communicator recommendations

thinking of getting a communicator. really liking the features of the SENA technoligies smh10 and it has great reviews. but, i dont know shit bout these things. do any of you guys know much bout these things. i would really like to know if the different brands will talk to each other. like if i get a sena, can i talk to my buddy on his chatterbox?

 

I got a sena for christmas and like it. Don't have anything else to compare it to though. Just use it to stream music from iphone, haven't had the chance to talk on phone with someone yet. I do know that sena and chatterbox won't communicate with each other.

 

My wife and I use the sena SMH 10. We love it. You can Bluetooth your smart phone to it. You can also pair up to 4 other sena users together so you can all talk to each other. I play music from my iPhone and when my wife talks to me it's fades the music out and her in then traditions back to music after 5 seconds of silence. (Sometimes that silence isn't soon enough lol). As far as the volume and quality of sound: while cruising around town my volume is low and clear and at highway speeds in wind I turn the volume up some and it is Loud and clear. If you turn the mic up into your helmet and closer to your mouth you'll never have a problem talking or the mic keying up due to wind. If you get tired of the mic going off (when your singing in your helmet) you can put your mic into a push button option. Just push the button to talk to your companion. You can receive calls if paired to your phone. I use mine to make calls through the voice call option on my phone.. I give it a 10 out of 10-

 

No, you can't. THe Sena SMH10 is a wonderful piece of kit, but nobody's communication system will work with any other brand's. I believe it'd be a game changer and would immediately shoot the new system to the top of the list, but nobody seems to be willing to go first.

 

I've got the Scala G4, it does all he same stuff. It's nice to be listening to music, take a call and have it return to your music. One speaker stopped working, and I found out recently they sell an complete mic and earphone kit for $50. I thought that was reasonable.

 

Got a Schuberth communicator system, powered by Cardo, and so far so good, pairs nicely whith my GPS system (TomTom Rider) and iPhone (3GS). I'm able to listen to the instructions from the GPS, answers calls ( whith the income call displayed on the GPS, that meanwhile imported the contacts list from the IPhone), listen to radio (6 FM stations whith RDS) or mp3 via any mp3 player and, of course, talk to my wife. So in case you dont have a Schberth helmet, My vote goes to any one of the Scala riders, whith especial preference to the G9.

 

+1 on Scala

NB Over in Europe coms system prices have been falling sharply but some are a lot more effective than others. Don't be tempted by a hardwired solution - the first time you get off the bike and nearly strangle yourself/pull the bike over - you will know why. For best performance and connectivity you want a Bluetooth 4 system, which talks to all the earlier Bluetooth versions (and loads of accessories like GPS and most smart phones) and has a much longer useable range up to 400 metres so does work for bike to bike coms and also rider/pillion. If you don't want an add-on system - there are now several helmet manufacturers offering built in coms systems like Nolan N-Com which will operate for at least 8 hours before it needs recharging.

 

Nice and clean fit! No more "beetles" hanging in the side of your helmet.

 

how hard is it to move the scala from helmet to helmet?

 

just to be more clear, what i mean is how hard is it to move the unit itself? not the mic and speakers. i figure i will eventually get extra mic and speakers since i have my helmet that i wear when riding to and from work and the one that i dont want to get all stinky for pleasure cruising.

 

The one in the photos is a SRC Schuberth (powered by Cardo) and is specific for that helmet model (C3 Pro). The communicators from Cardo itself, for example the G9, have a base that is attached by two bolts to any helmet and gets the bluetooth module plugged in. So as for your needs you may have two bases (with earphones ad mic) one for each helmet, and one module only that you can interchange between them.

 

Maybe 15 minutes. But you can get a second receiver/mic/speakers unit pretty cheaply, and then just move the control unit between helmets.