Radios

[VERN391]

Looking for advice on a radio setup. Using it for short course and tracks up to 4 miles in length.
Interested in manufacturer suggestions ?
Radio upgrades worth the investment ?
Car antenna needed ?

Any other advice, never really used them most I have been around seemed to take quite a bit
Of maintenance.

HELP


Vern

 

[VERN391]

Looking for advice on a radio setup. Using it for short course and tracks up to 4 miles in length.
Interested in manufacturer suggestions ?
Radio upgrades worth the investment ?
Car antenna needed ?

Any other advice, never really used them most I have been around seemed to take quite a bit
Of maintenance.

HELP


Vern

 

[rugged1]

Hey Vern, hopefully I can help out a bit.
First of all if you're going up to 4 miles, you'll want to get a 50 watt radio to handle that distance. Handhelds are great in certain applications, but have limited range. Almost every 50 watt radio we sell is a Vertex VX2200 mobile radio. We've had great luck with that manufacturer, and trust those radios in even the harshest conditions. As far as radio upgrades are concerned, there's not really anything I would suggest. Our radios are always programmed with over 40 of the most common offroad channels, but if you have any custom ones, we can always program them in for you prior to shipping. It's not really an upgrade, but I would of course suggest getting a harness system that would allow you to transmit over the radio while wearing a helmet. What I would direct you towards is the single seat offroad harness. It allows you to connect a wired helmet to the radio, and have a PTT button on your steering wheel which keys the radio when you hold it down. When it comes to the antenna, we pretty much always suggest a 1/2 wave VHF whip antenna. It's able to be mounted directly to your roof through a small 3/8" hole. This way gives better reception due to the flat metal roof providing what's called a "ground plane". However, if you don't want to mount to your roof, we have antenna mounts that clamp directly to a roll bar. Suggestion: it's always best to mount the antenna to the highest part of your vehicle.

As far as maintenance, when the radio is installed properly, You don't really have to do any maintenance at all. If you have to wash the interior of your vehicle, I would suggest covering the radio with something to stop water from being sprayed directly at it, but other that that the radio simply needs to be turned on, set to the right channel, and you're set.

 

[VERN391]

Hey Vern, hopefully I can help out a bit.
First of all if you're going up to 4 miles, you'll want to get a 50 watt radio to handle that distance. Handhelds are great in certain applications, but have limited range. Almost every 50 watt radio we sell is a Vertex VX2200 mobile radio. We've had great luck with that manufacturer, and trust those radios in even the harshest conditions. As far as radio upgrades are concerned, there's not really anything I would suggest. Our radios are always programmed with over 40 of the most common offroad channels, but if you have any custom ones, we can always program them in for you prior to shipping. It's not really an upgrade, but I would of course suggest getting a harness system that would allow you to transmit over the radio while wearing a helmet. What I would direct you towards is the single seat offroad harness. It allows you to connect a wired helmet to the radio, and have a PTT button on your steering wheel which keys the radio when you hold it down. When it comes to the antenna, we pretty much always suggest a 1/2 wave VHF whip antenna. It's able to be mounted directly to your roof through a small 3/8" hole. This way gives better reception due to the flat metal roof providing what's called a "ground plane". However, if you don't want to mount to your roof, we have antenna mounts that clamp directly to a roll bar. Suggestion: it's always best to mount the antenna to the highest part of your vehicle.

As far as maintenance, when the radio is installed properly, You don't really have to do any maintenance at all. If you have to wash the interior of your vehicle, I would suggest covering the radio with something to stop water from being sprayed directly at it, but other that that the radio simply needs to be turned on, set to the right channel, and you're set.

 

[VERN391]

I'm looking for the driver/crew chief set up not the mobile chase vehicle set up. I see 3 levels of packages on your site. What do get for the extra $$$$ ? I will need helmet/car harness/crew set up.

 

[rugged1]

Ah okay, so you're looking at complete racing kits. The idea is essentially the same, however, with you having courses up to 4 miles in length, if you or the crew are using handheld radios, you more than likely will not be able to transmit to each other on parts of the course that are furthest away. (4 mile loop can still be 2 miles from one side of course to the other) 5 watt radios can get about 1.5-2 miles of range and that's affected by terrain. If you are not concerned with that, and want to go the handheld route, I would assume you've looked at this page here. When you mention the different level packages, that's essentially the different types of handheld radios you can get. The RH5R is a feature packed yet not as durable radio, then there's the 16 channel radio we just came out with that provides simpler and more durable functionality, then there's the vertex handheld for those that prefer Vertex as their radio choice. Really comes down to budget.

Any one of those packages will have everything you need for comms between driver and crew chief.

As far as upgrades, you can get the long track upgrade kit that can extend the range of both the vehicle and the crew chief radio. The car would have an external antenna that would attach to the handheld, and the crew chief would get a special antenna that mounts to their headset to provide further range.

 

[wrightracing.net]

First of all, you need to know what band your sanctioning body is running. In Nascar or circle track racing they run UHF radio's. Most off road racing uses VHF radios.

I am a fan of the Kenwood TK790 radio's. In Baja and the longer distance races we run 110 watt radio's but you are doing 4 mile loops, so a 50 watt would do fine.

If you are doing closed course racing, a in car hand held unit like Nascar and Circle track cars use, works well with a car wiring harness and 1/4 wave antenna . Simple and lightweight is best for a track car.

I like the Yaesu handheld but Kenwood and Motorola make good products also.

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