Sena 20S

[Jer]

I took John up on his offer and I wish to thank all of the nice inputs I received. I am going to try to convince my riding partner in California that we would enjoy our weekly rides more if we would could communicate without stopping. Should have done this years ago.

 

[RBEmerson]

Garmin's needs to be involved cause that is where the tunes are. I tried pairing the phone with Sena but then no tunes or GPS. Haven't tried pairing Patti's phone to her set. Maybe today it will be in a good mood.

Anticipate disappointment. It's not Garmin's or Sena's fault. The link between the Garmin and any BT headset uses the HFP (handsfree) protocol, which is meant only to pass voice and minimal control data. This is a mono sound link; music will have only one channel, period. The way to audio happiness is an A2DP link (full stereo, controls). Smart phone to BT headset uses this.

BUT... there is zero volume control at the source end. There is only one volume level: 100%. Again, this applies to any GPS receiver, not just Garmin. (Some people claim they can control BT volume - performance talks, BS walks, ain't seen performance, yet)

My workaround is to use an Android play app that (in effect) goes to 11. Or louder. Android limits volume (to protect little ears from blowing out eardrums), but it can be by-passed. While, in some regards, a PITA to live with (e.g., shuffle options are bizarre), it does do "to 11 and beyond!". Crank up the phone, use the GPS, and turn the headset volume down. Easy-peasy. Sorta.

AFAIK Apple users are SOL on this workaround. Teaches you to not have the need to pay Apple far too much for a white brick, don't it.

 

[RBEmerson]

Re: SMH10 - 20S - 20 EVO...

Yes, the SMH10 and 20 S/EVO will talk to each other. The 20 S/EVO are almost the same animal with some device tweaks on the EVO. Loaded with the latest firmware, the S and EVO have the same features. I have all three on my bench. The SMH10 mount and 20S/EVO mounts are not the same.

The 20S/EVO mount and firmware support "tap the mount to get to command mode". In my experience, it's a waste of time. Anything that moves or bumps the mount triggers "Say a command".

There is a spiffy green button on the bottom of the mount. It's a PITA to get to unless stopped. Double-tap same and drop into "ambient noise" mode. Stop at a gas station, toll booth, MickeyD's, or wherever hearing the world outside your helmet is useful, and ambient mode is your friend. Note: some folks complain about "it worked and now it doesn't - what a POS". Open the cover over the charging port (USB micro connector - any USB cable and power point will recharge the headset). The mic for ambient mode is next to the charging port. Don't forget to cover same when in the rain. Use a single tap to go back to normal - ambient at even 20 mph is no fun. Unless rushing air noise gives you a thrill.

 

[Jer]

The mono sound is fine with me since I can only hear in my left ear.

 

[RBEmerson]

It is what it is. NTL there is that pesky volume level issue if you use a phone at the same time [you] listen to the GPS.

 

[Warpdrv]

Gotta say that I prefer as well to leave the GPS out of the mix of pairing items....

20s paired with my womans 20s all the time....
My phone paired with my 20s, then I share music with her via my phone... simple setup....

Can choose from streaming Pandora - or music I have on my phone, heck, they have like 100gb micro sd cards for phones now or something like that, thats alot of tunes....

I use google maps to navigate, but have the garmin for a backup gps just in case. I never really have the voice directions on google maps to tell me when to turn... that is just way to annoying.

I have never had the opportunity to pair my sena with a different rider...

 

[puppychow]

I have Sirius XM on my Zumo 550 and GpsMap 478 units.

I run the wired audio cable from the GPS units to the AUDIO input below - it serves well for both GPS directions, and satellite radio. I also run the Valentine 1 to the AUX input.

The Sena SM10 pairs to any Sena Bluetooth headset in stereo.

The Sena SM10 shown below:

 

[Uncle Hud]

Maybe I should go backwards with the technology, and replace my Sena model 20 units with Sena model 10 units.