Interphone helmet comms

Interphone helmet comms

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Discussion

kurt535

Original Poster:

3,559 posts

116 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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Hi all,

Am on the verge pf purchasing their urban twin pack. Main draw for me with this make is the fact they are weatherproof whereas Sena, etc aren't. I intend using it for touring with my GF. As its r-r within 50cm of each other, range isn't an issue for me. it appears their tour pack has a faster charge and spare battery pack which i live without.

one thing I didn't quite get though was the fact i had to buy an accessory to make the mp3 functionality work??

I know the speakers are poor; am not ruling out swapping them out.

So, before i pull the trigger, any last minute yay nays?

Ty

Tall_Paul

1,915 posts

226 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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Pretty sure Sena's etc are weatherprrof - they're not fully waterproof i.e. they can't be submersed in water, but they'll be fine in the rain.

The mp3 thing sounds wrong, you just connect your phone via bluetooth and it plays whatever is on your phone - satnav/music etc.

SAS Tom

3,397 posts

173 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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You don't need anything to make mp3's work. It'll work straight away. They will be fine for what you want.

I've used and sold loads of them so if you have any more questions let me know.

kurt535

Original Poster:

3,559 posts

116 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
quotequote all
Tom, many thanks!

Interphone vs sena et al: which one am I likely to experience the least issues with please?

Ty

SAS Tom

3,397 posts

173 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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Honestly probably the same amount. Personally I'd go for Sena though, much simpler to use and the sound quality is much better.

Andybow

1,175 posts

117 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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Sena are brilliant, I've had a few headsets over the years, sena is easiest to use while riding, sound quality is good, Bluetooth never drops out and talking to others with sena is excellent

spareparts

6,777 posts

226 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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Has anyone tested pairing a Sena to a Scala G4/G9 ?

Andybow

1,175 posts

117 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
quotequote all
spareparts said:
Has anyone tested pairing a Sena to a Scala G4/G9 ?
I had a G4 and couldn't get it to pair to mates sena, I'm a bit of a dick though when it comes to tech!

spareparts

6,777 posts

226 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
quotequote all
Andybow said:
spareparts said:
Has anyone tested pairing a Sena to a Scala G4/G9 ?
I had a G4 and couldn't get it to pair to mates sena, I'm a bit of a dick though when it comes to tech!
I'm tempted to switch... the new C4 Schuberth uses a Sena module instead of the C3's Scala SRC. It would be surprising if Schuberth did not insist that the C4 must be able to communicate/pair with a G4/9 or C3 SRC given how popular the C3 has been.

Tall_Paul

1,915 posts

226 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
quotequote all
spareparts said:
Andybow said:
spareparts said:
Has anyone tested pairing a Sena to a Scala G4/G9 ?
I had a G4 and couldn't get it to pair to mates sena, I'm a bit of a dick though when it comes to tech!
I'm tempted to switch... the new C4 Schuberth uses a Sena module instead of the C3's Scala SRC. It would be surprising if Schuberth did not insist that the C4 must be able to communicate/pair with a G4/9 or C3 SRC given how popular the C3 has been.
I'm looking at the R2 as that also has the new SC1 system, looks very good.

Senas now have the universal intercom fucntion which can connect to any make of headset, as it connects as if it's connecting to a bluetooth phone rather than full intercom.

SAS Tom

3,397 posts

173 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
quotequote all
Schuberth have stopped dealing with scala now. They don't do anything scala and just sell a Sena 10U for the C3. Both systems use anycom so they should connect to other makes (I have done so in the past) but if they don't Schuberth aren't interested in Scala anymore so are unlikely to be any help.

spareparts

6,777 posts

226 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
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Tall_Paul said:
Senas now have the universal intercom fucntion which can connect to any make of headset, as it connects as if it's connecting to a bluetooth phone rather than full intercom.
SAS Tom said:
Schuberth have stopped dealing with scala now. They don't do anything scala and just sell a Sena 10U for the C3. Both systems use anycom so they should connect to other makes (I have done so in the past)
So the [new] Sena system can connect with any other headset (ie, Scala) and upto how many devices? Scalas used to be able to have a 4-way intercom open all the time... can there be 4-way intercom between a mix of Scala and Sena units? Or can Sena only connect to Scala as an exclusive connection?

Tall_Paul

1,915 posts

226 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
quotequote all
spareparts said:
Tall_Paul said:
Senas now have the universal intercom fucntion which can connect to any make of headset, as it connects as if it's connecting to a bluetooth phone rather than full intercom.
SAS Tom said:
Schuberth have stopped dealing with scala now. They don't do anything scala and just sell a Sena 10U for the C3. Both systems use anycom so they should connect to other makes (I have done so in the past)
So the [new] Sena system can connect with any other headset (ie, Scala) and upto how many devices? Scalas used to be able to have a 4-way intercom open all the time... can there be 4-way intercom between a mix of Scala and Sena units? Or can Sena only connect to Scala as an exclusive connection?
Only one non-sena device per sena device by the look of it.

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

So to have a 4 way you'd need 2 Sena devices and 2 Scala devices, each sena connects to one of the Scala devices and then connects to each other. The 4 way intercom between sena devices is the same as normal, not sure if that means you can have an 8 way, with 4 senas connecting each to a scala, and the senas connecting to each other... confusedlaugh

https://youtu.be/7kJ_TI3PoMM

SAS Tom

3,397 posts

173 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
quotequote all
spareparts said:
So the [new] Sena system can connect with any other headset (ie, Scala) and upto how many devices? Scalas used to be able to have a 4-way intercom open all the time... can there be 4-way intercom between a mix of Scala and Sena units? Or can Sena only connect to Scala as an exclusive connection?
Unfortunately no not as far as I am aware. I have tried this before and only 1 different manufacturer will connect into the group e.g 2 sena's and 1 Scala or the other way round. This seems to be true between all of the manufacturers unless something has changed recently. Hopefully it has as it was mega frustrating trying to get 4 in a group and not really knowing why it wouldn't work!

I think the only guarantee is 4 of the same manufacturer. Otherwise it may or may not work. Obviously this is no help if you want a helmet specific system like in the C4.

Btw the C4 is nice but has a few quirks. For some reason both a large and xl seem to fit me fine despite me being a medium normally. I think this would change after use but just proves trying one is very important. The fit is different to previous Schuberths, much more comfortable for me but obviously that is personal. Also the sun visor doesn't come down very low but they reckon that it's not an issue as the helmet tilts down quite a bit when you're in an upright position. I can imagine many people saying they don't like it when trying it on but to be fair probably will work in practice. Despite claims of weight being roughly the same, the bigger shell size (XL and above) is over 1800g and the smaller shell isn't that far off making it very heavy and noticeably so.

kurt535

Original Poster:

3,559 posts

116 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
quotequote all
Useful review from another website.

Sadly have been finding lots of people not happy that the Sena fails in rain. i intend using the kit for touring so it sadly looks a non starter.


Comparison of Sena 20S and Cardo Scala Packtalk

I first purchased the Sena 20S after having great success with the Sena SMH10 units. I was motivated by the enhanced features, believing that the 20S was the next step in rider communication.

The Good:

The Sena uses Parallel Audio Streaming allowing me to maintain an open intercom conversation with my wife, while playing music in between conversations. I could set the volume level of the music to decrease any number of levels when the Intercom intervened. I love this feature. On the older units music was always interrupted and only resumed when one of the riders clicked on a button to end a conversation.
We use custom earmold music monitors, so clarity of the speakers was always perfect. The boom microphone picked up our conversations very clearly. I never use VOX recognition because my Google voice app always picked up what I needed.

The Bad:

The 20S is far from waterproof. In fact, I wouldn’t even consider it water resistant. The first storm that I rolled through fried my unit. I had to go through the painful process of opening a support ticket and wait for a week after several attempts to get someone to address my issue. Three weeks later, I received a new unit. A couple of months later, my wife’s unit started acting up, piping screeching noises into her ears before locking up her music source. It was back to opening another support ticket for me. It took them forever to address my problem, and then they wanted me to disable two key features that I could not live without. At this point, I went into full blown threat mode, threatening to post bad reviews on every major website that carries their product. They agreed to replace the baseplate.

I was pissed, so I purchased a pair of Cardo Scala Packtalks.

The Good:

Everyone online states that these units are totally waterproof. Problem solved. DMC mesh network functions much better than Bluetooth Intercom, allowing larger groups to work simultaneously with a much better range.

The Bad:

Documentation sucks and different features are controlled with not only a phone app but online community as well. It took quite a while to set the units up the way I prefer. In order to use Parallel Audio Streaming, the unit has to be in DMC mode to work. This feature is not available in Bluetooth mode. The problem is that other types of headsets are not compatible with DMC, so group talking is out for us. Also, volume control for audio and Intercom are tied together. If the music is load so is the Intercom conversation. Finding a balance is nearly impossible. I spoke with Technical Support urging them to update the software to make this great feature useable.
One of the units has a battery drain issue. Support was very helpful and the unit is in the process of being replaced. Also, one microphone failed on me as I was suited up to leave for a long trip. The documentation warned that the wiring was fragile and they were not kidding. Luckily switching to the boom microphone was a breeze. The microphones pick up more noise than the Sena and are hard to understand at over 80 mph.

The Ugly:

I am shelving the Cardo units and going back to the Sena 20S until Cardo updates the software. The number one feature of the Packtalk for me is useless at this point. My Sena units are going back on the helmets, and I will keep replacing them under warranty every time that they are destroyed by moisture or until the software of the Cardo units is improved.

Conclusion:

Both units have their flaws, but I would never recommend the Sena units because of the tragic water flaw. The internet is filled with people having the same issue. They must be losing a ton of money. There is no way that I can avoid the rain, and the unit cannot be removed because the baseplate cannot be exposed to rain as well. Motorcycling involves riding in inclement weather, and the units are useless for motorcycling.

The Packtalks are close to what I need, and I hope that they resolve their software issues. Until then, they are on the shelf.

kurt535

Original Poster:

3,559 posts

116 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
quotequote all
And just found this solid review of Interphone:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-intercoms/i...

foxsasha

1,416 posts

134 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
quotequote all
I've got two pairs of Interphone F5MC. Have used them in torrential rain, as long as you use the supplied silicon grease round the plug they're fine when it's wet. The foam over the microphone has fallen off of all four of my units and of those that my friends use. If you catch them before they're completely lost then you can just superglue them back on but they're basically not fit for purpose. When the foam goes you get a lot more wind noise from the mic.

One of the speakers on one set stopped working so had to be replaced.

Other than that they do what it says on the tin. Connecting them together is easy enough, they pair with phones easily, play MP3s and once you get your head round their menu system the controls work as they should.

I only have experience if one other intercom type and it was a cheap eBay special used to see if intercoms were worth buying but the Interphones get very good reviews.

Tall_Paul

1,915 posts

226 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
quotequote all
foxsasha said:
I've got two pairs of Interphone F5MC. Have used them in torrential rain, as long as you use the supplied silicon grease round the plug they're fine when it's wet. The foam over the microphone has fallen off of all four of my units and of those that my friends use. If you catch them before they're completely lost then you can just superglue them back on but they're basically not fit for purpose. When the foam goes you get a lot more wind noise from the mic.

One of the speakers on one set stopped working so had to be replaced.

Other than that they do what it says on the tin. Connecting them together is easy enough, they pair with phones easily, play MP3s and once you get your head round their menu system the controls work as they should.

I only have experience if one other intercom type and it was a cheap eBay special used to see if intercoms were worth buying but the Interphones get very good reviews.
Out of interest, how much louder was the interphone vs the cheap headset?

I've got a £35 headset in my helmet which does the job, but it's not loud enough to hear music or sat nav instructions over 60-70mph. Funds may not stretch to a Schuberth R2 and SC1 (£600 in total!) this year so I may replace my cheap headset with a Sena 10s which you can get for £170 - but if the volume isn't any better there's not much point...

kurt535

Original Poster:

3,559 posts

116 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
quotequote all
I just can't see the point of buying any bike headset that isn't stated waterproof.

Hence mind made up and money will be spent with Interphone: just ordered the Tour pair off this site (on a credit card, just incase....)

http://motointercom.eu/shop/en/interphone-cellular...

Edited by kurt535 on Sunday 23 April 17:50

Rawwr

22,722 posts

233 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
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I've used the F4XT for years now and still going strong. The only annoyance -- as previously mentioned -- is the foam on the microphone falling off. It once ended up in my mouth. It was not delicious.