Sena 30K - Trying To Connect Music Source AND GPS At The Same Time

[Uncle Phil]

I have tried multiple times - following the 'owners manual' instructions for the BlueTooth connection.
I can get the GPS connected via the 'GPS' setting they recommend via 'second mobile phone pairing'.
And I can get the MP3 player via a BT dongle to connect via 'media selective pairing'.
What I can't get done is to have both audible at the same time having checked all the device settings available.
Anybody ever pull this off without using a cellphone?
What I want is for the music to play and the GPS to give instructions as need be.
Whether the GPS 'temporarily' silences the music or not does not matter.
This will make my setup on the UK rental bike a lot easier.
Ideas?

 

[ST1100Y]

Methinks that's the issue with having only two BT-chipsets (hence only two channels/pairings)...
One pairing is reserved for intercom/bike2bike (or the Mesh adapter?)
The other for one additional source...
I run the Sena Freewire to transmit the hardwired tunes + GPS audio (all 3 bike-powered) to the SLR-II(I)...
If I unintentionally leave the phone's BT on, will that override/terminate the Freewire pairing entirely...
(yeah, and then I have to "reboot" the whole system: ignition OFF, helmet OFF, phone BT OFF, helmet ON, ignition ON -> "media connected", OK now I can take off... )

Maybe (and if you don't need intercom/mesh) you can pair one source (like the GPS) as "universal intercom" instead?

 

[Uncle Phil]

Methinks that's the issue with having only two BT-chipsets (hence only two channels/pairings)...
One pairing is reserved for intercom/bike2bike (or the Mesh adapter?)
The other for one additional source...
I run the Sena Freewire to transmit the hardwired tunes + GPS audio (all 3 bike-powered) to the SLR-II(I)...
If I unintentionally leave the phone's BT on, will that override/terminate the Freewire pairing entirely...
(yeah, and then I have to "reboot" the whole system: ignition OFF, helmet OFF, phone BT OFF, helmet ON, ignition ON -> "media connected", OK now I can take off... )

Maybe (and if you don't need intercom/mesh) you can pair one source (like the GPS) as "universal intercom" instead?

I've tried that - I can get both 'paired' but I cannot hear both at the same time.
I've even played with the 'Audio Multitasking' setting with no success.
IIRC, with the 30K it appears that mesh is a different 'deal' from the Bluetooth connections.

 

[tonythecarguy]

In Sena land it seems the only mixing that can happen is between intercom and one (at a time) bluetooth channel. ( that is what is controlled by the audio multitasking settings) Exactly what you are experiencing. On very rare occasions I have been able to get two bluetooth audio streams to switch back and forth but never constantly. I think pairing the dongle as the primary phone and the gps as the gps would be your best hope. But from what I've tried its going to be frustratingly flaky. I've solved this by using the gps as the music player. I don't remember what OS the chinavison GPS uses. Maybe there is a music player app for it.

 

[Uncle Phil]

In Sena land it seems the only mixing that can happen is between intercom and one (at a time) bluetooth channel. ( that is what is controlled by the audio multitasking settings) Exactly what you are experiencing. On very rare occasions I have been able to get two bluetooth audio streams to switch back and forth but never constantly. I think pairing the dongle as the primary phone and the gps as the gps would be your best hope. But from what I've tried its going to be frustratingly flaky. I've solved this by using the gps as the music player. I don't remember what OS the chinavison GPS uses. Maybe there is a music player app for it.

That appears to be the issue so it is designed that way I suppose.
The original model 30K (old USB micro) allows the aux input jack from the base to work.
The newer 30Ks (USB C) dropped the FM function and inactivate the input jack though it is still in the base.
So worse case, I BT the GPS and carry the MP3 in my 'pocket' with the Sena wire from it into the base.
I was hoping to eliminate the headset cord on the UK rental bike but looks like that can't happen.
I found a very good BT dongle on Amazon that works well with my ancient MP3 player through the process.
With it, I could plug it into my audio mixer on my ST1100s and do away with the helmet cord.
The battery in it is supposed to be good for 15 hours and has a volume control and a small screen that lists BT devices available.
Thanks to all for the inputs!

 

[Daboo]

Bluetooth devices have only two channels. You have to decide what to connect to.

In the summer, I have the GPS, the XR, the BT dongle on the Uniden RD and my phone to connect to. I only get two, so I have to decide. I set it up with the GPS and BT dongle connected. The connection to the XR is just duplicating what the GPS gets. The phone goes through the GPS.

If I connect my BT headset with another rider, it seems to take away one of the BT connections. So the Uniden drops off usually. Then I'm left with the connection to the GPS and the connection to the other rider. It's been awhile since I've connected with another rider, so I might not be totally accurate on that.

With my hearing aides, it again is two channels. I can connect to the TV, the laptop, the tablet and the phone. I only get two channels, so I have to pick and usually turn off the BT on the devices I don't want to connect to.

You might want to see if there's anything else in the area your devices might be connecting to that makes a difference. My TV's BT connection will pair with anything nearby that responds. My neighbor has a Rivian and it has several BT connections that my TV seems to like.

 

[Larry Fine]

It may be helpful to delete all pairings and connections and start from scratch.

 

[Uncle Phil]

It may be helpful to delete all pairings and connections and start from scratch.

Already done that - it did not fix the issue.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Bluetooth devices have only two channels. You have to decide what to connect to.

In the summer, I have the GPS, the XR, the BT dongle on the Uniden RD and my phone to connect to. I only get two, so I have to decide. I set it up with the GPS and BT dongle connected. The connection to the XR is just duplicating what the GPS gets. The phone goes through the GPS.

If I connect my BT headset with another rider, it seems to take away one of the BT connections. So the Uniden drops off usually. Then I'm left with the connection to the GPS and the connection to the other rider. It's been awhile since I've connected with another rider, so I might not be totally accurate on that.

With my hearing aides, it again is two channels. I can connect to the TV, the laptop, the tablet and the phone. I only get two channels, so I have to pick and usually turn off the BT on the devices I don't want to connect to.

You might want to see if there's anything else in the area your devices might be connecting to that makes a difference. My TV's BT connection will pair with anything nearby that responds. My neighbor has a Rivian and it has several BT connections that my TV seems to like.

Different problem - I can connect both devices at the same time as the 30K allows 2 BT connections.
The issue is trying to be able to listen to both connections at the same time.
It appears that the Sena 30K is not built to do that without using a cell phone in the mix - which I do not want to do.

 

[ST1100Y]

The issue is trying to be able to listen to both connections at the same time.

What about first pairing the MP3 dongle as [phone] to the GPS? (Does it even loop music through?)
Then you'd need to set the audio priority within the GPS that the voice prompts have priority over the "phone"; does such work?
Seems ideal: music playing, muted while audio prompt, music fades back in...

 

[Uncle Phil]

What about first pairing the MP3 dongle as [phone] to the GPS? (Does it even loop music through?)
Then you'd need to set the audio priority within the GPS that the voice prompts have priority over the "phone"; does such work?
Seems ideal: music playing, muted while audio prompt, music fades back in...

The GPS only has an 'outgoing' BT connection, no incoming.
As I always say about BT - when it works it's great, when it doesn't it makes no sense or reason for it.
If it wasn't such an hassle, I could connect one of my amp pre-mixers, BT to via dongle, and that would work.
But for two weeks, it just ain't worth the hassle.
The last thing I want to do is to have to do the 'BT Dance' with multiple devices every time I stop and turn stuff off.
The BT GPS connection can be set to 'auto connect' which keeps it pretty clean.
And the 'wired' music will work with no issues other than slight inconvenience of having a player in your pocket.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

I've solved this by using the gps as the music player. I don't remember what OS the chinavison GPS uses. Maybe there is a music player app for it.

Putting the music files on the GPS and using the GPS as the music player instead of a separate MP3 player as stated above works well with my Garmin GPS and the Sena 20S Evo that I have. The music resides on the GPS and the GPS plays it and sends it to the Sena. The GPS will automatically and seemlessly mute the music when it is giving voice prompts and then fade the music back in when the voice prompts stop. You don't need a separate Bluetooth channel connected to the Sena to play the music this way. Maybe that is an option with your GPS as well.

 

[Daboo]

I went back to your first post. This seems to be the gist of it.

Anybody ever pull this off without using a cellphone?

Yes.

What I want is for the music to play and the GPS to give instructions as need be.
Whether the GPS 'temporarily' silences the music or not does not matter.

Load the MP3 files to the GPS. Works great every time. No mess. No fuss.

Chris

 

[Uncle Phil]

I went back to your first post. This seems to be the gist of it.


Yes.


Load the MP3 files to the GPS. Works great every time. No mess. No fuss.

Chris

I have way more music than my simple GPS can deal with.
Works for you but will not work for me and my 'equipment'.

 

[Daboo]

I have way more music than my simple GPS can deal with.

And how much can you realistically listen to?

Works for you but will not work for me and my 'equipment'.

The solution is simple. You just need to make a choice on what's important to you.

Chris

 

[Uncle Phil]

And how much can you realistically listen to?


The solution is simple. You just need to make a choice on what's important to you.

Chris

A lot of music when you are in the saddle for quite a while.
I was hoping to go 'unwired' but that seems not to be an option on Sena without getting a phone involved.
But you never know until you ask (after you've tried all the documentation says).
Sometimes you get a solution that works really well that others have discovered through experience not documentation!

 

[Daboo]

What's the max SD card size for your Chinese GPS? A Zumo XT officially supports 64 GB. Unofficially, it supports 256 GB. That's a lot of music. Even if you don't put all your music on there, you could put a year's worth of music on there. If short on space, cut the quality down some. While the quality is noticeable sitting in your living room, we're only fooling ourselves if we think we can appreciate the higher quality recordings at 60 mph in a helmet with earplugs in. And if we don't use earplugs, we can't hear the difference. And if we can hear the difference and are paying enough attention to the music, to appreciate it...we aren't paying enough attention to the road.

I don't expect you (or anyone) to be like me. I laugh when I think about it. I have a short playlist of Hillsong and Michael W. Smith. I can (and have) listened to those same songs for tens of thousands of miles. The nice part about a motorcycle helmet for others is they can't hear me singing.

Chris

 

[Nashcat]

Wireless earbuds, under your helmet. Earbuds for music. GPS thru speakers.

John

 

[Uncle Phil]

At the end of the day, I was hoping to come up with a simple "Sena" solution without copying, buying, etc. to get rid of the helmet cord.
The 'cord' solution works without buying anything, copying anything or adding anything.
The GPS BTs to the Sena and the helmet cord (which I already use) goes to the MP3 player in my pocket.
I was hoping that if you BT the MP3 player as a 'music player' and the GPS as a 'GPS' (as Sena says) it would work.
As a computer tech for 50 years I'm pretty good at reading and following exactly instructions - and often finding out they don't work!
When it didn't I was hoping someone here had discovered the 'secret handshake' to make it work - hope springs eternal.
Since the Sena connections won't play at the same time, then what it is is what it is.
Thanks for all the input that confirms I didn't miss anything in the instructions.

 

[ST Gui]

A lot of music when you are in the saddle for quite a while.

This.

Having all your music (or a metric tonne of it) with you allows the ability to listen to anything that strikes your fancy.

Some people listen to only the same few things all the time. A playlist or three can cover those bases. Others may want the option to go from Merle to Shostakovich to Buddy Holly or Stevie Ray Vaugh or Miles. Who knows. While I've found random play doesn't work really well on a 65G catalog it can still dredge up a long lost nugget that's a pleasant surprise. The only playlist I have is labeled 415Music. The rest is song or album or shuffle. Choice is good.