Microphone Wind Noise

[eaglemrpaul]

I'd given up using my helmet intercom headsets due to the annoying crackling from the wind noise. I found a possible solution on a different forum that was posted years ago. It involves covering the microphones with a small balloon. According to the post the balloon could be placed over the microphone or over the microphone and foam muff. Either way it supposed to worked. Have any of you tried this and how well did it work? Is there even a better sollution out there? Yes my headsets are voice activated but at about 30mph there seems to be enough air hitting the muff covered microphones to activate them.

 

[cuznjohn]

something to ask you about your mic. have you pulled off the foam cover to see what way the mic is facing. on mine there is a place to gather the voice and the other side of it has a blank flat spot that faces into the wind. just check and see what way it is facing

 

[eaglemrpaul]

Mic direction

Yup, did that on both micrphone mounts. Replaced both microphone foam muffs too. I'm going to try the balloon idea. If it doesn't work it's an inexpensive experiment. Right now where I live the temp is around zero with a foot of snow on the ground. It's going to be a while before I can find a volunteer passanger to run the test.

 

[wyliec]

Do you have a full face helmet? I've found that even with a full face helmet that I sometimes have to reposition the mic to prevent the wind from activating our headsets.

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree: Your choice of helmet may be affecting the usefulness of the intercom... :shocked:
We'll tuck our mics further up into the helmets, when wind noise becomes too intrusive.
And remember; you're just not sitting in an enclosed environment... :dontknow:

 

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

I had that problem until i put my helmet on & pull my visor down:yikes:

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Hmmm

You also should be able to adjust the sensitivity of the voice activation so that it doesn't get triggered. I did this so that the slightest bit of comment, or singing of the words didn't activate the mic and interrupt the tunes.

 

[sealfloorboards]

I have lots of trouble with wind noise but my wife, Passenger, doesn't. I cut a small shield out of a plastic bottle and placed it "curve out" in font of the mike. Painted it black. Doesn't look bad, weighs nothing and helps a lot.

Ride in comfort,
John
Sealcreativeconcepts.com

 

[lyonsden]

I bought this and it helps but does not totally eliminate the wind noise. But it is better.

http://www.windsockwinddeflector.com/

 

[bmwlarry]

What com are you using? I have upgraded to the Sena 20S and have terrible problems with noise sounding like "nuts n bolts shaken in a tin can". I hear it even when stopped so it has nothing to do with wind. I have my second set returned at this time for replacement. When the 3rd replacement comes - I hope this fixes the issue!! I had problems with Scala and using the buttons but never had this "noise" issue I have with the new Senna devices!!!

 

[ThreeWheels]

If you are using the oem intercom, there may be no answer for you.
I always had trouble balancing the mic sensitivity.
Either the mic would pick up wind noise and drop out the tunes, or I had it so insensitive my passenger would have to speak in a very loud voice to activate it. Either way, it's just a poor system.
I went with the BRP (Sena) bluetooth on my 2014.

 

[ARtraveler]

The above posters have answered most of the questions that were on my mind.

Have had experience with both full helmet (Nolan 100 series) and flip down fact plate (no chin guard) type (Nolan 40 series).

Using either, we make sure the microphone is positioned inside the face plate (out of the wind flow) and as near to the lips as possible.

Have had experience with the following communicators: Nolan N Com, Chatterbox, Cardo, and currently Sena. We find the least amount of noise comes from the Sena units. Almost no noise at all from wind. Leaving the Sena unit "open" results in instant communication from :spyder2: to :spyder2: without having to break silence. Sometimes instant communication is a necessary safety factor.

Lots of choices and some work better than others depending...:yes:

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I'd given up using my helmet intercom headsets due to the annoying crackling from the wind noise.

Are you using the on-bike hard wired system? If so, take a close look at what Edsets.com has available. I have a Nolan 104 modular helmet and use his headset. The microphone is embedded in the foam of the chin bar and so is quite sheltered from wind noise. That plus adjusting the sensitivity works good.

 

[vintage]

This year I purchased UClear intercom system for myself and my wife..presently have them mounted in my modular HJC full face and my wife's CKK open face with shield, using them while snowmobiling , with no wind noise problems and clear communication, these units are boomless with the mikes in the earpieces, will be mounting them
in our steet helmets when riding the Spyder sometime soon.

 

[brerrabbit]

Wind noise in com set

We used the hard wired com set from Harley Davidson on our TriGlide. The noise was so bad we couldn't stand it. We have modular helmets and would put the boom microphones up inside the helmets with all the visors down and it was still terrible. My wife decided she was going to get a spyder so we needed a com system to do bike to bike communications. I researched it and decided to purchase the Sena SMH10. We chose these over the 20S due to the reviews were not as good on the 20S. I removed the Harley stuff and put the SMH10s in the helmets. We went for a ride, 2 up on the Harley, and at first we thought they weren't working because there was absolutely no noise. When my wife got her Spyder last month we used the new com system on our way back from the dealer, 106 miles, Still very quiet.

All this to say I don't think it is wind noise. I think it is possible the mechanical connectors 'scratching' or the wires picking up induction static. I think you may find burying the mic inside something makes no difference.

=bob=

 

[DJFaninTN]

first thing I'd do is make sure my mic was facing the correct direction.

 

[Pennyrick]

I'd given up using my helmet intercom headsets due to the annoying crackling from the wind noise. I found a possible solution on a different forum that was posted years ago. It involves covering the microphones with a small balloon. According to the post the balloon could be placed over the microphone or over the microphone and foam muff. Either way it supposed to worked. Have any of you tried this and how well did it work? Is there even a better sollution out there? Yes my headsets are voice activated but at about 30mph there seems to be enough air hitting the muff covered microphones to activate them.

You haven't responded as to whether this is a bluetooth or hard wired set up.

Initially we used the Cardo Bluetooth system for bike to bike but my wife complained about the crackling noise comparing it to crumpling paper. We moved to the SENA SPH 10 (same as the SMH except they are for half helmets and use boom mics) and there is no crackling noise present.

I too, believe your problem is not with the mics... I think it is internal in the system caused by interference somewhere around the machine or it may be inherent in the audio system itself.

If we don't hear any background noises with our bluetooth set up using boom mics I doubt whether using mics inside helmets that have more protection would be affected by wind.

 

[brerrabbit]

Sorry about the dislike flag

You haven't responded as to whether this is a bluetooth or hard wired set up.

Initially we used the Cardo Bluetooth system for bike to bike but my wife complained about the crackling noise comparing it to crumpling paper. We moved to the SENA SPH 10 (same as the SMH except they are for half helmets and use boom mics) and there is no crackling noise present.

I too, believe your problem is not with the mics... I think it is internal in the system caused by interference somewhere around the machine or it may be inherent in the audio system itself.

If we don't hear any background noises with our bluetooth set up using boom mics I doubt whether using mics inside helmets that have more protection would be affected by wind.

Sorry about the dislike, I guess I hit the wrong button.pps:

 

[WA5VHU]

20s Noise?

What com are you using? I have upgraded to the Sena 20S and have terrible problems with noise sounding like "nuts n bolts shaken in a tin can". I hear it even when stopped so it has nothing to do with wind. I have my second set returned at this time for replacement. When the 3rd replacement comes - I hope this fixes the issue!! I had problems with Scala and using the buttons but never had this "noise" issue I have with the new Senna devices!!!

The wife and I have Sena 20s units and don't have any noise problems. Check your Bluetooth paring, try clearing out any pairing and re-paring and/or try paring to something else such as another phone, etc.

Another issue we discovered with the 20s is when you do a software update you must do a "Reset to Default Factory Settings" and you might try a "Fault Reset", see page 46 of the manual. The problem we had was after an update the intercom microphones were hot all the time when we went on a group ryde and the constant noise was fatiguing plus the batteries died about 3/4 through the ride. The default reset recommended by Sena resolved that. The only issue with the reset is that you lose your settings, such as FM and phone presets and other settings.

Charles

 

[eaglemrpaul]

Mic Issue

The wife and I have Sena 20s units and don't have any noise problems. Check your Bluetooth paring, try clearing out any pairing and re-paring and/or try paring to something else such as another phone, etc.

Another issue we discovered with the 20s is when you do a software update you must do a "Reset to Default Factory Settings" and you might try a "Fault Reset", see page 46 of the manual. The problem we had was after an update the intercom microphones were hot all the time when we went on a group ryde and the constant noise was fatiguing plus the batteries died about 3/4 through the ride. The default reset recommended by Sena resolved that. The only issue with the reset is that you lose your settings, such as FM and phone presets and other settings.

Charles

I own a 2012 Spyder LTD. There is so much wind coverage on the LTD that I opted for 3/4 helmets. I'm using the Sena SM10 bluetooth and the SMH10 headsets. Everything works fine until I get over 35 MPH so I don't think it's interference. The idea of covering the front of the mic sounded interesting. Temps are going to be in the 50s here next week so time to do some experimenting. I found some normal size balloons and tried slipping it over the mic. I could tell that wasn't going to work so did some more investigating on the net. Found an interesting post from a Gold Winger that had success by cutting the tip of a finger off a surgical glove. I just happen to have some of them around. I cut the tip off the pinky finger of the glove and slipped it over the mic. Perfect fit. Then slipped the foam mic cover muff over that. We'll see what happens. It's an awful cheap fix if it works. I'm thinking that it we have to talk too load to activate the mic I can punch some pinholes on the user side of the latex glove. I want to try it without the holes first. Just need a few days of warm weather and a little rain to clean the roads. They're white with salt dust around here. I'll report back after the test.

If that doesn't clear the problem I'll try your factory re-set idea. I think that has some potential because the first season of riding with the SENA's I wasn't having this issue. I'm sure I've done a couple of updates since then without doing the complete factory re-set.