The bluetooth set up I use is a Cardo Freecom. It does allow you to conect 2 bluetooth sources, but be warned that you will miss the first few seconds of audio for radio calls as the bluetooth has to switch between sources. If you are really trying to cut cost and keep bluetooth you can use the Cardo Spirit for $100. Main reason I like the Cardo system is it uses a standard 3.5mm jack for the speakers so I can use ear buds rather than speakers for extra noise isolation.
Watching these helmet builds and the $$ spent on them almost makes me happy I fly mostly alone. I stuck a GoPro on a Giro bike helmet and done. I even flew without it once. I have now adapted that bike helmet to fit my Dave Clarks (no cutting required) and I carry the iCom A14 in a case on my lap.
Can you show how you did this? I have a spare set of DCs that I don't use for GA anymore and wouldn't mind mounting those cups to my paramotor helmet for easy airband radio access.
thanks for posting this cause my audio blows!!! well, literally and figuratively. I use the sena s10 with a splitter but still trying out different mics and dedCats
Am looking for a bluetooth headset for a motorcycle tour and we have been pondering range issues with the bluetooth. Am considering one of the cheaper headsets (fodsports/freedon/etc) that allow you to connect a uhf radio to the headset with a cable - have seen the cables with a PTT integrated for the handlebar - and just use the bluetooth to hear instructions from the satnav
Great video. I have a question about your setup. If I have the ICOM bluetooth capable transceiver, that will connect to the Sena device via bluetooth as it is -- is that correct? The reason I ask is that the SR10 is out of stock and Sena says there may not be any more available. So with the SMH-10 I can connect my phone OR the ICOM, but not both -- Correct?
The scena headset connects to two Bluetooth devices. The phone device gets priority and microphone input, so pair the icom radio directly to the Sena as a phone. Then you can pair your phone as a second device, it will not have microphone input but you can still hear music and alerts from it
I didn't catch why you have 2 radios? I'm working on improving my current setup and wanted to add a 2-way radio. I like that the first radio you talked about that had Bluetooth capability built-in. I'm leaning toward just getting that. I already have the Sena10 and am connecting to my phone.
The Bluetooth equipped radio is an airband (AM) radio. The other is a 2-way radio (FM). You are not supposed to use the airband for general 2-way comms that aren't related to flight ops.
@@tzgardner I do not, this the sena SR-10 Bluetooth adapter. It has the added benefit of piping audio from my phone into my helmet as well. The SR-10 combines my phone's alerts with the 2-way radio into the second of 2 available Bluetooth devices that can connect to my sena headset at a time.
Great video. I hooked up with Donald and Ryan and will be starting lessons this month at mojos (keeps getting pushed back by weather 😒 ), and will be looking for comms soon. With the wired set up, is there a way to still use this with a modern android phone that does not have a headphone jack? I only have the usb C connection on my samsung. I definitely want to use a flight tracker and anti collision since most of my flying will likely be done at Laney's and probably other airports.
I assume the usb-c to aux adapter would work, though I haven't tried it. Not a lot of people fly from laneys with ads-b while we're in the air, but happy to hear you're joining the fold! I'll see you out there soon I'm sure!
My son and I fly together and use the sena 10 to talk, but we have to be within about 200ft to actually hear each other. I have a Baofeng radio that i never use, but it looks awfully complex to hook the radio to the sena 10 between all of the cables and the push to talk. Does it give you better range? also, what ADSB app do you use? I am south of Tampa and with all of the post hurricane activity here i had three helicopters that were too close for comfort this weekend, that i decided the ground was the best place to be.
The baofeng gets several miles of range, and then goes through the Bluetooth sr10 hub to my helmet. For anti-collison, I use an app called radar2. It's android exclusive, from what I hear.
@@AveryFlies I understand that. I'm getting ready to do something similar, but I curious has to the wiring for the Yaesu connector (where your blue heat shrink is)
Hey Avery..1 question..on the cheap hardwired headset your amazon link clearly doesn't use the one you have with the trrs male plug and strecthy cord so which headset are you using?? Thanks
I'm confused, the Bluetooth vs hardwire helmets and the $117 "first helmet guide" helmets are two different builds, each with their own headsets. The cheap first helmet build uses a Kenwood plug specific headset for the baofeng UV-5R radio. That head set (Kenwood 2 pin plug, not trrs male) can be found here: amzn.to/3VQPTzc Hopefully that answers your question. The headset for the wired helmet in this video is listed in the Amazon links in the video description
@@AveryFlies Ok but in this video the Blue helmet has a trrs plug coming out...I have bought that headset but it doesnt have a TRRS..I was just trying to figure out which one you had in the blue helmet on this video..maybe you modified it to have a trrs male plug? The amazon link takes me to a bluetooth Lexin motorcycle headset
@@ScubaVapes I did not. The $117 cheap helmet guide is for a single radio connection, bare bones helmet with ear protection and communication. This guide shows a different helmet with a different headset that has a trrs instead of Kenwood plug. The trrs plug allows me to use a splitter to have audio from 3 sources at once. The two helmets are completely different builds to achieve different goals. Sorry for the confusion.
Dont use the threaded part of the bolt inside the helmet! You will lodge the bolt in your skull if you have a big bump! The bolt head should go inside and the threads and nut should go outside
If that happens, I probably deserved it 😅 the bolt and nut outside is more likely to snag though. I'll take it as is personally, but a good point nonetheless.
Not interested in selling it, but all of the links to the parts are in the TH-cam description. If I had to build it again, including radios, you're looking at about $900. I'd be willing to build you a helmet I suppose, drop me an email. My email address is in the about section of my TH-cam channel.
One is an airband AM radio for talking to planes, the other is a typical 2-way FM radio for talking to other paramotor pilots while flying. A lot of flying I do is from a small airport, but you don't want to chat with your buddies over the airband radio.
@@AveryFlies thanks for the reply. I'm just getting into the sport and had assumed most just use their Air Radio for communications between pilots and Airport while using a scan function to pick up important info. Possibly something like pick a frequency knot in use in your area and then scan the airport frequency for important info
@@granthones around the small airports you'll see ppg at, most chatter is just aircraft announcing their intentions since there's no control towers. That means it'll be full of things like "Davidson traffic, Cessna 9066P taking off runway 25 departing east, Davidson" and less "hey man check out this field over here! Ooh, climb a little and I'll get a picture of you!" You can see how people just talking on airband would get very annoying to the other aircraft who have to listen and talk on that frequency. So many people will either make phone calls or use a 2-way walkie talkie style radio for talking between other paramotors. You could use a frequency not in use locally, but finding one would be tricky, and if you step on other people's transmissions then the FAA and FCC would probably like to talk to you.
The bluetooth set up I use is a Cardo Freecom. It does allow you to conect 2 bluetooth sources, but be warned that you will miss the first few seconds of audio for radio calls as the bluetooth has to switch between sources. If you are really trying to cut cost and keep bluetooth you can use the Cardo Spirit for $100. Main reason I like the Cardo system is it uses a standard 3.5mm jack for the speakers so I can use ear buds rather than speakers for extra noise isolation.
Watching these helmet builds and the $$ spent on them almost makes me happy I fly mostly alone. I stuck a GoPro on a Giro bike helmet and done. I even flew without it once. I have now adapted that bike helmet to fit my Dave Clarks (no cutting required) and I carry the iCom A14 in a case on my lap.
They can definitely be pricey!
Can you show how you did this? I have a spare set of DCs that I don't use for GA anymore and wouldn't mind mounting those cups to my paramotor helmet for easy airband radio access.
Thank for this video. I gave up on AM airband, with all the ignition noise I was having. Maybe I'll give the Sena a try
Brilliant video mate, and thanks for the parts list
No problem! More helmet videos coming soon, subscribe for that 😉
thanks for posting this cause my audio blows!!! well, literally and figuratively. I use the sena s10 with a splitter but still trying out different mics and dedCats
Am looking for a bluetooth headset for a motorcycle tour and we have been pondering range issues with the bluetooth. Am considering one of the cheaper headsets (fodsports/freedon/etc) that allow you to connect a uhf radio to the headset with a cable - have seen the cables with a PTT integrated for the handlebar - and just use the bluetooth to hear instructions from the satnav
Great video. I have a question about your setup. If I have the ICOM bluetooth capable transceiver, that will connect to the Sena device via bluetooth as it is -- is that correct? The reason I ask is that the SR10 is out of stock and Sena says there may not be any more available. So with the SMH-10 I can connect my phone OR the ICOM, but not both -- Correct?
The scena headset connects to two Bluetooth devices. The phone device gets priority and microphone input, so pair the icom radio directly to the Sena as a phone. Then you can pair your phone as a second device, it will not have microphone input but you can still hear music and alerts from it
I didn't catch why you have 2 radios? I'm working on improving my current setup and wanted to add a 2-way radio. I like that the first radio you talked about that had Bluetooth capability built-in. I'm leaning toward just getting that. I already have the Sena10 and am connecting to my phone.
The Bluetooth equipped radio is an airband (AM) radio. The other is a 2-way radio (FM). You are not supposed to use the airband for general 2-way comms that aren't related to flight ops.
@@AveryFlies Do you know of a good 2-way FM radio with built-in Bluetooth?
@@tzgardner I do not, this the sena SR-10 Bluetooth adapter. It has the added benefit of piping audio from my phone into my helmet as well. The SR-10 combines my phone's alerts with the 2-way radio into the second of 2 available Bluetooth devices that can connect to my sena headset at a time.
Great video. I hooked up with Donald and Ryan and will be starting lessons this month at mojos (keeps getting pushed back by weather 😒 ), and will be looking for comms soon. With the wired set up, is there a way to still use this with a modern android phone that does not have a headphone jack? I only have the usb C connection on my samsung. I definitely want to use a flight tracker and anti collision since most of my flying will likely be done at Laney's and probably other airports.
I assume the usb-c to aux adapter would work, though I haven't tried it.
Not a lot of people fly from laneys with ads-b while we're in the air, but happy to hear you're joining the fold! I'll see you out there soon I'm sure!
@@AveryFlies yeah man thanks
My son and I fly together and use the sena 10 to talk, but we have to be within about 200ft to actually hear each other. I have a Baofeng radio that i never use, but it looks awfully complex to hook the radio to the sena 10 between all of the cables and the push to talk. Does it give you better range? also, what ADSB app do you use? I am south of Tampa and with all of the post hurricane activity here i had three helicopters that were too close for comfort this weekend, that i decided the ground was the best place to be.
The baofeng gets several miles of range, and then goes through the Bluetooth sr10 hub to my helmet.
For anti-collison, I use an app called radar2. It's android exclusive, from what I hear.
Did you have any wiring diagrams for the aircraft radio PTT wire?
On both helmets, I simply press the radio's ptt button on the radio in my vest.
@@AveryFlies I understand that. I'm getting ready to do something similar, but I curious has to the wiring for the Yaesu connector (where your blue heat shrink is)
Dude, this was a good video.
Thanks, I tried! I have a step-by-step how to video on building helmets coming out this coming week, get subscribed for that!
Hey Avery..1 question..on the cheap hardwired headset your amazon link clearly doesn't use the one you have with the trrs male plug and strecthy cord so which headset are you using?? Thanks
I'm confused, the Bluetooth vs hardwire helmets and the $117 "first helmet guide" helmets are two different builds, each with their own headsets. The cheap first helmet build uses a Kenwood plug specific headset for the baofeng UV-5R radio. That head set (Kenwood 2 pin plug, not trrs male) can be found here: amzn.to/3VQPTzc
Hopefully that answers your question. The headset for the wired helmet in this video is listed in the Amazon links in the video description
@@AveryFlies Ok but in this video the Blue helmet has a trrs plug coming out...I have bought that headset but it doesnt have a TRRS..I was just trying to figure out which one you had in the blue helmet on this video..maybe you modified it to have a trrs male plug? The amazon link takes me to a bluetooth Lexin motorcycle headset
@@ScubaVapes I did not. The $117 cheap helmet guide is for a single radio connection, bare bones helmet with ear protection and communication. This guide shows a different helmet with a different headset that has a trrs instead of Kenwood plug. The trrs plug allows me to use a splitter to have audio from 3 sources at once. The two helmets are completely different builds to achieve different goals. Sorry for the confusion.
On the wired setup does the airband radio take priority?
They all have the same "priority", there's no mixing system, every audio source can play and be heard at once. I just turn the air band up more 👍
Dont use the threaded part of the bolt inside the helmet! You will lodge the bolt in your skull if you have a big bump!
The bolt head should go inside and the threads and nut should go outside
If that happens, I probably deserved it 😅 the bolt and nut outside is more likely to snag though. I'll take it as is personally, but a good point nonetheless.
@@AveryFlies the nut outside won't snag if the bolt is flush with the end of the locknut, just a heads up to check your bolt length 😅
What’s the name of the apps you use?
Back when I made this video, it was radar2. Now, gaggle gives me traffic alerts like radar2 did and then some, so these days it's all Gaggle.
Hey bro, that's really an amazing setup. I love the handsfree Bluetooth comm setup you have. By any chance would you be willing to sell it....cost?
Not interested in selling it, but all of the links to the parts are in the TH-cam description. If I had to build it again, including radios, you're looking at about $900. I'd be willing to build you a helmet I suppose, drop me an email. My email address is in the about section of my TH-cam channel.
Thank you brother....I'll contact you...could i take down your contact number.
Curious, why are you running two radios?
One is an airband AM radio for talking to planes, the other is a typical 2-way FM radio for talking to other paramotor pilots while flying. A lot of flying I do is from a small airport, but you don't want to chat with your buddies over the airband radio.
@@AveryFlies thanks for the reply. I'm just getting into the sport and had assumed most just use their Air Radio for communications between pilots and Airport while using a scan function to pick up important info. Possibly something like pick a frequency knot in use in your area and then scan the airport frequency for important info
@@granthones around the small airports you'll see ppg at, most chatter is just aircraft announcing their intentions since there's no control towers. That means it'll be full of things like "Davidson traffic, Cessna 9066P taking off runway 25 departing east, Davidson" and less "hey man check out this field over here! Ooh, climb a little and I'll get a picture of you!"
You can see how people just talking on airband would get very annoying to the other aircraft who have to listen and talk on that frequency. So many people will either make phone calls or use a 2-way walkie talkie style radio for talking between other paramotors.
You could use a frequency not in use locally, but finding one would be tricky, and if you step on other people's transmissions then the FAA and FCC would probably like to talk to you.