Newbie Needs Advice On Comms

[Questions]

Hello All !!
I am a new rider and Spyder owner, just turned over 1000 miles 2 weeks ago,
having owned the 2012 RT Ltd.(I think) since last may.
I want to install a comms system and with all the reading Ive done here and elsewhere
that I probably want/require the Bluetooth Dongle. I belive that needs a special entertainment
harness. what I am uncertain of is how to determine if I already have the needed wiring harness
or need to purchase with the dongle. From what ive seen it appears you need the dongle regardless of brand of comms.
I am pretty sure I want to go with the sena's although I saw where they are coming out with a "20" version.

Any corrections, or insights would be appreciated.

Thanx

 

[KAPike]

I have the Sena SMH10 Bluetooth intercom. I use the bluetooth feature to communicate with my passenger and use my iPhone for telephone and to listen to my music. I don't have or use a BRP dongle on my 2012 RT. I am not able to listen to my Spyder radio, but there are lot of threads here to do that. There's a couple of vendors on SpyderLovers that sell the Sena and would be more than happy to walk you through it.

http://senabluetooth.com/product/intercoms/smh10/

 

[DJFaninTN]

get in touch with Motorcycle Dave. he is the guru on all things communication and has some killer pricing :thumbup:

 

[finless]

You do not need the entertainment harness to have BT and hear the radio, etc.

The BRP BT module and cable will hook to either the Entertainment harness if you have it, or directly to the radio. The kit comes with 2 cables to do that.

If you have CB or XM radio then for sure you have the entertainment harness. If you don't have those then you don't need the entertainment harness even if you have it! Well unless you plan to add the BRP XM radio. Note: you cant have CB and Bluetooth at the same time.

You can make a dongle cable to plug into your radio and plug in a off the shelf Sena SM10 to that and be good to go. This will save you over $100 on the BRP kit.

See this:

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...-wiring-to-the-BRP-radio-Make-your-own-Dongle!

I swear I need to make a definitive Bluetooth post explaining all this as I do agree there are several threads about this all with different information.


Bob

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I want to install a comms system and with all the reading Ive done here and elsewhere
that I probably want/require the Bluetooth Dongle. I belive that needs a special entertainment
harness. what I am uncertain of is how to determine if I already have the needed wiring harness
or need to purchase with the dongle. From what ive seen it appears you need the dongle regardless of brand of comms.
I am pretty sure I want to go with the sena's although I saw where they are coming out with a "20" version.

If you want to use BRP stuff you can have Bluetooth, or you can have CB and intercom, but not both. The BRP intercom capability is part of the CB radio and has to be used with wired helmet headsets. To install the CB you must also have the entertainment harness, which would be on your machine if you have the XM radio or have helmet headsets. If not, then you probably need to buy the entertainment harness.

Now, if you don't want CB you can add the Bluetooth and use the BT helmet units to communicate with your passenger. Also, some helmet headsets, like the SMH10 will communicate with up to 2 additional riders on other bikes, providing all riders have compatible units.

So, exactly what you have on your bike now, and what do you want to accomplish?

 

[finless]

FYI to have wired helmets you also have to have the entertainment harness AND the driver comm harness.

The entertainment harness has the passenger 5 pin DIN plug for wired passenger helmet. Then there is a comm harness that plugs into the entertainment harness and runs a 5 pin din up to the driver (between the switches) and hooks to the PTT button on the handlebars. Then you also need the passenger helmet harness that hooks the wired passenger helmet to the 5 pin din on the entertainment harness. This cable also has PTT for the passenger. FYI the 5 pin din on the entertainment harness mounts to the knock out hole on the left side passenger hand grip panel. This is where the passenger wired helmet harness plugs into.

So to have wired helmet comm, you must have the entertainment harness AND the comm harness for the driver. You also need the passenger PTT helmet harness.
When you have this you and the passenger can hear the radio and/or XM radio over the wired helmets and talk to each other using PTT (Push To talk) buttons.

Bluetooth eliminates a lot of this!

I know this all sound complicated but it really is not.... I need to do a video or something

Bob

 

[NancysToy]

What do you want from a comm system? Intercom, radio in your helmet, CB capability, phone connection, XM, iPod? What you want will dictate what you choose. For simple intercom there are several good choices. Most systems can add phone, auxiliary inputs, etc. Getting the Spyder audio to your helmet can also be done a couple of ways. There are both wired and wireless systems available. I like the Sena units for wireless and the Starcom1 for wired, but there are others. Explain exactly what you want to achieve, and whether you prefer wired or wireless, and we can make some suggestions. We use Starcom1 wired systems connected to the Spyder audio via a hi-lo converter wired to the rear speakers.

 

[Questions]

Thanx Everyone !!!

Wow !! Thank You so much for all the info.
I will try and answer all ?'s generically.

I do not have factory CB, NAv, or Intercomm wired or otherwise.
I do have the ipod connection, passenger audio, and factory am/fm.

I want to be able to hear the bikes entertainment selection thru the helmet, along with
wireless comms. with passenger, cell phone comms., and outboard comms. with others via radio.

CAn you point me to contact ifo for MotorCycle Dave DJFaninTN ?

I read on sena's site that they are coming out soon with an smh 20 I think it was.
Anyone have any ifo or thoughts on that ? or the usefullness of the radio to radio vs the CB option ?

Thanx again for the advice !:bowdown:

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Wow !! Thank You so much for all the info.
I will try and answer all ?'s generically.

I do not have factory CB, NAv, or Intercomm wired or otherwise.
I do have the ipod connection, passenger audio, and factory am/fm.

I want to be able to hear the bikes entertainment selection thru the helmet, along with
wireless comms. with passenger, cell phone comms., and outboard comms. with others via radio.

CAn you point me to contact ifo for MotorCycle Dave DJFaninTN ?

I read on sena's site that they are coming out soon with an smh 20 I think it was.
Anyone have any ifo or thoughts on that ? or the usefullness of the radio to radio vs the CB option ?

Thanx again for the advice !:bowdown:

Sounds like you're already on the right track! You can do everything you want with the Sena products with one limitation. Bike to bike communications will be limited to two or three other bikes. I don't remember the details on Sena products. You can add XM and GPS and hear those over the BT system. The only thing you won't be able to do is add CB communication. The only benefit of CB is the unrestricted number of other bikes you can communicate with. I added CB simply because I'll continue to ride with the local Goldwing chapter, and most of them have CBs.

There are other BT products out there such as from J&M, but I don't know how they compare to Sena in price and capability.

MCDave contact here http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...NA-20S-(THE-NEW-ONE)&highlight=motorcycledave