[san9jay]

Originally Posted by Insearch

Could you please explain the daisy chain. Does that allow for more than 4 simultaneous connections then?


This is the reason why I feel that the CB radios will be better. They will perform even if you are not in line of sight, over a longer range. As per the supplier, even if the rider in front of you is over the hill, you should be able to reach him, though range may be reduced from 5 to 2 Kilometers.


Right, and since these are early days for bike communications in India, it would be great if more of us chose the CB radio. Because, then even when we travel outside our city or without our group, we could still be able to call other riders and help each other out, just the way we do here on the net (No pairing needed!).

Daisy chaining will allow more than 4 riders. normally the intercom is paired with upto 4 riders and they all can call and talk to each other independently or in a conference.

When you have more than 4 riders what you can do is make more than one rider group.

e.g:
Group A has riders 1-3
Group B has riders 4-7
...etc

Now in Group A all riders are paired with each other and Rider 3 is paired with Rider 4 in group B.
Rider 4 is also paired with all riders in Group B.

That will now allow Rider 3 to act as the link between Group A and B.

So if Rider 3 is in conference with riders 1-2 and Rider 4 gets into that conference with rider 3 at that point if anyone else from Group B asks to conference with rider 4 he will then be linking the two groups and all riders will be in a conference.

The above is the theory. I have to admit I have not tried it myself since we do not have more than 4 riders using that at present in my riding group. But I have daisy chained 3 riders who were not linked to each other but were linked to me into a conference so it should work.

CB radios will have a much better range but are likely to require a bigger antenna, will probably have poorer voice quality since they are analog devices and also will not have any kind of privacy.
Basically anybody in the vicinity will be able to listen to what you are saying. For most riders that may not be a major issue but it is something to keep in mind.

Finally the Bluetooth devices are trivially easy to link up to your phones since most modern phones will easily pair to them. I havent seen the CB models but unless they also have Bluetooth you would need to run a wire to your phone to make and receive calls as well.

The fact that the BT devices also lets you use your phone makes the range issue less relevant since you can always call your fellow rider if he is out of range, unless of course you are in the middle of nowhere without cell phone coverage.

Cheers

/Sanjay

[kraft.wagen]

An interesting concept being developed. May be its far from hitting the streets, but for the concept

While mobile navigation for cars has evolved into a staple, in-cabin feature, motorcyclists have been stuck with paper maps and aftermarket solutions for years. A new Russian company is out to change that with a helmet that boasts integrated nav. LiveMap uses a microphone, light sensor, ear phone and micro display to convey pertinent travel information in full color that the rider can control using voice commands. The system works just like the heads up display found in modern fighter jets.

The system projects directions in the center of the rider's visor rather than in the upper right hand corner as with Google Glass. The team behind the development says this actually safer since the light sensor keeps the directions transparent no matter what the time of day. It also allows the rider to stay focused on what's ahead of the bike. An integrated gyroscope and digital compass keeps the projection oriented correctly even as the user tilts his head or leans the bike. Very cool.

The LiveMap helmet is supposed to offer up to a day's worth of use thanks to a pair of lithium-ion batteries, though a USB charge plug can provide extra juice when necessary. Right now, LiveMap is sourcing funding through Indiegogo. The company is looking to raise $150,000 to create a working prototype. After that, production models could cost around $2,000. That's steep, but hopefully the cost could come down over additional generations.

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCfjX-KEWmA

Source: Autoblog.com

[kraft.wagen]

Any experience on the chatterbox xbi?

[slicvic]

marinegopi has just posted a thread with his experince

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...my-helmet.html

[kraft.wagen]

Total noob question, Can I pair multi brand device? Say I have a Chatterbox and my riding group has a Sena or Scala, can I pair my device to them?

[slicvic]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Total noob question, Can I pair multi brand device? Say I have a Chatterbox and my riding group has a Sena or Scala, can I pair my device to them?

Answered in the previous page

Originally Posted by Hells_Fury

@slicvic Units from Scala Rider and Sena Bluetooth are not compatible with each other.

Originally Posted by Insearch

Incidently Bachoo motors is now the authorised dealer for Midland bluetooth and intercom, which will pair with any brand (Max 4 units).

[Hells_Fury]

Heres a compatibility test of some of the major brands available in the market:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcyc...compatibility/

[IndigoXLGrandDi]

I have used the following Bluedio Bluetooth Headset since Jan 2012 till 8 days ago as it is not getting charged-
Bluedio I4 Bluetooth Headset
I had bought it for 799/- including shipping charges at that time.


Now I want to buy new one since changing battery would not last that long and also would not be worth it.
I am confused between the following-
Atitude Receiver with Microphone (Black)
and
Bluedio I4S Bluetooth Headset

Both have a huge price difference. Is it worth spending on Atitude or should I go for Bluedio I4S?

I use the Headset on Bike as well as in Car for making and receiving Calls. And also for Listening Music on the go.

[Harish.Krovvidi]

My team is using the Motorola talk about with handsfree kit that allows voice activated operations. We have been using this while driving around in the sports cars. They work at speeds above 100 I can vouch for that.

Below is the link
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/motorola...specifications

I have not tried to use this while riding the bike with the hands free yet. If do he the time I will try it and post up here.

[rk_sans]

As part of our North/East Sikkim and Bhutan trip, Our group of 4 riders had the privilege to review Sena-SMH10, helmet bluetooth headset.
Will not bother much about sharing the technical details of this headset, people who are keen on it can access the details by clicking here.

http://senabluetooth.com/product/intercoms/smh10/

Installation

Installation of the headset is a straight forward job. As we had different brand helmets, it gave us good hands on session exploring our helmets. The unit is screwed on to helmet side. We fastened it on the left side, so that the right hand can be free for all throttle inputs/general control of bike. A couple of allen bolts supplied in the package secures the mount to the helmet. The package comes with the Allen key for it.
As mentioned earlier, this was fitted on different brand of helmets each of us owned, HJC, Sparx and LS2 models.
Once the unit is fastened on to the helmet, 2 speakers would need to be placed strategically near the ear recess inside the helmet. Some helmets have placeholders where we can place the speakers, whilst Indian made ones generally do not have it. Was quite surprising to note that these speakers get into a snug fit inside the helmets irrespective of its make/brand/size/shape they come in.
The speakers can be additionally secured in its place with foam attachments that is bundled along with the package.
For one of the helmet the foam attachments were not required. The Speakers were protruding in the ear lobe causing discomfort over long periods of usage. They were done away with.
Once speakers have been setup, last step would be to just adjust/place the mike inside the helmet in front of the rider’s mouth according to one comfort.
The model came with the boom microphone which we felt can be utilized for the half face helmets as well. The mouth piece sits in the gap between lips and helmet wall. So it does not obstruct the rider's movement inside the helmet.
All in all it took us no longer than 10 minutes to install the whole headset in our helmet.

Would like to make a mention of the helmet mount’s build quality which took all jolts from extreme road conditions of North Sikkim, which was good. Certainly not cheap plastics involved in this kit.

Features

The coolest thing about Sena-SMH10 as per our experience would be its Jog Dial plus phone button. It is quite simple and very handy to use even with our gloves on. Remember how hard it gets sometimes even to unzip our pants but the Jog Dial was a pleasure to operate. All needed tasks/chores from answering incoming calls to connecting intercom/hearing music, Voice commands can be operated through this jog dial plus phone button.

To begin with let's write about the good things, which we personally felt about the headset.
First, pairing with your Bluetooth mobile headset is simple.
Once connected, you will begin to appreciate the sound quality of speakers which is very good for its size and are crystal clear. Micro-phone comes with noise cancellation feature which helps reducing external noise to a great extent. In fact, people calling us were hard-changed to believe that we were talking through a Bluetooth headset and at the same time riding our motorcycle in speeds of 90-100 Kays.
Secondly, Battery life can be rated as above our expectations when compared to regular Bluetooth headsets. Standby mode works for 10-12 hours. Continuous Intercom usage would last about 3-4 hours. If you are using it judiciously, it generally gave us a range of 6-8 hours. City usage with listening music and occasional calls the battery will last a good 6-8 days.
Last couple of weeks, headset was used for only calls and it went through for 16 days before she died out.
Thirdly its ease of use, once paired with other riders, getting connected was via a tap on its jog dial, which would get us on a conference.
So before we started the trip, we decided on who would be the lead and sweeper, based on it we paired the headsets.
Basically, we paired the lead and sweeper together followed by remaining 2 bikers. This enabled the lead to get on a call with sweeper at any point in time with minimum fuss. The other 2 bikers were able to communicate amongst each other as well.
This type of pairing helped us immensely during our ride lasting 18 days. There were multiple instances when we had to ride as a group of 2 riders. Since we had done this pairing before the start of journey, it was just a tap on the jog dial to get connected to each other.
In addition to this two way pairing, we did pair all 3 head-sets to the lead. So all the 3 riders plus lead could join over intercom for a quick update on any changed plans/comfort breaks/tea Stops etc Etc.

Here, I would like to highlight the importance of such headset with intercom facility. North Sikkim, we were riding through horrible roads at a height of about 17000 ft approx. Adding to this was the weather which was making its presence felt with rain and chilled cold wind. As the roads were very literally un-motorable, each rider was concentrating more on the roads than keeping an eye as to who is behind them. This often led to a half kilometer distance between each rider. One such interesting moment was when we had sweeper’s bike broke down. He was able to get onto the intercom to inform us. If the intercom facility was not there then, the next rider would not come to know about it until he reached the next destination. Plus, returning back in that road conditions means losing a lot of time for the whole team which would derail the whole schedule planned for that day.

Would like to highlight one more instance about the effective use of the headset.
After nathula pass, we reached the Nathang Valley, as we entered Nathang valley, heavy rain caught on us. Then as we exited Nathang and entered Zuluk, we encountered extreme fog. We were unable to see each other bikes tail light also. So it was a situation where we had extreme rain coupled with extreme fog. So each of us took turns to lead and started communicating on the intercom about the road conditions. This way, the other 3 riders were following the lead rider inputs. Also as we took turns in leading, this avoided all of us getting stressed together.

Speaking of negative points

One of the head-set got to see heavy rainfall of North Sikkim and due to it, there was slight disturbance in the sound reception. But after it got dry for a day, it was back to normal. But we strongly felt that it was more because of the heavy rain.
We made a makeshift cover on it for the remaining trip. But it could withstand light and medium rainfall without any issues.

Personally as a tourer would like the intercom battery life to be little more.

Build Quality

As mentioned already, the headset absorbed all the rattles of North sikkim without any issues. Full points on it. The black color of the outer surface area of headset turned to dull black after it was exposed to the different weather conditions. But this should not be considered as a negative point at all as it is serving the purpose it has to and it is just the cosmetic appearance.

Things which is not tested yet

With all the preparation for the ride and with eventful ride, we could not get a chance to test the Voice dial options in it. But will do it in coming days and update on this thread.

Credits
Review writeup : This writeup was jointly put by tbhpians "KU69RD" and "RK_SANS".
Photos: Our biker friend "Milind"(Not a tbhpian) and "RK_SANS".
Headset: Sena Company and Let's Gear Up, Sena Distributors in India

Mods: I have created a separate thread on this as i thought it would require a separate thread where members can discuss and share about this Headset specifically. If you think otherwise, please merge it into the Motorcycle Bluetooth thread.









Pic from Sena website. The box includes all of these.






Highlighting the jugaad done to avoid the heavy rain

[slicvic]

Due to Sena’s expertise in the Bluetooth communication industry they have provided the new firmware to allow it to be compatible with competing Bluetooth communication systems in the market. Providing units that can pair and function with other Bluetooth devices helps to expand the users experience and reduce limitations due to technological complications. Riders can cross over between brands and products to utilize all of the devices they want and need for their rides. The Universal IntercomTM is a unique technology to the industry as it provides cross-brand interoperability to the users with a conference intercom capability. The advanced technology helps the continued establishment of Sena as the leader in the Bluetooth communication market

This is good news indeed.

Source: http://senabluetooth.com/product/int...w#tab-features

I have postponed my plans of buying this for now. Just bought a Gopro a couple of days back.

[hellraizer]

Hi Guys,

I am actually planning to develop a smart helmet as a hobby project. For now, this is what I have considered as the product requirement.

1. Contains a handle mounted dock that can house up to a 6" smartphone.
2. Dock shall be connected to the bikes battery. This will enable the phone charging on the go
3. A handle bar mounted controller to control the various features.
4. A helmet that will have a microphone, a pair of speakers and a wide angle HD camera that can be mounted on the helmet.

Features will include
1. Hands free calling and music streaming. Basic controls for music player and call from the handle mounted control
2. Capture videos and pictures of your ride using easy one click from the handle bar.
3. Basic voice control.

The phone will be housed inside a water proof dock with flexibility for mounting and viewing.
The user can use Google Navigation from his smartphone. User needs to search and enter destination on his smartphone before starting his ride.

A small companion app on the smartphone will take care of processing inputs from handle mounted control and and will have easy transfer of pics and videos stored on the helmet to the phone.

Video camera will support 1080p recording and 5-8MP still pics in various modes. Helmet will run on a rechargeable battery.

It would be really kind to get a perspective from the forum to understand the market and its needs.

Would you buy such a product? If so, at what price will you consider buying it?

If you guys think this thread is not the right place, I will be more than happy to provide a Google form and share it with you.

Thanks.

[mobike008]

Picked up the Sena Dual SMH-10 Headset from the US as well.

It's a twin unit and can be used by 2 individuals

[slicvic]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Picked up the Sena Dual SMH-10 Headset from the US as well.

It's a twin unit and can be used by 2 individuals

Another thread told me you got it at a mouth watering price.

If not mention the price and source here please PM me the same. Planning to get one next time some friend is coming down from the US

[coolrain]

I am planning for a BT Headset but confused between Senna SMH-10 & Scala Rider G9X. just wanna know whether it would be compatible with the Scala as everyone in my group has the G9 / G9X. A single unit of G9X is for Rs 19k at DSG whereas the SMH-10 is Rs 19k a pair!!