Ham Sammich Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) We've been running these Puxing 777. https://www.amazon.com/400-470Mhz-Handheld-Portable-Interphone-Earpiece/dp/B007CCNN3A I've got 10 of them, crew headsets, mics, helmet kits, it's a LOT of stuff. BUT, I don't think it punches out very hard. We basically cover the straight at the Ridge, half the track at Spokane and most of Portland. But I think it "is what it is". It was a good starter kit kind of thing. I think we're ready to put our big girl radio pants on. Somebody suggested we look at the Motorola CP200's as having good punch. I don't care what name is on them.... I just want to get to the car as much as possible, and right now with what we have, it's about 1/2 the time. Anybody punching out hard over ridiculous terrain? Big hills, etc? Sorry I don't know all the radio Jargon. Edited March 15, 2017 by Ham Sammich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Sampson Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) Not sure about those radios... we offer the baofeng uv6 5watt units in our starter plus system and have really happy customers, as long as you run IMSA helmet kits and a properly mounted roof antenna. https://www.sampsonracing.com/The-Starter-5watt-Package-for-2way-driver-to-crew-p/starter-plus.htm long range antenna setup https://www.sampsonracing.com/Shark-Fin-Phantom-Elite-Antenna-Coax-for-Racing-p/phantom-standard-system.htm The biggest part is understanding how the system works and if you do have questions getting professional help is always a plus. Feel free to call the office and we will always help you out. Cheers, Shawn Edited March 15, 2017 by Shawn Sampson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knate Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) We run Baofengs (I think UV5R?), they have been great. It gets weak dropping into 8a at the Ridge (good everywhere else), but Portland they are good on the whole track. We run a ~6" whip on top of the car, I think external antenna is necessary to get proper range. I wired the helmets myself for Nascar style (standard 1/4" stereo jack). Edited March 15, 2017 by knate 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug1 Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 We run the CP200s and added the 3 db shark fin external antenna from Sampson this year. I think the antenna helped a lot at Road Atlanta. Road Atlanta is tough since the front straight and pit lane is significantly lower than the rest of the track. Before the shark fine we were running the cheap wire antenna that came with the car kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBone Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 We use Motorolas with a roof top antenna. We rarely lose coverage. Sitting in the garage at COTA, we can talk to the driver at the far end of the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bremsen Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Also using CP200s and rarely have reception/transmission issues. I'm running the nerdie NASCAR harness with the 6" whip antenna, but am thinking of changing to the IMSA harness. Also want to upgrade to the shark fin amplified antenna and possibly a pit antenna for places like Road Atlanta and VIR with larger elevation changes/longer distances from the pits. One of these days I want to install one of these, too: http://www.ioportracing.com/i/o-port-products/radio-to-camera-interface-i/o-port/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Sampson Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Just a note on having static or loss of radio communications... If you want 100% coverage you can go 2 ways, Digital or a 20watt incar system: 20watt complete in car system on sale at $649 https://www.sampsonracing.com/product-p/endurance-starter-package.htm Digital System on sale $899 https://www.sampsonracing.com/Digital-Expert-5watt-Package-for-2way-complete-p/digital-expert-package.htm Remember you also get your 15% Chumpcar Discount on top of that Cheers, Shawn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knate Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 6 hours ago, Bremsen said: I'm running the nerdie NASCAR harness with the 6" whip antenna, but am thinking of changing to the IMSA harness. This is the second reference to IMSA. Why? I haven't had any issues with the "NASCAR" stereo 1/4" jack, am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewheelerZ Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 5 minutes ago, knate said: This is the second reference to IMSA. Why? I haven't had any issues with the "NASCAR" stereo 1/4" jack, am I missing something? Shawn will likely chime in here, but no you probably aren't missing anything. The jack type shouldn't have any difference on reception or any general usability I don't think. But the IMSA seems to be a more popular option for the road racing crowd. Also the NASCAR jack MAY not be able to use an adapter to go to IMSA, the IMSA can always use an adapter to go to nascar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knate Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 1 minute ago, thewheelerZ said: Shawn will likely chime in here, but no you probably aren't missing anything. The jack type shouldn't have any difference on reception or any general usability I don't think. But the IMSA seems to be a more popular option for the road racing crowd. Also the NASCAR jack MAY not be able to use an adapter to go to IMSA, the IMSA can always use an adapter to go to nascar. Yeah, I know enough that the IMSA is 4-wire versus NASCAR 3-wire, but I can buy "NASCAR" extensions and plugs by just buying 1/4" stereo jacks/patch cables anywhere versus the expensive IMSA stuff. I wire it with one common wire between the mic and speaker which maybe technically isn't the best, but you are never talking and listening at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtwill Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 14 hours ago, Shawn Sampson said: long range antenna setup https://www.sampsonracing.com/Shark-Fin-Phantom-Elite-Antenna-Coax-for-Racing-p/phantom-standard-system.htm shark fin antenna better for reception than the 1/4 wave?...we have your vertex set-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Sampson Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 IMSA works 100% of the time regardless of what radio you have and which system you plug into (jumper IMSA/NASCAR). This is why we like folks to run IMSA and not NASCAR so that they never have a issue at the track with a driver showing up and their system not being compatible. Here is a rundown on radio roof mount antenna and trouble shooting Hope this helps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notbob Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 We run cp200 with a 3' whip antenna we put on roof and pinned back. We have 0 issues. We also have our excess cable from the antenna in a zip tied bundle... While we are having no issues, after watching Shawn's video, guess I will be changing the bundle setup. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimsun Racing Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) We first tried the Baofeng UV-5R, then we went to the more powerful Bf F8-HP, which is an 8 watt radio compared to the standard 5 watt. The UV-5R would get most of the Ridge but the F8-HP gets it all. Also we had to go with a different mobile antenna from the standard straight whip style. The test we ran was just driving through the neighborhood and checking transmission to the house at different distances. With 2 radios in the car, one hooked to the roof mount mobile antenna and the other just handheld with the factory antenna. The handheld inside the car had better range than the radio with the roof mount antenna. So clearly the roof mount antenna had problems. Searching the UV-5R forum led to a Nagoya UT-102 mobile antenna and now we have clear reception over the entirety of the Ridge We also standardized the car harness and helmet sets. They seem to work better when it's all one brand. And you really have to watch for wear and tear. Some of the wiring is not very durable. And the IMSA connection has been better for us compared to Nascar. Edited March 15, 2017 by Dimsun Racing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Sampson Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Keep in mind that you do want to have your antenna tuned to the correct freq (UHF or VHF). 90% of road racing systems run around the 460hz range which is standard in road racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takjak2 Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 We use digital UHF radios with a proper antenna on the car. At 5 watts I can hit anywhere on Road Atlanta from down in the pits, full coverage at WGI, and VIR as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knate Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 22 hours ago, Shawn Sampson said: IMSA works 100% of the time regardless of what radio you have and which system you plug into (jumper IMSA/NASCAR). This is why we like folks to run IMSA and not NASCAR so that they never have a issue at the track with a driver showing up and their system not being compatible. That makes sense, thanks! Since I was wiring everything myself, cost of connectors was a major factor for me. Also by using 1/4" stereo, I was able to make an extremely short (and tough) unique harness, and run audio extension cables to the driver that can be easily/cheaply swapped if it gets damaged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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