Bluetooth headset things - SENA 3S-W

[UncleFester]

https://www.sena.com/product/intercoms/3s/

https://www.sena.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/3S-W_pl.jpg

Been looking at the above.

Something to make an emergency phone call on if separated from bike and that doesn't need you to go fishing for your phone to use. Simple GPS from the phone when needed. Ability to chat at short range - garages / stops etc without taking helmets off.

Why not the SMH5/10/20?

Want something compact and unobtrusive that doesn't hang off the side of the helmet. Also want something that's inside the helmet so it's out of the elements - none of the SENA units carry an IP67 rating. Don't think i want a bunch of complicated features / buttons to push / menus to navigate. Not really interested in playing music either.

Discounted the SMH10R as it has way too many wires hanging off it.

Not interested in bike to bike chat over any distance or on the move and as far as i can tell, anything with a better range is crap once it's no longer line of sight. Don't want to be mithered by constant bings and bongs or locked up in a features battle.

All i want is an unobtrusive headset that works when needed but is completely ignorable at all other times.

For < £100 has anyone got any neater suggestions? Or has anyone tried one of these units?

The things that the S20 unit does do that interest me - ability to chat to other non SENA users and all of the other units have a slightly longer talk / standby time but given that a pair of these is almost double the price of a pair of the 3S-W .... i'd have to be a lot more interested in the extra features.
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

The 3s-w seems to get crappy reviews. I've seen SMH5/SMH10 mounted on the rear of a helmet to avoid causing wind noise. Puts it out of the way unless you need it.

SMH10 over SMH5 because for the slight cost increase the device is much better.

Personally I don't like the 10R - might be more streamlined, but harder to operate. SMH10 will allow you to use earbuds too.

I'm looking at the 20s but it's expensive.

Interphone F5MC also connect to 3rd party devices, the noise cancellation on those is supposed to be extremely good. Same price bracket as 20S though.

Other people have mentioned in other threads about some cheap 30 quid bluetooth ones. I'd imagine they'd be as good as you'd expect at that price.


I'm probably not helping... :/
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[UncleFester]

Just to add ...

Scala Rider G9 = worse interface / ergo but IP67 rated
Interphone F5 - as above.

You can get a pair of S20 from FC-moto.de for about £330 delivered which isn't too bad compared to UK prices.

What i'm trying to sort ( as it seems are you ) is whether crappy review means crappy product or whether for what i want it for ... the 3S-W would be fine.

Have you read some of the warranty threads on ther S20 though .... it doesn't read well. Plenty of units being replaced ( good ) but lots needing replaced ( bad).

SMH10 seems to be the more stable of the others.
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2017 Z1000SX

[UncleFester]

https://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1047178&highlight=3S-W

and for more general SENA experiences.

https://www.advrider.com/forums/search.php?searchid=42339079
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

Finally got to the end of the 20S thread. Lots of the 20S issues appear to have been solved in later production runs. Expensive though, but then the price difference between the 10 and the 20 isn't that big.

S3-W is still £80 and the 5 is only a little more than that. It is internal though, which I like.

The comparison chart is quite useful.

Beginning to wonder if getting a helmet with BT in it already might be a better move...
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[UncleFester]

And just to play devils thingybob ...

The 10U is due out in April.

https://www.sena.com/product/intercoms/10u/

Some shops have it in ( FC-MOTO ) but it's the fat end of £180 for a single unit. I think i prefer the idea of having it all tucked away inside the helmet.

Going to wait a month or so and see if any reviews start filtering through on it.
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

Looks nice, but I don't have a Shoei GT-Air, Shoei Neotec or Schuberth C3/C3 Pro. Really not sure why they're making it helmet specific - it's a big downside for me. !0R has an external battery pack, they could do the same with this
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[UncleFester]

Neither do i - i have a Shoei XR1100 but i'm pretty sure that can be made to fit. Other helmet types / models are on the way

https://www.fc-moto.de/Sena/en/Sena-10

They list one for Arai here.

It's back to the original point though .... for 90% of what I would ever want or need, the 3S would be fine and a lot better than what i have currently = nothing.

My experience with bluetooth stuff seems to be the more functions you have, the more wrong it seems to go
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2017 Z1000SX

[UncleFester]

https://rideapart.com/articles/sena-bluetooth-new-firmware-features

SMH5-FM

Going to get one of those. New bluetooth firmware updates bring the functionality up to a level i'm happy with and the size of the thing isn't big enough to feel or look bulky.

https://www.sena.com/software/smh5-fm-firmware-v2-1/

Universal intercom - allows you to pair up with ONE non sena device.

https://www.sena.com/universal_intercom/
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2017 Z1000SX

[gorillaonabik...]

Have the Interphone F3MC. Cost £100 at the bike show for a pair. Works fine for pillion to rider and phone calls.
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FZR400 (blown engine), ZXR750 (blown engine), ZX6R (accident), CBR600 which had engine issues after which I learned to change gear..., CBR900, CBR924 (stolen), CB600, CB1300 (everything blew up), BMW K1300GT (written off, hit from rear while stationary), Bandit 1250 for a couple of months, Triumph Sprint ST 1050 (nicked) and somewhere in there, I wrote off a Ducati 748 at Cadwell.

[UncleFester]

SMH5-FM bought and fitted. Will give it a try next week on the way to work but it's an easy install and it all fits tidily. Got all the wires tucked nicely into the helmet.

Best bit is the clamp for the unit is small enough that it doesn't hit the ground when you put the helmet down and because it's just a basic clip on unit - there's no silly pins to break.
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

[UncleFester]

Local shop - prices seem to range between 115 and 140 plus delivery.
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

Ok, just pushed the button on a 20S - Had £100 in vouchers and Sportsbikeshop have reduced the 20S price to 189.99 - so less than the price of an smh5 to pay in real monies.

At least I wont need to look at my phone to work out where I'm supposed to turn off...

[UncleFester]

Remarkably uncomplicated - little bit of wind noise from the external unit but other than that it's fine. Good speakers ( relatively speaking ) and decent audio quality.

The thing I like the most is the non active cradle - no charging pins to weather or snap.

I suspect i'd have been as happy with the S20 but it had a ton of features i'd never get around to using and would never find over and above the stuff i really need / wanted.
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

Just as an update to my 20S purchase. My advice on the Sena 20S, if you are considering buying, is to stay away from it - the firmware is not good enough yet.

FM Radio reception is poor and it'll refuse to scan for other stations if you have RDS on. To scan you push and rotate the dial. I often get an "Intercom failed" message after trying this. Might just be that I need to twist and push but whatever it is it's fiddly. I've managed to get one radio station on a small section of my commute - unfortunately it's Radio 1

If I get "Phone connected" when powering up then my phone wont play music. I have to disconnect and try and get "Media Connected" - I suspect that when I get media connected the phone wont work. I'll test this out too at some point. If I'm lucky I get "media connected" and then "phone connected".

Buttons are really awkward to find. I can't get the device to acknowledge a "Hello Sena" at all when moving, trying to find the ambient button is not easy at all with winter gloves on. Thankfully you can double tap the unit (or just in front of it) as well. I can get it to understand "FM Radio" and "Music" without much trouble.

Putting the speakers in the right place is critical to the volume level. At first it was like someone was whispering in my ear, moved the speakers a bit further down and forward and the volume increase was noticable. I wear earplugs and the volume is more than enough to easily get through.

Having a phone application is a nice feature, but there's no acknoledgement that the device settings have actually been changed when you do something. Some sort of feedback would be nice.
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[UncleFester]

Did you upgrade it to the latest firmware?
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

I'm running 1.4 which appears to be the latest.
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[UncleFester]

And last chance saloon ..... did you delete and recreate the pairing after updating to the latest firmware?
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

[UncleFester]

If it still won't work as advertised I would send it back as not fit for purpose - there are many posts from people who have issues.

iPhone by any chance?
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

[UncleFester]

Now that's odd as those are usually fairly reliable as far as A2DP and bluetooth goes. Latest firmware I assume?

Pairing set as trusted etc etc?

If you'd had an iOS based device i'd have been less surprised!
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2017 Z1000SX

[ScaredyCat]

I was having real issues with the FM Radio side of the 20S - it just wans't working at all.

For some reason, last night, I decided to try it again on my way home and it worked perfectly. Same again this morning. Perhaps it's atmospheric, perhaps a local transmitter was down - I don't know.. but I'm much happier with it now the radio works.

Still issues with my phone though, can't seem to get it to play without manually starting it first.
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[UncleFester]

Odd. My Note4 always starts automatically and i think my N5 did too.

maybe this would be worth a look?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kebab.Llama

Found it via this - https://gs4.wonderhowto.com/how-to/auto-start-your-favorite-music-player-when-plugging-headphones-into-galaxy-s4-0149558/
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2017 Z1000SX