ma-bobs. No big deal.

So, here is kind of a summary of our solution:

Headsets: Sena SMH-10, one per helmet.

Intercom: that'll be through the SMH-10 BT headsets.

Music: Sourced from the GXM30 / Zumo 550 combo, channeled to the SM-10 dongle, then transmitted via BT by the SM-10 dongle to our helmets.

GPS turn-by-turn directions: see 'Music' above. However, I'm pretty sure I could change this so that the XM goes though the corded output and connect my SMH-10 via BT so that only I would get the turn-by-turn directions. But, for now, we both hear everything.

What I do not plan on doing at this point is pairing my iPhone to my SMH-10. Why, you ask? Well, it's kinda simple, really: I despise talking on the phone in the first place. Why would I wanna talk on the phone when I'm on the bike? Whatever it is, it'll keep. Having a small bladder, I stop to pee a lot anyway so I'll just check my phone either before or after I pee, but not while I pee.

So that's pretty much it for now. All I have really done is commute with this setup, so it is still early in the review cycle.

We'll be spending a week on the road next week with this setup, so I'm sure any quips / gripes / complaints / general bitches will arise then. I'll try to remember this thread and pass any findings along.

Anyone wanna buy a gently-used StarCom Advance??

 

[Ignacio]

While I *think* I could have waded through that long post *if* I really wanted to...I scanned bits and *think* you had a very similar experience to me. The holy grail is to link all audio sources in perfect stereo harmony, be able to talk to people when needed, and have your radar detector preempt everything when a cop is aiming radar your way.

It still doesn't exist.....

Best I got to with Sena SMH-10 and SM-10 was able to hear direction from Garmin lady, listen to XM tunes, radar overpowers when it bleeps, but never could listen to iphone tunes. I could also talk on iPhone when somebody called, but lose everything else. And do all this if I synched, booted, and powered everything in the right order. 90% solution.

I too have an older Starcom I'm not using.....

Add to my list the myths of the world: I promise I'll pull out, there's sex in the Champagne room, and it's possible to integrate everything audio on a motorcycle.

 

[jayke]

So you went wireless but in the end still ended up with cords? That kind of sucks.

I have a Sena SMH-10 too, along with a Zumo 660 and a brand new flip phone Convoy 2. I can't see well enough to text anyway.

I couldn't pair my phone and the Zumo at the same time. The SMH-10 didn't like it. I paired my Zumo to the SMH-10 and my phone to the Zumo. I have stereo sound from my Zumo to the SMH-10 although sometimes I have to shut the Zumo off and turn it back on to be in stereo when I first turn the Zumo on.

 

[BikerGeek99]

So you went wireless but in the end still ended up with cords? That kind of sucks.

Only from the Zumo cradle to the SM-10, but the quality of the XM is worth it. And, for the record, the primary goal was to get rid of the cords to the helmets.

I couldn't pair my phone and the Zumo at the same time. The SMH-10 didn't like it. I paired my Zumo to the SMH-10 and my phone to the Zumo. I have stereo sound from my Zumo to the SMH-10 although sometimes I have to shut the Zumo off and turn it back on to be in stereo when I first turn the Zumo on.

Hmm... That's odd - I was able to pair my iPhone and the Zumo at the same time with no problems, however my Zumo is a 550. I'm not sure if that would make a difference or not.

Much as I hate to admit it, I think Iggy is right:

Add to my list the myths of the world: I promise I'll pull out, there's sex in the Champagne room, and it's possible to integrate everything audio on a motorcycle.

 

[MrM0t0]

"there's sex in the Champagne room" is not a myth

 

[CHIA]

From my experience with other using the external mic, it sucks. The boom mic that comes packaged, when facing the right direction,

and the lil plastic thingy mounted to the correct side, it superior. I know that does not speak to your complaints, but it's another worth

considering.

Been using my Sena a ton, this year and last, absolute best $150 I have spent. I don't bother with voice directions on my Zumo, was

a gong show trying to sort out the pairing, and reality is, who cares, as long as I have intercom with buds, music streamed from phone,

I'm good to go.

 

[PhilJet09]

Great post, I've been thinking about going this route as well. My thing is though, I rarely have a two-up. The things that are important to me are: pairing with my Zumo 550 for voice directions, pairing with my iPhone 5 to see if work is trying to get ahold of me (I don't need to actually talk), stereo xm radio and radar detector alerts. Could someone build me such a system? Also, it has to be real simple to use because I'm not too bright.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Good information 'Geek. Been using the Sena solution for this riding season...works well for me and the SO although the GPS is not included in the equation. No 'dongle' for me!

--G

 

[JamesK]

Thanks for the write up BikerGeek, I've just ordered an SM10 (already have the SMH10 which has been sitting in the box for some months). The reason I've not yet installed the SMH10 is precisely because I could not find a suitable and reliable method of BT all my other non BT stuff, like the X50, Zumo (Audio and Directions). I run these currently through an AmpliRider (mixer) with a 1W amp on the output, going into an EdSets helmet speaker setup. I'm hoping that the SMH10 output will be loud enough to work without the 1W amp, since the Zumo 550 output is marginal based on the various reports I've read...

 

[Hollywoodgt]

Hmmm I just bought a pair of the J&M 900 Helmets with their blue tooth. Each helmet is paired can be paired to there own smart phone and you touch the button to communicate to the passenger. Hit the button again and your back to music. Hope it works because I want to pair my Garmin 550 up to it too? I tink how it will go is my phone paired to the Gramin ..lets hope

 

[BikerGeek99]

Could someone build me such a system?

Actually, Phil, I think the setup I have will suit your needs. Get yourself a SMH-10 and a SM-10 and come up to Tech Day - I'll help you get 'er all setup. Or, if you're coming to EOM, we can get 'er setup there.

I'm hoping that the SMH10 output will be loud enough to work without the 1W amp, since the Zumo 550 output is marginal based on the various reports I've read...

Interesting that you mention the Zumo volume thing... As I was going through the SM-10 manual (not actually READING it, of course - just ... uh ... "perusing"), I came across this little feature called "Audio Boosting:"

6.4 Audio Boosting

You can boost the audio input volume for both the AUDIO IN

Port and AUX Port of the SM10 by double tapping the Pairing

Button in the center of the SM10. This is especially helpful in

case the audio device doesn't have enough volume output.

Since sudden volume change can harm your ears, it is strongly

recommended to perform the audio boosting function only

when the music is not streaming. You may disable it by double

tapping the pairing button again.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Great post, I've been thinking about going this route as well. My thing is though, I rarely have a two-up. The things that are important to me are: pairing with my Zumo 550 for voice directions, pairing with my iPhone 5 to see if work is trying to get ahold of me (I don't need to actually talk), stereo xm radio and radar detector alerts. Could someone build me such a system? Also, it has to be real simple to use because I'm not too bright.

We've been using the SMH-10 for two seasons and this ought to be very straightforward. As mentioned, the boom mic gives much better quality to what you say, for the other person to hear. What is hit or miss, is whether Siri (female slave who is trapped in my iPhone5) can make out what I say over background noise. Generally she can with the boom (never otherwise), but not always.

I generally don't spend the time to sync my iPhone 5, simply because I get better music quality and noise reduction by using earbuds from it. Even with the earbuds, the volume of the helmet speakers is enough to be heard over the music.

Using

 

[AVGeek]

I am a long time Sena user, my first module (which I still have) is the non-upgradeable one. I went with the Sena, because at the time it was the only one that offered a mount for using my own earbuds. I currently use custom molded buds, the SMH-10 is paired to my iPhone 5, and because I have the Garmin Montana, I use the SR10 (mono adapter designed primarily for 2-way radio use). Eventually I plan on adding a ham radio to the setup (I'll be able to talk, and will also have APRS setup on the radio and talking to the Montana). I do occasionally use the phone with this setup, or have Siri read me texts that come in, but mostly its for streaming music while I ride. The other benefit of using the earbuds is that I get better battery life from the SMH10, but since the Sena doesn't offer sidetone (my voice folded back into the earbuds), it can take a bit to get used to speaking without hearing yourself.

I know Sirius has an XM app for the iPhone, but I imagine it would use your data, so keeping an eye on data usage would be necessary...

 

[dcarver]

"Anyone wanna buy a gently-used StarCom Advance??"

Yeah. Me. Seriously. PM me. Mine is taking a classic BustaNut dump.

 

[Tyler]

While I *think* I could have waded through that long post *if* I really wanted to...

Here's what you missed... dongle!

You're welcome.

 

[wheatonFJR]

While I *think* I could have waded through that long post *if* I really wanted to...

Here's what you missed... touching my flapping dongle!

You're welcome.

Really?

 

[BikerGeek99]

While I *think* I could have waded through that long post *if* I really wanted to...

Here's what you missed... touching my flapping dongle!

You're welcome.

Really?

For the record, MY dongle was NOT flapping.

 

[someguy]

I have the same rig and the IPhone in a life proof.

Also have a escort RD detector w escort live

I'm running the smh10 w earbud jack

I can listen to pandora or iTunes, I can have iPhone maps / GPS working in the gackground, and if I want, take a phone call

And my escort live syncs to my iPhone and takes top priority when it goes off

Can also run whatever Gmrs or FRS or two meter or CB I want with PTT

It's pretty damn amazing.

 

[K Rider]

My wife and I purchased the smh-10 earlier this year and love it it works great for what we need. A month and a half ago I purchased the clamp kit that will allow me to use earbuds. It works great but the dongle sticking out the back (piece where you connect the earbuds) has broke and the bare wires are showing. Now the left earbud is cutting out at times. I have not been abusive to the unit at all. Seems like a bad design on Sena's part.