All UTV's Lets see your pit radio box's!

[Brian B]

Bust them out!

I'm guessing many of you rely on your radios in your chase vehicles. Many of us dont have that luxury, so a mobile radio setup is necessary.

What radios are you using? Best choice for powering? And how are your antenna extension poles mounted?

 

[Brian B]

I was thinking about building charging stations into mine for our handhelds, and storage for headsets........

 

[OFFROADSWAPMEET]

Brian,
What handheld radio are you guys using?
Brand and watts?

 

[Brian B]

Brian,
What handheld radio are you guys using?
Brand and watts?

We probably have 1 of each kind. Cant remember at the moment. Between Greg and I we have a bunch......

 

[megadesertdiesel]

When is your next race? I am getting bored not having any toys and can help in your pits if you need anyone.

 

[az_amsoil]

I use a 50W Yaesu FT-8800 in my truck and also have two HX370S 5W handheld when away from the truck

 

[Brian B]

^ I really hope you both are game for KOH 2012!

 

[SimsMotorsports]

YEAHHHHH

 

[Mike L]

It always seems like you never have enough radios or them in the right spot at the races. We've mounted radios in our trucks for bitd with extended cables on the mics so they reach the back of the bed and two sets of speakers on switches so you can hear them inside and outside of the truck. About the only time we need something portable is for the blue water grand prix when we can't have trucks in the pits. Here we use a spare battery from the race car to power the radio and a external speaker so we get better volume and power than what the unit offers and our ringo ranger antenna from pci that we secure to a leg of the ezup.

When I helped the Genright team at koh last year they mounted their radios and external speakers on cutting boards to keep everything together but it seemed kind of big and clumsy when you weren't using them.

 

[az_amsoil]

Handhelds are great for communicating with the driver during a pit. Rather than yelling over the engine, through a helmet, ect...

 

[rockstarcustomz]

We have a base radio with a huge antenna for the enclosed trailer. We also have an awesome box for the truck with radio and gps. It's removable so it can go into any of the trucks. We also use handhelds in the pits with headsets so we aren't screaming at each other.

 

[RuggedRadios]

Most racers go with a 55Watt mobile radio for the chase vehicle/pits and some go big with a 110Watt! With these radios you'll have ridiculous range at 55-110 miles. Like said above, handhelds are always nice to have if you want to talk to the pits or a spotter if they are within 5 miles. The nice thing about a car to car 50 Watt radio is you don't need to worry about keeping the battery charged like on a handheld. We also have our new KOH intercom kit which is Bluetooth and allows the co driver to hop out and spot the truck or pull rope. The co driver also has the ability to transmit over the radio while out of the vehicle. Anyways, most racers seem to go with a 50 Watt for the vehicle and either a couple handhelds for the pits or even a 50 Watt Base radio kit.

-Jason at Rugged

 

[Brian B]

^ Bump! Good talk!

 

[Brian B]

TTT!

 

[Brian B]

This is what I came up with


Here's a little something that I put together for remote chasing, pitting, and duning. I rarely have the luxury of having a chase truck so we generally just throw a handheld, some parts, and a can of gas at someone with a UTV and is willing to pit for us..... Problem is handhelds suck unless you're in a line of sight with the other radio. I decided it was time to quit playing around and get a legit setup that would be reliable.... I figured I'd build a self contained box that would house most of my extra radio equipment, and have on board chargers. It would also need to have storage for the 25" antenna and cable. (Not pictured. There will be 5x5" SS upright boxes bolted to the side for antenna and tripod storage) Also included but not pictured is a custom jumper cable for a truck battery should the onboard battery die.

Walmart:
$20 Stanley rolling tool box

Fry's Electronics
Auxiliary radio speaker
Heavy duty antenna tripod
Surge protector

Grainger:
120 Male flush mount receiver for extension cord


TMW Offroad:
Odyssey deep cycle battery
Battery tender


PCI Race Radios:
50w Icom race radio
25" antenna and cable for pit use
Truck antenna for mobile use

Rugged Race Radios
Handheld
Headset w/ PTT
Driving kit w/ PTT
Roll Bar mount handheld holder

MISC:
Wire
Weather pack Connectors
Solder
Heat shrink
Ring terminals
Brackets
Sheet metal

 

[az_amsoil]

That's an awesome setup and a great idea! What about your antenna ground plane?