Sena SR10

[Montyburns]

My father and I have been using Senas for bike-to-bike communication for a couple of years now. While we're happy with them overall, their lack of range can be frustrating at times so we've been looking at the new SR10 as a way to get some additional range (ie. using fmrs radios for communication rather than bluetooth). Does anyone have any experience with them?  I'd love to get some user feedback before putting down another $400.

[Cablebandit]

Range on most of these things is line of sight.  We used FRS before switching to the Sena's and they didn't seem to have much more range unless you're on a dead flat road with no elevation change, turns, etc.  Throw a twisty road through the mountains in the mix and they have  very little real world range.  If you get that far out of range slow down and wait, or call you father on his phone through the Sena.  That's the only way you'll get more real world range, assuming you have a cell signal.

[jeepinbanditrider]

Look on ebay for some of then Chinese 5-Watt VHF and UHF radios.  To be legal you have to get a ham lisence but they arepretty easy to get and you can run external antennas on the bike for more range.

Even with the rubber ducky you can hit a repeater and get some serious coverage  

[crispiegee1]

I own a Chatterbox GMRS X-1 and found the range to be stellar.

My friend Tim and I did an experiment: We were splitting off to go in opposite directions - I headed south on Transit Road in Depew, NY and he headed east and north on Broadway and up Central Avenue toward Clarence. We estimated that we were fully five miles apart by the time our signal was deteriorating.

People have asked why range like this is needed. I like it because you may need to split up on your bikes or have distance between your locations, but don't want to drop out of touch. What a great advantage on a curvy road or in a wooded area. Maybe I don't need five miles of range, but I want more than a line of sight.

Here's a map of the area, if you care to look. It's dense, suburban environment, with lots of houses and buildings that separated us.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1G1ASUT_ENUS423&q=broadway+%26+transit+road&gs_upl=377l7096l0l7696l28l26l2l5l4l0l311l3274l0.4.9.1l14l0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89d30ae12bce6909:0x5bcbeb07db987031,Broadway+%26+Transit+Rd,+Depew,+NY+14043&gl=us&ei=V4QDT6ruKOXV0QGzxaS5DA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CB8Q8gEwAA