Intercom configuration with Sena 20S


Technical information and Q&A applicable to all years and models of Goldwings
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BLSully
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue May 22, 2018 9:38 am
Location: Madison, WI
Motorcycle: 2002 GL1800 ABS

Intercom configuration with Sena 20S

Post by BLSully »



Hi all, I think this should be generally applicable to all Wings with an intercom system, so I'm posting here rather than the GL1800 forum, so forgive me if I miscategorized this.

Context: My wife will be riding with me occasionally on my Wing, and in those cases, I probably will not be riding with any others as a general rule. I'd like to communicate with her, and trying to figure out the most cost-effective method of doing so. Additionally it'd be nice to tie my 20S into the Wing's comms/radio

Current State: I have a Sena 20S, and the "easy" answer is buy her another 20S, but that seems like overkill for the 3-4 day rides she'll do with me in a year. And it doesn't give me any tie-in with the bike.

What I would LIKE to do: Get 2 of the Goldwing bases for the 20S, giving me a tie-in to the bike for my 20S, and put an "empty" base on her helmet and just wire it to the bike's intercom. The questions I have, though, is:

Will that let us talk to each other over the bike's intercom or only let her hear the radio/CB?
Will I still be able to talk to other people I have my 20S paired with?
Will she be able to hear what I'm transmitting over the 20S's connection?
Will her talking through the bike's intercom transmit over my 20S's connection to other riders in the group if they are present?

Reading the docs about the 20S's base unit it seems a touch unclear what the actual capabilities are. If she can't communicate with other riders through my 20S, that's fine as long as I can communicate with her on the bike's intercom. I'd just like to know what I'm getting into with ~$250 of bases instead of buying a single extra 20S for her and an extra base or a FreeWire to interface with the bike itself.


DarthJ
Posts: 302
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:47 pm
Location: El Paso, TX
Motorcycle: 1993 GL1500A Aspencade

Re: Intercom configuration with Sena 20S

Post by DarthJ »

BLSully wrote: Tue May 22, 2018 11:53 am

Current State: I have a Sena 20S, and the "easy" answer is buy her another 20S, but that seems like overkill for the 3-4 day rides she'll do with me in a year. And it doesn't give me any tie-in with the bike.

What I would LIKE to do: Get 2 of the Goldwing bases for the 20S, giving me a tie-in to the bike for my 20S, and put an "empty" base on her helmet and just wire it to the bike's intercom. The questions I have, though, is:

Will that let us talk to each other over the bike's intercom (Yes) or only let her hear the radio/CB?
Will I still be able to talk to other people I have my 20S paired with? (Yes)
Will she be able to hear what I'm transmitting over the 20S's connection? (Not sure)
Will her talking through the bike's intercom transmit over my 20S's connection to other riders in the group if they are present? (Not sure, but doubt it)

Reading the docs about the 20S's base unit it seems a touch unclear what the actual capabilities are. If she can't communicate with other riders through my 20S, that's fine as long as I can communicate with her on the bike's intercom. I'd just like to know what I'm getting into with ~$250 of bases instead of buying a single extra 20S for her and an extra base or a FreeWire to interface with the bike itself.

From what I can tell from what I've read about the base and the 20S, I out the answers I could glean up above
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