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Sena is really a mess

Discussion in 'General' started by cha0s#242, Aug 2, 2022.

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  1. Bruce

    Bruce Tuck & Roll

    I thought the same thing for years. Was gifted a Cardo last year as an early wedding present by a riding buddy. We don't do much chatting overall, but it's really nice for calling out road hazards, gas stops, etc...
     
    ducnut likes this.
  2. cBJr

    cBJr Well-Known Member

    A couple years back, when planning for a 5 day dual sport ride, Friend1 told the rest of us to get headsets so we could all talk. I told them all that I didn't want to listen to them yammering while I was enjoying my ride. Friends 2+3 got the headsets, but ended up having to fake that they stopped working, because Friend1 was non-stop bitching about everything.

    I just can't see a time where I'd want to chat while I'm out riding. I really enjoy BS'ing about our day over the campfire afterwards, but my riding time is "me" time.
     
    beac83 and cav115 like this.
  3. motion

    motion Nihilistic Member

    Not to mention listening to all the mouth breathing
     
  4. eggfooyoung

    eggfooyoung You no eat more!

    Prior to our Colorado trip a few weeks ago, some in the group were asking which coms system everyone wanted. After letting everyone have their opinions and a lengthy discussion, I chimed in "None" to which most were confused. After explaining that all I wanted to hear on the trail was the ringa ding of my 2-smoke, it was decided that we didn't need a system after all.
     
  5. Smilodon

    Smilodon Wannabe

    I've used intercoms for years when touring with my wife as a passenger. We started with autocomm wired units and progressed to the first Sena units. We both aren't really serial talkers or big phone or social media types. My wife generally acts as the navigator on our longer trips, and we had worked out a system of signals before we had intercoms. Still works when the intercoms fail.

    I got the first unit after our first international tour without one. Things just get too complicated (and distracting) without them. We just got used to them then and use them all the time now.

    I have never had the need to talk to a "group" or even another bike. If my wife rode, we would probably do that then. I've tried hooking up to a phone, and can see the use case for that for some, but generally ended up disconnecting them.

    The first bluetooth/wireless unit was a revelation after the wired ones. We weren't in a tangle of wires to the bike and helmets. The sound quality wasn't as good (and still isn't), but good enough. We could even talk during gas stops. My wife would go in to pay (before widespread pay at the pump) and I could report the amount I pumped (or request a candy purchase!).

    All that love aside... The current crop of (what I've tried) are awful in so many ways. Expensive, fragile, overly-complex, disposable and user interfaces and software from the 7th level of hell. I long for something straight-forward, but they keep adding "features" rather than usability. The big brands have lower-end models, but they aren't much cheaper and mostly eliminate useful stuff (things I need like earbuds rather than speakers) while still having too many user interface and software "features".

    Had various Sena for years until they screwed me over with a non-responsive battery in a couple of units. So I went to Cardo. Hardware-wise, they seem a bit better, but they have managed to out-do Sena (at least the last Sena I had) in crappy user interface. And Cardo seems to be the instigator of the "featuritis" battle. There are literally button-press combination on the unit that do things I would imagine only single-digit percentages of users would ever want to do. And then only once or twice while they owned them.

    What would I like? A robust unit with only simple functions on the unit itself. and REPLACEABLE BATTERIES. I've complained to both Sena and Cardo about this obvious planned obsolescence and money grabbing scheme. I get back poor excuses about water proofness, when it has obviously been solved by other consumer electronics. Nearly anybody who has one of these will have a phone, and the more complex stuff should be done with the phone (when stopped).

    You should be able to disable functions and re-assign them to other buttons with the phone as well, allowing you to customize that limited real estate on the physical unit. This would allow you to have a custom user interface for simple one-on-one intercom or the fantasy "I want to have a moving motorcycle 'flash mob' with an ever changing group of random riders" use-case that they seem to think is common.
     
    cbush and ducnut like this.
  6. ducnut

    ducnut Well-Known Member

    I guess, it depends on your riding partner/group. The only two people I’ve synced up with are similar to me, in regards to interests, rider needs, etc. However, I went to a ride in the NC mountains with a pretty large group. I didn’t know those people, outside a forum and FB group. But, they mostly all knew each other. I didn’t bother to even bring it.

    My GF constantly talks, so that’s a hard “NO!”. I can’t handle it. The constant shoulder tapping and pointing at shit is bad enough.
     
  7. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member

    I'm charging mine right now. I love how it integrates perfectly in my Neotec 2. Had a little learning curve from my 5FM but I love it. I mainly use mine for music.


    [​IMG]
     
  8. Tristan

    Tristan Well-Known Member

    High fucking five on that
     
    beac83, tl1098 and Steeltoe like this.
  9. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    Me too, then mentally I go "yep" and move on :D
     
    R/T Performance and r1owner like this.
  10. PMooney Jr.

    PMooney Jr. Chasing the Old Man

    I was thinking the exact opposite :crackup:


    Truth.
     
  11. rymerc

    rymerc Well-Known Member

    I've had Senas and Cardos and still have them on different helmets for riding with different people.

    Sena is less frustrating for sure, freezes less, and responds faster to inputs. Also sound cancelling on my Senas is better than my Cardos.
    Cardo has better sound quality, better voice command response and gets louder. The packtalk bold buttons are tiny, and using them with winter gloves can be annoying and slow.
     
  12. skidooboy

    skidooboy supermotojunkie

    until you want to warn someone about danger, change of plans, directions, etc... worth their weight in gold. you dont have to chatter the whole time. I listen to music. Ski
     
    cha0s#242, lopitt85 and stk0308 like this.
  13. sharkattack

    sharkattack Rescued pets over people. All day, every day

    Your adding machine shows the exact number of issues I've had with my Sena 10S.
     
    rd400racer likes this.
  14. cha0s#242

    cha0s#242 Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand

    Kicking this up because I always update my software with the start of a new season and now the freaking app won't even find it through USB. Italian engineering sucks.
     
  15. nigel smith

    nigel smith Well-Known Member

    For the most part, this entire thread was incomprehensible to me, but this guy makes sense.
     
  16. backho

    backho Well-Known Member

    Expensive Bologna BBQ!
     
  17. skidooboy

    skidooboy supermotojunkie

    another reason to not update software, or firmware, when things are working correctly. Ski
     
    ducnut and cha0s#242 like this.
  18. Dave Wolfe

    Dave Wolfe I know nuttin!

    This man gets it!

    Right on brother!!
     
  19. surfingsk8r

    surfingsk8r Well-Known Member

    magneti Marelli

    Just saying. ;)
     
    cha0s#242 likes this.
  20. cha0s#242

    cha0s#242 Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand

    No shit, brah.
    I had a friend that owned a magnificent Ducati 999R Bayliss edition. The Magneti Marelli instrument cluster blew up twice in the first year of ownership, with 2 and 4 months intervals to get a new one...
     

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