An intercom connectivity conundrum: Stihl procom and Sena systems

[TaxusBaccata]

Looking to finally leave the frenetic land of shouting and exasperated gesturing for the genteel and serene world of intercommed arb work.

 

The issue I've got is that I sub for several firms, some of which use Sena and some of which use Stihl procom, so I need a kit which can connect to both.

 

The internet says that the procom system can work with systems from other manufacturers which use a mesh 2.0.

 

Unfortunately, the most common sena model in my sphere of the arb world is the 10R which is pre mesh.

 

My first question then is for a confirmation from anyone who has tried to use procoms with sena 10R that they definitely don't work together?

 

I decided the solution was to go with a more recent sena model with mesh connectivity, which could hopefully thus communicate with both procoms and the older 10R, so I bought the Sena 50S. However, after unboxing I realised that this is far less suitable for attaching to my petzl vertex vent helmet than the 10R, for the following reasons:

- both earpieces come wired together as a single kit so cannot be threaded through the vents

- the main unit is designed to clamp or glue on to the edge of the helmet, but this is impossible on the petzl vertex because of the thick lip. It could also be glued but the vertex has a flanged curve at the edge which prevents enough contact between helmet and the unit.

- An extra issue is that the 50S unit is pretty bulky and has a pointy corner which looks destined to be forever getting caught in the tree. (This would not be a deal breaker in itself and would be the case for all other helmets).

 

Second question: has anyone overcome these issues and managed to install the sena 50S or similar model on a petzl vertex or similar helmet?

 

Assuming the answer to this is no, I'm thinking my best option is to resell the 50S and replace it with something else.

 

But what? The other sena systems which have mesh connectivity (e.g. 30k) look like they face the same issues as the 50S.

 

Question 3: is anyone aware of any other intercom systems which can connect with both the sena 10R and stihl procoms?

 

Failing this, it seems my only options would be to replace my helmet with something else (anything but protos - had one but didn't get on with it at all) or do some highly inadvisable and intrusive surgery on my vertex in order to install the Sena 50S.

 

Any relevant advice appreciated.