GPS pairing?

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I have a Garmin ZUMO 396. I also have a Sena SLR . I want to be able to listen to directions and also music on Pandora and from my cell phone. Maybe call home. I would like to be able to control as much as possible from the GPS. I haven't installed the Sena yet but reading the instructions telling me to push this and that button is going to be a problem for me. First of all wearing gloves, finding the button without seeing it, remembering what to push ect. Should I pair my phone to the gps then the gps to the Sena ? The instructions are confusing for a techno challenged dinosaur like me.

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Not owning either, but I think in general you pair your phone to the GPS (acting as "hands free kit") and then the GPS to your headset...
 

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Martin (@ST1100Y ) is correct.

You pair the Garmin device with the headset. Then, you pair the phone with the Garmin device. That will enable you to make and/or answer phone calls via the GPS device, in other words, controlling the dialing of the call or action to answer the call via the GPS touchscreen. You won't ever have to touch the Sena headset except to turn it on or off at the beginning of the ride, or if you want to adjust the volume of the headset.

Once you have paired the two devices to the GPS, if you bring the phone into proximity with the turned-on GPS, and your headset has not yet been turned on, you will get a message on the GPS screen advising you that you can't use the phone because there is no headset connected. The solution is to turn the headset on.

Michael
 

Andrew Shadow

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Pairing order does not matter as the GPS uses two different pairing protocols for a headset and a telephone.
I have also found that it doesn't matter in what order I turn these three devices on, they seem to sort it out for themselves and all play nice.
 
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Michael
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I think I can handle that. Does it matter in what order you pair the devices?
From a purely technical point of view, no, the order of pairing does not matter.

But, because you are new to the whole process, you might find it less confusing to first pair your helmet (the microphone & speakers, which comprises the "headset"), then once you have done that, put the helmet on (in your office or kitchen or wherever you are) and then pair the phone. This will enable you to listen to the system through the headset as you complete the process. Once you have paired the phone, you can then practice using it by having someone else in the house call your cell phone (you then see the notification on the GPS screen, and elect to answer it), and you can practice in the other direction by placing calls from the GPS/phone/headset to someone else in the house. This will also enable you to adjust volume on the headset, etc. so you get everything right before you go riding.

For what it's worth, though: You might want to think twice about actually answering (accepting) calls while you are riding. Even though I have 20+ years of experience riding with a GPS paired to a headset & phone (I used to beta-test for Garmin), and 40+ years of working as an aircraft pilot where I was always using a headset to talk with ATC, the other pilot, etc. while having to operate the plane at the same time, I have found that talking on the phone while riding a motorcycle is extremely distracting and really compromises my ability to pay full attention to the road & other traffic.

I don't make outgoing calls when I am riding the bike - ever. If I need to make an outgoing call, I pull over into a safe parking area and make it when I am stopped. I also don't answer calls when I am riding the bike. I look at the screen and see who is calling (this will be displayed if the caller is in the contact list of my phone) and I ignore the incoming call - I don't answer it. If I think that I really need to talk to whoever is calling, I pull over into a parking area and phone them back a few minutes later.

Michael

PS: Be aware that once you have paired the GPS with a headset, you lose the ability to control volume of the phone, music, and GPS guidance prompts via the GPS screen. You can only control volume via the volume control on the headset. Some - but not all - GPS devices will still allow you to adjust relative volume of different sources via the GPS screen (e.g. music at 60%, routing guidance at 100%, phone at 80%).
 
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drtyrrel
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I got everything hooked up and working. It took a while to get Pandora to work. Not sure how I finally got it working? Stopped by the shop that I bought it from and a young guy that said he was the techy guy was telling me I had to start it from my phone to get it to work. I said thanks and finally got it to load and start working by myself. The gps volume is louder than the music for some reason? I'll try messing with that tomorrow. thanks everybody.
 
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CYYJ

Michael
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The gps volume is louder than the music for some reason? I'll try messing with that tomorrow. thanks everybody.
If you press the volume button on the GPS when the headset is connected (meaning, headset turned on, nicely paired, you can hear things through the headset), you should see a control called "mixer" or words to that effect. It will allow you to adjust the volume of the GPS directions, music, and phone relative to each other. Just move the GPS directions slider down to 70% and see what that is like.

Michael
 
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drtyrrel
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I'm kind of getting used to the headset/ gps / cell phone. One time I could only hear music when I was going slow. Found out it was playing through the gps speaker not the head set duh. I'm not really fond of the Sena SLR set-up. It clips into the helmet nicely but the way the speakers mount into plastic holders I haven't figured out and easy way to space them out closer to my ears. The volume varies a lot when going at highway speeds down to a stop. Some songs I cant here the words and others are blasting at the same volume. It's also kind of a PIA typing in directions when half the letters are on different pages on the GPS.
 

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Michael
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Some songs I can't hear the words and others are blasting at the same volume.
That's not caused by a problem with the GPS or the headset, that issue arises because of how music is encoded into the MP3 format. There are solutions to that problem, but they are kind of complex and require that you re-encode the music on your computer, adjusting the levels so they are consistent.
It's also kind of a PIA typing in directions when half the letters are on different pages on the GPS.
That's an easy problem to solve. You can go to the 'Settings' page of the GPS, and in there you will find options for how you want the keyboard on the GPS to appear. You can have split screens (what you have now), which offer the benefit of larger buttons that can be pressed when you are wearing gloves, a standard keyboard all on one page in a QWERTY layout (like a computer), or a keyboard all on one page in an ABCDEF layout.

If you elect to have the keyboard displayed all on one page (QWERTY or ABCDEF layout), you won't be able to use it wearing gloves, and it will be very difficult to use it when riding due to the small buttons. But it will be easier to use it when you are stopped or at your desk entering data.

Michae
 
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drtyrrel
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Thank you Michael. I'll keep the keyboard the way it is. Doubt I could see the letters if they were smaller. I'll get used to it after a while.
 
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