Conversion of Motorcycle Bluetooth Headsets to Boat Headsets....

[Sumner]

We were looking for an option for good communication between the helm and the bow of the Endeavour as we plan on anchoring most always. Previously we had bought a pair of headsets for a little under $100 that you see advertise for boating. We personally didn't find them to be very good as the reception was not always dependable and/or clear. We bought a Suzuki 650 V-Strom for road trips in 2016 and at that time bought some rather expensive ($300 for a pair) Bluetooth speakers and mics for our helmets. They work great and are well worth the money.

You can also get them in a headset model, but then we would have to spend a bunch of money all over again. After thinking on it, I got to thinking I might be able to use a pair of Harbor Freight noise reduction earmuffs and attach the Bluetooth controller, speakers and mic to the ear muffs.



Above is one of our helmets with the Sena parts in place... here ...



... the parts have been moved to a $3.00 Harbor Freight noise reduction pair of earmuffs.

The mic and earphones had Velcro all ready attached to them for the helmet application. I cut some Velcro tape and used it to hold the earphones in the muffs and also the mike to the outside of one muff. Electrical tape was wrapped around one side of the crosspiece between the mutts to make it thicker. Then the control unit was slid on and held with the same hardware that holds it to the helmet. This isn't a cheap build if you need to buy the Sena Bluetooth parts, but if you ride a motorcycle and already have the Bluetooth gear for less than $10 you can convert it to work on the boat and when back home again move it back to the motorcycle helmets. It only took about 15 minutes to convert the HF earmuffs. We have tried them at home and they work great so should also work fine on the boat.

I have a little more on the conversion here....

Endeavour Electrical page 1

Sumner

[petermjdavies]

Try SENA SPH-10. No fiddling required.