Here at CalSol, safety is our #1 priority. For several months now, we have had to make do with handheld walkie talkies for communications between Impulse and the accompanying safety caravan. This system has given us many a headache because of problematically low sound quality which had no chance competing against the noisy clicking and whirring of our NGM SCM150 motor at low speeds and the wind at high speeds. With clear communication being one of the best defenses against the possibility of unsafe situations, we started to search for new methods of relaying messages between Impulse and the caravan.
That was when CalSol reached out to Sena Bluetooth, a company that sells wireless vehicle communications devices. CalSol has recently partnered with Sena, our newest bronze level sponsor, and we are now proud owners of Sena’s superbly designed SMH10 Bluetooth headset and SR10 two-way radio adapter. These high-end devices allow our drivers to not only communicate wirelessly with our caravan, but also listen to exhilaratingly clear sounds from two-way radios, MP3 players, and even Bluetooth phones, radio, GPS devices, and other Bluetooth headsets if we so desired. Sena’s well thought-out and easily installable Bluetooth headsets have proven to be very comfortable and reliable and have been given the thumbs-up from our solar vehicle drivers. Now all that remains is to test them on the road from Rochester, NY to St. Paul, MN in the 2012 American Solar Challenge! Thank you very much to Sena Bluetooth for their generous donation and allowing us to safely and comfortably participate in this year’s ASC!