Helmet Communicators

[Garandman]

My wife and daughter are new riders so I want to be able to talk to them. What are you using for commo? Don’t need long range. But commonality with other would be good for my occasional YB group rides.

What ya got?

[RyanNicholson]

We have Sena SMH-10R's and have never had any issues. I like the super low profile of them over some larger models. There's a bit of a learning curve though since they do a LOT with only a couple buttons, but general use is just a matter of turning them on and going.

[Paul_E_D]

Sena is kind of a no-brainer as they seem to be most popular. My complaint with them is that the button is too easy to push causing lots of unintended disconnects, etc. I use Interphone. Most systems can link to other brands for at least one pairing. But usually can't daisy chain with multiple units of other brands.

[nt650hawk]

Cardo Black love it! the voice commands work really well. you can even activate the "Hey Google" . i was texting all the way down and back to FL. it is a 12-13 hour battery life. Actual playing music and taking calls straight!

[Paul_E_D]

Cardo Black love it! the voice commands work really well. you can even activate the "Hey Google" . i was texting all the way down and back to FL. it is a 12-13 hour battery life. Actual playing music and taking calls straight!

LOL, nice!

[SRTie4k]

Cardo Black love it! the voice commands work really well. you can even activate the "Hey Google" . i was texting all the way down and back to FL. it is a 12-13 hour battery life. Actual playing music and taking calls straight!

I assume you mean Cardo Packtalk Bold/Slim.

I run a Cardo Freecom 4. Out of everything it does, I like the battery life the best at ~12 hours per charge. It also has an option to continue playing any music you were listening to (at a quieter volume) when someone chimes in over the intercom, so you don't have to deal with starting and stopping media.

If you want to be able to use group intercom, you'll need something like the Cardo Packtalk or Sena 10/20S with mesh communication. Or an oldschool FM based intercom.

[OneCheekRider]

I've been using the Sena SMH10 for at least 6 years now. I bought the dual pack. I will likely upgrade with a newer Sena as the batteries are on their last legs (until I can solder in new batteries). I've been connected with up to 4 people on group rides simultaneously.

[jasnmar]

At this point, this is pretty oldish, but still what I'm using.
SENA 20S

[nhbubba]

Way back when I had a Scala. Hated it. Found it the most cryptic POS ever. Very difficult to use.
Bought a Sena unit (SMH5) and sold the Scala off. Loved the Sena. Only downside was it did not get as loud. Overall audio quality was better though.
I eventually bought a Sena SMH10 and loved it as well. Unfortunately I seem to have lost it on the trails in WV last fall. So I am in the market again.. Leaning SMH5 because of da price.

I cannot imagine riding without one of these stuck to my helmet anymore.

[Paul_E_D]

After reading and hearing reviews of the cardo packtalk, I'm considering upgrading. The voice commands alone seem worth the price. I never use the power in my interphones because the nav is so complicated.

[nt650hawk]

no Slim. the regular Packtalk bold

Packtalk Bold — Cardo Systems

[nhbubba]

Pair with up to 15. Wow! That is more impressive than any of the sena units.

[nt650hawk]

Turn on the radio "Hey Cardo, radio on"
Turn off the radio "Hey Cardo, radio off"
Skip to the next preset radio station "Hey Cardo, next station"
Skip to the previous preset radio station "Hey Cardo, previous station"
Turn on music "Hey Cardo, music on"
Turn off music "HeyCardo, music off"
Play the next music track "Hey Cardo, next track"
Play the previous music track "HeyCardo, previous track"
Raise volume "Hey Cardo, volume up"
Lower volume "Hey Cardo, volume down"
Mute audio "Hey Cardo, mute audio"
Unmute audio "Hey Cardo, unmute audio"
Call the default number (configurable) "Hey Cardo, speed dial"
Redial the last number "Hey Cardo, redial number"
Answer an incoming call "Answer"
Ignore an incoming call "Ignore"
Access Siri (when connected to an iOS device) "Hey Siri"
Access Google (when connected to an Android
device)
"OK Google"
Check the battery status "Hey Cardo, battery status"
Open the call intercom "Hey Cardo, call intercom"

[Paul_E_D]

What about pandora? audio control? I don't save any music locally.

[TheIglu]

Love my Sena 10R. Though I do agree, the 3 button setup isn't the easiest to use, but you get used to it. The new 20S is hot.

[nt650hawk]

What about Pandora? audio control? I don't save any music locally.

yup, Hey google ... open Pandora. I listened to the motley crew station down and back from Florida

there is also the FM stations and the ability to search for strong radio signal.


hey cardo volume up , hey cardo volume down with out having to touch the communicator.

[MattR302]

Everyone on BORN used to use the Sena SMH10. We’d have group rides with 10-15 people linked together, but it would take 10 minutes before every ride getting everyone all linked up properly. A few folks upgraded to the SMH20 when it came out. I recently bought a Sena 10C for dash cam purposes.