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Message started by jman on 07/18/14 at 06:59:17

Title: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by jman on 07/18/14 at 06:59:17

My wife and I like riding together, but on our own bikes. She's a very novice rider, though, and I would like the ability to talk to her while she's riding.

I'm looking for a good set of 2-way radios that we can use on the bikes. Anyone have any recommendations?

They have to be small enough to fit in a riding jacket pocket, and they have to have a head set small enough to fit in a full-face helmet. A remote PTT button would be nice, as I've not had good experiences with VOX.

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by Dave on 07/18/14 at 07:21:54

I have been trying to decide what kind of radios to buy so that my wife and I can talk while on the same bike. I finally believe the price and features made them affordable and easy to operate, and I just bought some Sena SMH10 helmet radios. A pair of them are right around $ 280 from online retailers.

They install easily in a helmet - provided that they are new enough to have space at the ears for the speakers. The unit clamps on the side of the helmet and in takes 15 minutes to install them the first time you do it, only 5 minutes after you have done it once. They are very easy to program, sound good, and they have Bluetooth ability and can connect with your I-phone easily. It is really nice to use your I-phone for GPS navigation and have the instructions come right into your helmet.

So far the only negative I found is that when first turned on the unit connects to my phone, and as such I can run the GPS program and get instructions from my phone over the intercom - but if my wife hits the intercom button the phone loses the connection with the GPS program and it cannot be restored....the GPS keeps working but cannot give audio over the headset. (I suppose if I turned my headset off and back on again it would restore the GPS connection). The radios are set up so that any incoming phone call, or instructions from a Blue Tooth GPS navigator will over ride the intercom - but not the instructions from my I-phone GPS program. I might be able to overcome this issue by connecting my phone to the headset with a cable connection.....not sure yet. If you have a GPS with Bluetooth feature...it will work just fine -but those systems are really expensive. I can also just get a handlebar mount for my phone....so that I can just get the instructions visually. I can also receive telephone calls while riding from my I-phone, and the sound quality is excellent and folks have no idea I am riding on a motorcycle while talking to them.

Here is a fellow that has a set for about half price.
http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?139146-Sena-radios-for-sale
Dave

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by Pine on 07/18/14 at 11:11:37

I second the SENA...Great little item!
My wife and I are in the same situation as you. These work great out to about as far as you can see the other person.

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by BalingWire on 07/18/14 at 11:12:10

I recommend seriously considering 2-meter amateur radio.

With bluetooth, you can easily fit a microphone and speakers in the helmet for easy communication.

And being able to talk with the many other amateurs and a host of 2-meter repeater towers found in the US opens up many other possibilities.

My wife has her Technician license, which took a little bit of evening study for a week.

Motorcycle amateur radio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qW5GugGDjw
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qW5GugGDjw[/media]

Amateur Radio Exam Practice
http://aa9pw.com/radio/

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by youzguyz on 07/18/14 at 11:37:54

1D24232839223F4D0 wrote:

I second the SENA...Great little item!
My wife and I are in the same situation as you. These work great out to about as far as you can see the other person.

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by Pine on 07/19/14 at 17:55:51

6F79636C71636F6C160 wrote:

[quote author=1D24232839223F4D0 link=1405691957/0#2 date=1405707097]I second the SENA...Great little item!
My wife and I are in the same situation as you. These work great out to about as far as you can see the other person.

I third the Sena SMH10. I don't use mine for intercom, but love it for bluetooth to my XM radio and phone.
I do know people that use it in small group riding (it handles 4 connections), and it works great for them.

http://www.sena.com/product/product/smh10/
[/quote]

A note about this...

If I am riding alone and want to lister to music ( very rare) I can Bluetooth my phone to the Sena.. and listen to iheart radio.. doing so means that phone calls will super cede the radio and I can take the an when finished go back to radio ... all pretty much hands free.

HOWEVER: SENA will tell you the speaker system is not stereo and is very poor for bass. So the sound is not great. However, the loundess and the overall sound range means you can hear the music though its better for voice..its just not great quality music. I am VERY OK with this .. as when I do listen to the radio its mostly for news and weather.. with music just being a bonus.

Now this also means that my wife with her SENA can place a cell call to MY SENA via my cell phone...and presto!! given good coverage... we have more range than any CB system. However the caller has to use their hands to place call. They do support VOX.. but I did not feel like figuring in out.

For the money .... the size, design, and features of the SENA system seem to beat the others currently. This can change at any moment as soon as someone leapfrogs the others.

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by youzguyz on 07/21/14 at 06:30:59

6E57505B4A514C3E0 wrote:

[quote author=6F79636C71636F6C160 link=1405691957/0#4 date=1405708674][quote author=1D24232839223F4D0 link=1405691957/0#2 date=1405707097]I second the SENA...Great little item!
My wife and I are in the same situation as you. These work great out to about as far as you can see the other person.

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by old_rider on 07/22/14 at 05:52:01

Thanks for the links guys.... I just went to sena and found the one I think we will purchase for the wife and me...

http://www.sena.com/product/product/sph10h-fm/

Looks to be quick to add-on and it will cover that empty space on the half-helmet sides with speakers, killing the wind noise a bit to boot.

But it still looks like "push-to-talk" mode will probably be the best, not sure how well the mike will work at speed though...

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by verslagen1 on 07/22/14 at 07:54:11

be aware when in CA, you're only allowed to have a speaker in 1 ear while, riding or driving.

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by Serowbot on 07/22/14 at 08:10:31

I just yell... :-?...

Title: Re: 2-way radios for motorcycling?
Post by Oldfeller on 07/22/14 at 08:16:02

Make sure your helmet is relieved for ear devices.

I wore Dave's set up during the last trip and I had no cut out for it -- it ate my ear up after a half hour or so.