In boat communications

[Sticky Fingers]

Great thank you. Just had a chat about this to the present Mrs Scala, we're going to order a set.

 

[Three Stars]

The Sena SPH10 batteries can be replaced. The mistake made by those who haven't been able to access the batteries seems to be that they've been trying to do so from the wrong side of the earpiece. The battery is contained in the RHS earpiece which is the one the charging cable attaches to. Remove the sponge earpad by twisting it slightly anti-clockwise. The Sena instruction manual shows how to do this. This reveals 5 screws with Torx 7 heads that need to be removed. Two of the five are longer than the other three so make sure you know which is which. The earpiece can then be opened up revealing the lithium polymer battery. I found a similar battery on the internet for £6.37. The physical size is crucial as they are a neat fit. My original battery was 423040 which translates as 42mm long x 30mm wide x 4mm thick. It was rated at 3.7V and 450mAh. The replacements I bought are 403040 but the same voltage and capacity. I couldn't release the plug on the original battery so cut the wires and soldered the new wires on to them and insulated the joins. Putting the whole lot back together can be fiddly but the whole job took less than 30mins. The set now works as new. The only time consuming job is finding the correct replacement battery from the hundreds available.

Best of luck!

 

[plumbob]

Here's another idea:
Big loudspeaker mounted as high up as possible. High volume, 500Db or thereabouts. Hear it in the next harbour.
Radio mike so skipper can bellow instructions to crew over loudspeaker without being impeded by wires.
Lots of advantages:
Skipper controls crew and can drown out their complaints/arguments/insults/threats of mutiny.
Crew is anxious to get things right first time to avoid the embarrassment of being bellowed at.
Very effective in locks - skipper can instruct lock-keeper how to manage the lock.
Attracts an audience (especially in locks) and makes skipper seem important.
Also can be used to complain about mooring fees when passing marina offices.
View attachment 111180
Maybe not.

We had a friend who had exactly this. On a Valcruiser 54 on the Thames. The best thing was when we were on a club cruise and he would announce happy hour at 6 on board to the whole river bank full of boats.

 

[TwoHooter]

Two friends have changed the batteries in their SENA headsets but I paid someone to do mine. Crucially it appears that these small Lithium batteries should be charged at a maximum of 1 Amp and it is the use of standard phone chargers delivering more than this that is one of the causes of failure. I bought a pair of 1 Amp chargers on Ebay and am hoping this will prolong the life of the new batteries.