Five riders in the Himalayas in June looking for some comms gear so we can ride and talk amongst each other. Anyone use or have experience that might help choose the right kit please?
Mesh is the latest version of coms, either Cardo or Sena but don't mix and match, Cardo Mesh doesn't work with Sena Mesh and vice versa. Much better range and capable of working with big groups either on a public circuit or a private circuit. Wouldn't want to call which is better, it's like tyres, you have your favorite but they are all mostly good. Andy
This pretty much covers it, the Sena has been updated since this with the 50s I think but it’s still not waterproof, I’ve got a packtalk bold, had a slim but it failed when I was caught out in a downpour (supposed to be waterproof?) Amazon refunded me with no quibbles at all. Cardo have just revised their headsets so you could either go for the new one or there might be some offers on the outgoing model?
I need waterproof, it's India where if rain is not pouring out of the skies, there is always the alternative of falling over in a river crossing
I’ve been using the Interphone Tour for a few years, and it’s a great bit of kit. The speaker volume is very good, and it’s easy to use. They now do a mesh version, so that would be my recommendation.
Touring buddy and myself have used Sena 10U intercoms for quite a few years now. Old tech I'll accept but being completely enclosed in the shell of the helmet they are protected both from the elements and also getting knocked/clobbered as a wart on the outside. This also maintains the aerodynamic properties of the helmet whereas some of the intercoms attached to the outside of the shell generate additional wind noise. Range, bike-to-bike is about 1km line of sight which is plenty for two riders though I can see that with a group this could be problematic. I've used PMR radios on tour before and with a practical range of around 5-8km (though that's with an external antenna and running hotter than PMR regs legally allow). Otherwise were really talking 2-3km optimal. Get into a built up area or on the far side of a mountain and, of course, there's no comms at all, mesh and a group would help with that as far as I understand it. PMR radios, as a recognised standard, plugged into the likes of an Autocom gives universal connectivity between brands an allows many riders to be in the comms group. Having ditched the Autocom for the Sena due to lack of room on my MV Augusta I got one of these which will work with many PMR radio brands as well as any BT headset. Not used it much when when I have it works OK though it's another two batteries (radio and the SR10 unit) to charge every night.
Is there anything up to date (i.e. comparable to Cardo, Sena etc) that goes inside the lid? Have looked at Cardo, Sena and AGVs proprietary kit and all are outside units.....
Depends on the lid. Sena make the 10U to fit the Schuberth C3/C3 Pro, Arai and some Shoei models. They also produce the SC1 for Schuberth to fit their C4 and R2 lids. All are fitted internally.
Thanks Gary. Ideally something universal and integrated. I have different branded helmets and I don't really want my helmet and intercom choices dictated by the other if you know what I mean.
Whilst some models claim to have a universal mode to work with other brands, in my experience these are seriously flawed. Certainly the universal mode for the Sena 10U didn't work that well and crippled other functionality such as the ability to have it switch between comms and sat nav automatically when I tried to set iy up with an Interphone headset. Other brands may vary but a mate had similar frustrations with a Cardo system. It's in their interests to get all your mates to buy the same brand... The long range bike-to-bike comms aspect of these headsets, I'm pretty sure, isn't Bluetooth.
No I’d not think Bluetooth is the way forward either. All I really need is a walk-in talkie type thing that works in a crash helmet!
Walkie-talkie (AKA PMR radios) take up more room, batteries need charging, need a PTT switch (PressTo Talk) and require a decent headset with a noise cancelling microphone. In other words they are a PITA. However, the extra range, especially with a separate ground plane independant antenna, as well as the universal nature of the PMR standard they are worth it for some. Something like this wildtalk headset combined with a Kenwood PMR radio would work well. The Sena SR10 I linked to in my previous post combined with a BT headset would also provide reasonable performance and also be a more wire free solution. Naturally those you wish to communicate with will need similar kit. Puxing PX888 is a reasonable, cheaper alternative to the Kenwood PMR radio. Don't be tempted by cheap radios and headsets without proper noise cancelling mics, just not worth the frustration of them not being workable over 20-30 mph. It's all a bit of a faff TBH, if it's just one other rider then a BT headset with bike-to-bike capability is probably your best bet. Bigger group and longer distance then Mesh or PMR starts to make more sense.
