Pit to car radio

[northerner]

I'm looking for a pit to 2 car radio system that can be expanded to 2 pit 2 car if required.

Recommendations welcome.

[indigorallye]

Autotel.
Been using their kit for a few years without issue.
They are Kenwood units.

[Dan BSCS]

Just wait for everyone to tell you to check your regs to make sure you’re allowed to use radios, even though you already know you can.

How much are you looking to spend and do you want digital or would you be happy with analogue?

[northerner]

Dan BSCS said:

How much are you looking to spend and do you want digital or would you be happy with analogue?

Digital on the basis that the quality is better and it works on tracks like Oulton Park

[Dan BSCS]

northerner said:

Digital on the basis that the quality is better and it works on tracks like Oulton Park

Cheapest bet would probably be race car radios.

https://racecarradios.co.uk/

Or if you want something better then Autotel.

https://www.autotel.co.uk/


Just as an aside, I have an old Autotel analogue system in one of my cars that works absolutely fine at Oulton Park, and every other UK circuit.

[afewbeers]

We use a (very old) autocom bike to bike system with a PTT switch on the steering wheels and 2 old Kenwood radios. It works fine on most tracks. So we have car to car, both cars to pit, and pit to both cars, these old systems are very cheap but it works.

[cjslator]

Dan BSCS said:

Cheapest bet would probably be race car radios.

https://racecarradios.co.uk/

Our team use RCR, really good service. We've got 2x cars and 2x pit and they work great. The team were on hand to guide through the licensing process with OFCOM and configured everything on our behalf. Easily expandable in future too, I don't see a reason why we'd go anywhere else in future.

[DemonDriverDan]

Mine is a relatively budget setup. The biggest challenge with a "budget" setup is the driver's comms system in the helmet. I tried using some motorbike receivers and found the quality terrible. In the end I bought a Stilo helmet that hooked up to the existing radio setup and it works amazingly.

This is my setup:

- Second hand Icom radios from eBay, something like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134027324754
You can then add extra radios on the same frequency later on if you want more
- Pit headset like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131697778168
I think this the one I have and it works really well, team members have no issues hearing me

For in car this is a really cheap option and may work for you: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164218049815. For the price it's worth trying.

I ended up buying this: https://www.sampsonracing.com/IMSA-Short-Car-Harne... with the Icom adapter included. You then also need a push to talk adapter from here: https://www.sampsonracing.com/push-to-talk-radio-k...

It's probably not as good as some proper systems but works really well. Even if you start by buying the radios, pit headset, and the cheap motorbike controls it gives you a staring point.

[northerner]

Thanks all for your feedback.

Has anyone had experience of helmet comms like https://www.demon-tweeks.com/zeronoise-full-face-h...

Had mixed feedback on whether in-helmet earphones like these, aren’t as good as in-earphones like https://www.autotel.co.uk/DRIVERS-EQUIPMENT-EARPIE...

[Dan BSCS]

They both do a decent job but generally ear buds are more comfortable.

[DemonDriverDan]

I use the cups inside the helmet. No issue at all, they do a good job of sealing outside noise and I find them comfy. Also no issue with a balaclava.