Sena 10C Thoughts and Ongoing Review Update 6th May/2016 - Update 10/09/2016

Purchased a Sena 10C helmet intercom/camera unit yesterday from The Adventure Bike Shop.

Been using a Sena SMH5-FM for a couple of years now....  mainly for GPS and music.... not really one for phone calls while riding/ driving as you should focus on the road and not.... well you choose... hair/make-up/dinner/on tonight the list is endless, unlike your life expectancy if you keep a phone to your ear while driving.

The 10C is about twice the size of the SMH5 but its by no means big or bulky.... there are two mounting option in the box... a simple stick on pad which you slide the 10C into so alignment is critical as there is no rotational adjustment with this option... strangely enough after looking at the "lines" of the helmet... (Shoei Neotec) fitting it parallel to the base worked perfectly.... the 10C itself has 30 deg of  "horizon" adjustment to keep the video "level"....  The sticky pad option means the unit sits really close to the helmet so unlike the Go Pro its hardly noticeable as a camera....and the "sticky" was my preference with the SMH5....

After my first test ride/video I realised that the pad cannot be placed forward enough on the helmet, being a flip front, so the view ended up being more left hand side than middle of the road due to the helmet curvature...

So... I removed the sticky pad and fitted the 2nd option of the narrower, bulkier, clamp on unit
that has 360 deg vertical adjustment.... and surprisingly this only adds about 10mm to the mounting width...  Camera alignment looks more centered but will not know until testing tomorrow... now it clamps on adjustments will be simpler. As a comment you can point the camera rearward but you cannot flip the picture, so it will record upside down...

As the cabling for the 10C is the same as the SMH5-FM I just plugged in my existing mic/speaker set up, rather than faff about, so will be keeping the new, boxed, ones as spares.....

First, real, problem... lovely little shortcut/cheat sheet for the "which button do I push/hold" but nowhere does it mention that when connecting to a computer you have to turn it on (all I ever needed to do with the SMH5) and then turn the camera on too to access the SD card....  might be a simple thing but had to check the forums to find this out because the Sena updater, on my laptop, had recognised it and updated the firmware.... but no "drive" was showing up on screen.

Second, possibly a, problem... The Sena android app... nice little page full of slide buttons that let you know/adjust the state of the camera but no live view.... so there is no way to check the "framing" of the video/photo..... not a good idea Sena...  sending a photo to the app/phone for alignment purposes can't be that difficult... even a low res black and white would be better than nothing...

Third, sooner or later it will be a, problem.... there is a little rubber protective cap for when you are not using the camera but the lens is not replaceable and there is no cover/ protector when in use...

Early days and not edited down anything yet...  so will be adding thoughts and vid,s etc as I go

Reading a few comments about the Sena 10C from around the web and many people are complaining about the battery life when using the camera being far less than spec...

Initially slow charged mine via the laptop, as i think a fast initial charge is never a good idea, and have now recorded nearly three hours of video..... What I did find was that the camera turned itself off at around two hours.... It has an auto off feature that kicks in at 20% battery level so the intercom keeps working rather than you have a "dead" unit..

But half an hour later, when i had stopped, I checked the battery level and it was showing 3/4 full.... So I turned the camera back on again and recorded another 1/2 an hours worth of video...

Repeated this once more until the camera would not stay on with an indicated 25% battery left..... guess it might be more to do with the way the camera drains the battery.... sort of a deep discharge problem... and, who knows, once the battery has been through a few charge/discharge cycles it might even get better...

But more than happy with the total recording time I ended up with before having to recharge the unit... so to all with a 10C.... the auto off on the camera might be like a fuel gauge... whats on the gauge might not be whats left in the tank...

Still having lots of wind noise so need to play a bit more with the mics location - its hidden in the left hand cheek piece padding at the moment but might give the boom mic a try...

First try did not work so.. second go round...
Short video to test quality and "how do you put music on these things"

Video works in the preview but cannot see it on the published page... please let me know if you can/cannot see it..... and if you can the quality has really dropped from the uploaded file so may end up with a link to the original... P

Time lapse Video...
Recorded a "Ride home including shopping" video using the time lapse feature. You have a choice of 1 or 10 seconds and tried out the one second option first..

The results looked pretty sharp but do think that the one second time frame only really worked in the slower sections and feel that the 10 sec option might just end up as a blur at normal road speeds...

So the first one is saved at half speed (equalling the 0.5 second option that the Sena Prism has)

And the second is at the, pre-set, one second rate....

 So which do you think is better?...

Its not as simple as "lets just turn on time lapse" as you really need to understand what end result you are actually after... A nice slow cruise down a country lane may well come out better than a blast....

Sena don't do a car mount for the 10C yet, a missed opportunity in my opinion, but using the "sticky" mount with a dash type holder would work..

But if your pointing it out of, say, a hotel window I'm sure that you will get some amazing extra  holiday memories..

Update 06/05/16
Been having a bit of trouble with the sound recording..

The initial problem being sorted by fitting the 10C speaker set up supplied in the box... Guess there  wired different to the "5" set up that I had left in the helmet, thinking... same fitting so I'll use 'em...

 Have just found that the wires are damaged at the mounting point... must have caught them somewhere... So a new set is on the way from Amazon.. (Amazon Prime is worth it for just the next day postage... let alone the videos and music...)

Above is a good still shot that shows what can be achieved by pressing the photo button as you trundle along (many I have taken don't show the number plate quite as clearly)....

Really want to try a remote but no not like the unit that clamps onto the grip... Poorly thought out placement if you have short fingers... so will see if a wristband one turns up on eBay...

A better idea, to me, may be just a simple box with three buttons on it that mounts over top of the left-hand switch gear... The three buttons being an intercom push on push off (with led) - a video push on push off (again with led) and a photo button (with a led flash/flashes to confirm photo taken)...

You could have a fourth button for the intercom or volume but once you set/activate these you don't often change them...

Update 10th Sept 2016
Not used the camera as much as I thought I would...  It is brilliant as a "record the evidence" camera but the videos captured on my last holiday I did not feel good enough to post..

Had been hoping a firmware update would improve the overall image quality but none have to date..

It's not that I regret buying the 10C as it does exactly what I bought it for... Record the idiots and speed up the insurance claims...

Its just that I am considering buying a second camera for better/sharper quality images... Like the newer Garmin virb unit, as have a Zumo 350 and the Go Pro units are superb.... just don't like the "box" style shape... so will have a look at the latest group of "lipstick", with remote viewer, type units...

Would I buy another 10C... Yes... for all its short comings... its always there... intercom, radio, Mp3 and camera... It's part of my helmet now and I would not take it off, apart from when I use it hand held...

Happy Snapping Folks.
P

Merry Doh... Cool Sunglasses... Short GW2 Story..

Merry Doh was pissed... She had fought hard to win those sunglasses... and now they lay there... smashed....

Oh she had certainly smashed the Ogre that had smashed the sunglasses.... but there she was looking down at them in despair.

Do you know how hard it was to get these she screamed, to the sky....  try killing the mega destroyer.... without them.... your retinas... toast....

Fluffy, simply, preened himself beside her.....

You're not helping either.... but he just ignored her and carried on grooming himself... well a panther has got to look good to, after all....

She liked fluffy....picked him up in the eternal battlefields... not usually a world verses world player but on the day she found him she was glad she had...

Well I suppose its back there again, she thought,  hate that hell hole... damn lava really dries out my hair...

Better swing by the Royal Terrace, maybe MF some stuff to make gold for supplies... couple of star cakes be handy too...

The Mystic forge (or Massive Toilet as its more often called) can reward you with some excellent items even a precursor for your legendary but more often than not it just churns out junk...

Merry remembered one go round where she put in four knights gloves only to get a knights glove back....of the same level...

Buy 4 get 1... now that's the sort of offer the merchants would love to be able get away with..

She pulled the Royal Pass out of her pack and instantly she was standing in the forecourt of the terrace.. Quick check with the Seraph Tinkerer, repair armor, then up the ramp to the forge and crafting areas.

Merry put a few lesser blues in and got a named great sword, which was promptly sold...

Had a bit of a clear out in the inventory to.... Not a cook so that can go and that... Hmmm Omniberries.... better not... they'll just end up on my hips..... I'll stick with the star cakes...

As she now had funds she decided to waypoint straight to, rather than gate and run across the map, to the furnace that is Mount Maelstrom..

The only saving grace in all this was that she had already helped the merchant there so it was not a case of clearing out all the Fire Spiders before he could sell to her.... should be a simple in and out this time...

But Merry arrived at the magmatic waypoint just as it was shutting down because the Fire Elementals were storming into the camp... damn should have checked the timer on this....quick visual found two commanders here... brilliant.... no problem then as lots of cavalry arriving soon....

She was a fighter not a leader... loved to help.. loved to run around and support anyone in need so was always glad when others took up the commander role.. 

But it did mean that she would stay and have another go round with the Mega Destroyer as he pops up not long after these Ele's are cleared...

Merry dived in with a great sword combo and body parts start coming off every where... Fluffy takes out another coming up behind her and then a Zerg just whirls straight past nearly taking her head off....

Zerg's... pile in hot... fall over dead.... that always made her laugh...

She might take longer using the PVT stuff but she took less damage to, and using the Celestial accessories gave her an edge, as they offered health benefits she would not otherwise have...

Not so many turned up to help so it took a while to clear the camp..... but, at the end. she wandered over to Blork and bought a new pair of sunglasses.... nice, similar, but just not the same..... Still looked very cool when she wore them....

Guardians have there polished helms... Thieves there leather ones ..... but none looked as cool as Merry in those sunglasses....

Time for the tunnels.... the Mega Destroyer awaits...

Rules of the Road....

First rule of the road.... Everyone else is an idiot...

Second rule of the road...... Your an idiot for going out on a 
                                                        road full of idiots...
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Another scorcher of a day...  So it's out on the Uly again....

Headed up to the north Norfolk coast via Thetford and Swaffham.... so a bit of a convoluted route to the Kingfisher cafe on the coast road in Wallcott and the, nearby, Happisburgh light house.

Started out as a nice ride but the ever increasing traffic and decreasing levels of driving ability did detract from this somewhat....

Caught up to one guy, early on, who was a "40mph is my speed"... so 40 he did... in 50mph limit roads... along 60mph roads...... and through 30mph villages.....

As I was using the "shortest route" option on my Garmin it was taking me down all the back roads... which is always my preference.... but up in Norfolk the driving is a bit last century....

Now I can live with the locals going slow because, at least, their consistent.... and they don't swerve away when you pass....

But the Tourists who are trying to avoid the permanent queue that is the coast road, in summer, or any main road in that area, are a different story...

4x4's barrelling towards you expecting you to go up a bank to get out of there way are common, as are the "lets blast down this narrow "straight" road n screech to almost a standstill for the slightest of bends" brigade... found more then a few of both types today

First real idiot, though, was a nice X5 (bl**dy ugly things) driver who was so impatient that when the car in front of me slowed to let a car pull out he overtook the pair of us... luckily the driver pulling out must have been a local cos he had not even started to move before the X5 flashed past in front of him.... No idea what the X5 driver was thinking off but he was one very lucky man...

And when coming back along the A140...... I came across (I so want to say massive here) idiot number two

Long queue of cars n me behind another "Mr 40 mph" on the Suffolk  "50mph" half of the 140... Not to many cars coming the other way so, slowly, people overtook him....

Were down to three cars behind him then me just as we hit the Mendlesham straight section.... So I gear up to follow the other cars past....... when he slows down n indicates to turn in next to Scholar...

Can see his "high level" lights through the windscreens of the cars in front of me...

But Mr "I've got a flash Audi" behind me just pulls out and passes the lot of us...... He needed a bit of the grass to do this mind you.... because "Capt slow" had started to turn...  He stopped.... Mr Audi did not... He just disappeared off into the distance... probably to get home for a clean pair of skids... Idiot... lucky, lucky idiot.....

I'm watching in front of me but he must have started past us the instant he saw no oncoming traffic down the straight as a second later and he would have been rolling down the road, or over the hedge....

Nearly bought a the new Sena 10c helmet cam the other day... wish I had now as posting video's of today's events would have been fun.

Hmmmm...  Maybe I'll get one tomorrow...

Clean Your Bike.... Pfft....

Been moaned at two days running for not having a clean motorcycle..... (been moaned at many, many times, for this, the truth be told)

Pah.... there for riding not cleaning....

The engine may be a Hardly Movable but it not a "lets bolt on some shiny bits" sort of bike..

Mind you have not been into cleaning/ polishing.... well..... ever....

Growing up in a scrap yard you get to see a lot of vehicles that had been lovingly looked after, only to end up as scrap for one reason or another....

My brother liked to spit and polish things and he ended up owning some very unreliable vehicles as he did not always worry about oil changes etc....

Anyhoo... being moaned at....

A member of the Buell Enthusiasts Group has been helping me with my electrical problems and he sent me two ECM's to try.... one, standard, unit with the newer BUE2D map and a "tuned" but older BUEZD map....

He also mentioned that the "tuned" map was the same as one he did for "Dave" the owner of Northants V Twin... Which gave me an idea on how to do a test on the two units..

So I plugged in the "tuned" ECM and headed out to see "Dave".... it's about 70 miles from mine to where he is.... so a good distance for a test ride.....

The "tune" gave much more power from tick over to mid range than my standard BUEZD map, with the top end being quite similar.... but, then again, all the Uly's real power is in the lower/ mid grunt as 90hp at the crank leaves less at the rear wheel for top end speed...

In fact the improvement in bottom end pull away power was very impressive... Pulled up to a T junction, and as both ways were clear, I pulled out.... in the wrong gear (3rd rather than 2nd) and it simply just pulled away... no knocking, stalling, complaints.... just solid power... VERY nice...

But it did vibrate different.. had a constant buzziness to the bike.... and a, sort of, misfire/ rough running in slow moving traffic (15 -25mph range) which made riding at those speed quite uncomfortable...

Made me think the IAC valve was not working properly

Win some...Lose some I suppose..

Arrived up at Northants V Twin both impressed and thoughtful..

The shop is well worth a visit as they are an old school, back street, motorcycle workshop run by real V twin enthusiasts...

Great little Cafe/ Burger van just inside the gate.... a very practical workshop space... and the friendliest bunch you are ever likely to meet...

Dave is a star and a Buell Ulysses rider.. Swapped a few stories and he asked some questions on the mods I've made to mine...

But Julie..... you could have cleaned it... she said.... smiling... She did like my seat though...

So it was time to swap out the ECM for the standard BUE2D.....

10 seconds of fluffiness then it settled down into a nice even tick over...... pulled out and into the traffic.... no problems with roughness... pulled nice and clean...  softer power than the tuned map.... but much nicer to ride....

Enjoyable ride home, with  a really smooth engine...  at any rev's... liking the BUE2D mapping.... lots of popping on decel... but that's normal for a Buell...

And the upshot of this is that I am keeping the Standard ECM and sending back the tuned one.. would not have bet on that that morning..

So today... out for another ride as it's a really beautiful day here... Sun is out... Sky is blue... and the tarmac is calling my name....

Came across this little bike show so pulled in for a look..... bumped into and old friend.... who said... "Could have cleaned it"..... Pfft... so I left to play on a few more bendy roads....

Happy riding all... Whatever you ride...

To all those who ask "why"...... Religion and its ever changing philosophies.....

Don't know if I'm writing to many of these but the present problems do worry me... but if it continues then all comments of this type may be removed by the religion that "wins out" anyway....

If you need to believe in something then that's fine.. but the ability to appreciate (acceptance is not necessary) all other viewpoints is a must for a peaceful cohabitation in our small, rapidly changing, evolving and slowly dying world...
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We all, well the vast majority of us, seem to need to believe in something..... as otherwise why are we here... why do we exist...

This has been used by those who say  "I'm/ we're right - your wrong" brigade ever since mankind began.....

We only know what we see, read or are told.... But just because you hide/ destroy/ ridicule something does not mean it did/ does not exist/ is not true...

Just because you destroy a building does not mean that it was not built in the first place.. you just lose its beauty and the knowledge of how it was built.....

If you destroy a statue.... it was still made.... all you are doing is stopping others seeing its beauty.... and, again, you lose the chance to learn how it was built....

The majority of religions that have "won" incorporate something the "new" religion finds "useful"

The world was flat... then it was round...

The world was the "all powerful" centre of the universe... then it was just  another planet revolving around its sun

Did Jesus say "Eli" or "Allah".... the answer to that question will be written by whichever religion is left for in truth the truth will never be known...

The world was made in seven days.... my take on that is that the "earth" being one of his earlier attempts took a little longer.... one viewpoint on why there are so many planets out there... billions and trillions of planets made in  seven days... (He did not rest.. he collapsed in a corner....) who would believe that... (but if you get told something enough times...) and how big must this guy be....

But the usually answer to the above is "He must be even more powerful than we thought"... get a grip.... Get a life..... Get.... you chose this one....

Scientists may have proved how old the earth really is, only for some to say "he must be older than we thought"

There is simply no winning with a viewpoint that has, by definition, no proof of definition.

I have my own beliefs in who we are.... how we co exist... what we put into the world.... and a single "Deity" does not do it for me.... Belief in a narrow viewpoint does not do it for me either.... And belief in a controlling "some people are worthless" viewpoint definitely does not do it for me.

Even the simplest of person can have an earth shattering idea...

Does this single "Deity" have any family.... or were we created out of his loneliness

Myself being nearer to, but not completely, an agnostic, can NEVER find out if I'm RIGHT.... as if I am there is NOTHING....

But if you believe in a religion that promises an afterlife of any kind then you can NEVER find out if your WRONG.... because if you are wrong there is NOTHING....

As stated in a previous posting - this is why I question any religion that promises any type of "eternal" afterlife..

At least in the Muslin theology there is the belief in creationism with the option of "coming from the sea" and the sciences are not ridiculed as in Christianity, amongst others.

But Christianity now values the input of women rather than hiding them away/ ignore them..

How old are "modern" religions

http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/religion101/2012/10/how-old-are-the-religions.html

A few "forgotten" religions

http://listverse.com/2013/10/04/10-forgotten-ancient-religions/

How many religions, since time began, have been "lost" because of no written language... 

How many religions have been wiped from history by war or famine or disease....

How much knowledge, how many wonderful inventions, have been lost and not re learnt... and the beauty of those created items melted down to make something else...  lost.....

Earlier in the post I stated that the "winning" religion often incorporates thing into itself that the "controlling" factions find useful.... But, as Newtons third law, this also means that it missuses other parts.. i.e.

http://www.islam44.net/2010/03/islam-is-not-1400-years-old-religion.html   (Way to go use something from another religion that proves your point, and age, that can never be proved/ disproved)

This makes for interesting reading as "if" Jesus, Moses, Joseph were previous "prophets" then how can a christian etc be an infidel as they are following their "Prophets" paths..

"All praise to Allah" is also questionable as "the only way"...  if he is a prophet of God then surly the cry of "All prise to God" is the "cry" for any monotheism religion.

And to be honest if you live there "forever"... what would you do after you have done it all a thousand times...  is boredom the major cause of the suicide in heaven....

To coin a phrase... show me a stunningly beautiful wife and I will show you a husband who is bored bedding her..

Show me a friend and you show me a lifetime.... but multiples and multiples of lifetimes and you are bound to find a "toothpaste in the middle" or "toilet seat up again" moment or three....

Love the oft found phrase of  "God is uncaused and uncreated — He simply exists." this just adds credence to me for the  "God I'm bored.. lets create trillions of planets.. but only one bunch of humans, as that's all that's needed to "evil" it all up" 

I love riding my motorcycles... even my temperamental Buell Ulysses.... and can not think of a better way to go out of this world than on one.. maybe as Mr Clarkson once said.... backwards and on fire....but even if its by a texting driver who must care so little about anyone else but him/her self to be texting in the first place.... 

To be done... to be over might just be better than eternity to be bored in....

Last thoughts... 

Hell.... Pain is only in the mind... and believe me it can be switched off (not saying its easy but it is not impossible)... Any torture that goes on long enough in the "now" world turns into something else and there's always the people that enjoy pain and degradation... how can "Hell" improve on that...

Last Last thoughts... I suppose with all these trillions of planets there is somewhere someone could send us to for another go round.. you get past life regression in "this" world but not heard of "other world" regressions...

So searched and found this....

"More than 90 million Americans have lived past lives on other planets, astounding evidence reveals!"

From... http://weeklyworldnews.com/aliens/13711/alien-in-a-past-life/

Gotta love the Americans... Gotta love that we need to believe in something... shame its just not us..