Sena SMH10R

Let's begin by way of explanation... I live in Utah. Almost everything is built on a grid square - it's one of the great things the pioneers did. Every major city settled by Mormons has a church building of some sort as its center--Salt Lake City's building is an LDS temple whereas many other cities were "centered" around a tabernacle - a large building (much larger than a standard congregational building). From there, streets were numbered in 100's for every block north, south, east or west. So someone who lived on, say, 52 South 400 East lived on the street 400 East, about a half a block south of the central building's cross-road. And 400 East runs north-to-south.

Confused? No matter - it's not the subject of this blog.

Not all of Utah is a snap to follow. For instance, who knew there was a Naples, UT--or a Bluff? Who knows how to get to Hovenweep National Monument (without a map)? I'm often fumbling for directions and I like to drive (and ride) as distraction free as possible, so I usually have Google Maps running (my car is 12 years old - fantastic sound system and a good navigation system, but the maps are old and missing a lot of more recent roads - my house, for instance, is not on a 'digitized road' as the navigation system likes to remind me). It's all the more important to me on the bike that I have good directions readily available. This is one reason I bought a Sena SMH10R Bluetooth headset.
 
 And I kid you not, I swear this thing is more complicated than the Space Shuttle... It has more options for pairing with other headsets, Bluetooth-enabled devices, etc. (there is even a Sena device that will connect to and control a two-way radio).

When I purchased my Sena, it connected with my Nexus 5x phone without any issue. Music was playing right off the bat, but I couldn't get turn-by-turn directions to play through the Sena device. Nor could I get it to work when I also connected my Nexus 7 tablet (which I intend to mount in the windscreen, just about the instruments, so maps are readily visible).

Some experimenting led me to the solution:

1. Connected the Nexus 5x
2. Went into settings for the Sena SMH10R bluetooth connection
3. Enabled everything
4. Went into settings for Google Maps
5. Selected "Play Voice over Bluetooth"
6. Shut down the device
7. Powered back up
8. Connected to the Sena SMH10R
9. Bingo - turn-by-turn through the Sena

Next, I connected my Nexus 7 tablet (which is also running the latest Android OS). The first time I did it, I connected it as a multi-point device as per page 15 of the Sena owner's manual. I could never get turn-by-turn directions to come through the headset, though. Finally, I deleted the Sena device in the tablet's Bluetooth connection panel, then put the Sena into phone connect mode (not multi-point mode), and then connected. Once I enabled "Play Voice over Bluetooth" in Google maps, I was happily hearing maps through the Sena device again.

So, recapping

1. Connect to the Nexus 5x phone as above
2. Put the Sena into phone connect mode (first option in the Configuration menu)
3. Connect the Nexus 7 tablet
4. Go into Bluetooth connections and enable the Sena Bluetooth connection for everything
5. In Google Maps' settings, enable "Play Voice over Bluetooth" 

Away you go...

Having trouble following that? No worries. This is the current Bluetooth connection settings dialog on Android OS:

And this is the options dialog for Google Maps:

 
Some people worry about the distraction of having a GPS connected to your helmet, but it's honestly not distracting. Having Google tell me well in advance where to turn, and in which direction, is actually quite settling. The voice is not intrusive, I can still hear traffic (if I'm not wearing ear plugs), and I'm not panicking trying to make a quick right across a lane of traffic. I call that safe.

Now - an electronic tablet will NEVER replace a good map--and I will always have a map with me. When I'm deep in the backroads, I'll also have an independent, battery-operated GPS unit to use with my map. The tablet's nice, but it's no guarantee. Nothing can replace good route-finding skills, especially the further you get from civilization.

The Sena offers 7 DAYS of 'standby' time (time where you're not talking), and 10 HOURS of talk time (which is great if you're paired with another rider in intercom mode).