I have tried searching for ways to connect a Sena communication system to a car’s infotainment system, but I have had no luck thus far.
BHPian MiSiMa recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Greetings folks,
For some context, whenever possible, I prefer to use my motorcycle for road trips. However, my family and friends usually use their cars, so our trips typically involve one or two motorcycles and one car.
Currently, I am planning to buy my first communication system for my rides, and I am considering products from brands like Sena and Cardo. However, while this would solve the communication issue with my riding buddies, communicating with the car would still be a problem.
I have tried searching for ways to connect a Sena communication system to a car’s infotainment system, but I have had no luck thus far. I have come across information on using portable radio sets to fulfill this purpose, but there are not many details available on how to set up the system.
This is why I am reaching out to the more experienced members of this forum to ask for advice on reliable ways to establish communication between a motorcycle and car. Please let me know what specific products you have used in your setups.
Here’s what BHPian libranof1987 had to say on the matter:
I’ve thought of this, since there are times I join rides in the car.
Here’s a possible solution, although I haven’t tried it out myself: the Sena base unit has the AUX option for sound in/out. Perhaps that can be hooked up to a speaker/mic unit, and can be connected to the Sena on the bike via Mesh/BT.
The Sena 50S base unit has the AUX options; I don’t know if other Sena models / Cardo do.
Get the Sena Dual Pack, since you’ll need two full units; the 50S dual pack should cost you 45-50k.
Here’s what BHPian aargee had to say on the matter:
I’ve long thought about this as I’m in need of such a requirement & could not find any suitable product in the market. The closest ones that I can think off are Zello & CB Radio Chat which are based on PTT; even if its useable by people in car, I’m positive not suitable for motorcyclist
What I think needs to be done is to create a mobile app that allows 2 way communication using Bluetooth. Problem is, all the Bluetooth enabled speakers in the market these days do not support pairing more than one device at a time although Bluetooth technology is capable of connecting up to 7 devices for older version & up to 10 devices for Bluetooth 5.0
Technically, using a speaker enabled with Class 1 Bluetooth 4.0 will be able to connect typically up to 300 feet & is to be paired with a mobile phone {for people in car} & another Bluetooth enabled speaker at another mobile {at the rider end}. The mobile needs to have an app running connecting to other mobile devices using client-server architecture to exchange the communication. This way I can think of accomplishing your desired outcome. Scaling wouldn’t be hard to accommodate over many vehicles as well with the only limitation that everyone should be within the 300 feet of distance.
Here’s what BHPian karanddd had to say on the matter:
Can you not stay on a phone call with the person in the car? As long as your and the other person’s phones are being charged on the go (which is achievable), the battery drain shouldn’t be too bad. Calls are free in most mobile plans, right? If you don’t want to use your primary phone, each of you can buy a four thousand rupee dumb-phone, get a cheap prepaid plan with unlimited talk time, and just call each other. The call may drop after an hour and a half (people who’ve been in long distance relationships know this), but you can just call again. And if there are multiple people who want to be on the same channel, you can use Whatsapp group call or Discord. I believe Discord lets you create a channel in which up to 25 people can simultaneously be on a call; people use it to collaboratively play video games all the time and it works quite well. This of course requires data. In places whether there’s no data, a more elaborate option could be walkie talkies (which is what car reviewers seem to use when driving separate cars). Some walkie talkies come with headpieces (with mic and earphones) that may or may not fit under your helmet. Cheers!
Here’s what BHPian Axe77 had to say on the matter:
It would be helpful to understand how exactly you want to use the comm system – I.e. how frequently – is it for round the clock chatter or from time to time occasionally on a need basis.
On curated rides in the mountains where I’ve ridden with the xplorearth team they’re usually operating a mix of backup trucks and bikes both. What I’ve seen is that their primary means of comm is via high end radio units (check any of their videos on insta and you’ll see the units mounted on the bikes). But this principally allows coordination when the bike halts (I think). Its also essential for decently long range and communication when regular phone signals fail.
In addition they also have Sena / Cardos, which I guess they use amongst the bikes. Note that the range of a Sena / Cardo is also much lesser than what I assume the range of these high end radio units must be. I’m also not sure if this kind of a radio setup requires any special permissions.
Frankly, unless you’re venturing into remote no-signal areas, a simple low tech solution could be for the bikes to be mesh connected via SENA and if on occasion a car needs to connect to any of you, just place a telephone call to the rider. My view is these Sena / Cardo type devices have reasonably modest range which is subject to the further variable of clear line of sight / range – not conducive to using with a car (I’m speaking off hand, have not specifically researched this).
Keyword: Motorcycle-Car Communication during rides: Which product to use?