Ed Higginbotham and I are putting together a team for an AER event or two, 
using his e36. We are looking for the best/best value race radio system.
one twist..I have the headset from my old Speedcom system but the batteries for the radios themselves don't hold a charge.
We will be using these at VIR, a 3.27 mile track.
I don't have any specific advice for you but I do have two, sort of general recomendations.
We just completed the VIR North Champ Car race. We used Baofeng radios with the IMSA connectors and some parts from Sampson Racing Communications. This system worked absolutely perfect and we had full communications the entire weekend.
Radio(we bought 2 and had 2 from another teammate):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MAULSOK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Battery Eliminator for Baofeng Radio:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KZ6VGUW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Programming cable for Baofeng Radio(use CHIRP software to set frequencies):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JVW4MSM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Adaptor for Radio to Roof Antenna in Car:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017SOLCMU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Helmet kit:
https://www.sampsonracing.com/Sportsman-Play-Pack-IMSA-Helmet-Kit-p/pp-imsa.htm
In car Extension(helps if drivers have different helmets with plugs on either side):
https://www.sampsonracing.com/IMSA-Harness-to-IMSA-Helmet-Extension-p/hk-i-ext-cc.htm
In car Harness:
https://www.sampsonracing.com/IMSA-Short-Car-Harness-for-open-wheel-or-karting-p/ch-i-s-y.htm
Roof Antenna(we went with 6' cord):
https://www.sampsonracing.com/Shark-Fin-Phantom-Elite-Antenna-Coax-for-Racing-p/phantom-standard-system.htm
Push to Talk:
https://www.sampsonracing.com/Velcro-Mount-Push-To-Talk-p/ptt-h2o.htm
Radio Box mounted to cage:
https://www.sampsonracing.com/Roll-Bar-Radio-Box-p/rb110.htm
Cigarette Lighter for Battery Eliminator(tie into 4 switch panel from main cutoff switch):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CT5CSN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Crew Chief Headset:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FN8QCMD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
We had 4 radios the whole weekend and could have really only used two - one in car and one for crew chief to pit. I also highly suggest, get a tablet for watching/recording lap times. We could then relay them to someone in the car(even though we had the new Garmin GPS based timer system).
Radio on battery lasted the entire weekend without having to be recharged. So if you order 2 radios and the battery eliminator for the car you can then have two batteries for the pit radio in case one actually does drain fast.
Let me know if you have any other questions. We had a great time with the Baofeng stuff and the comms were clear the entire time around VIR North from our pit stall(including over the hill and back).
kevinatfms said:We just completed the VIR North Champ Car race. We used Baofeng radios with the IMSA connectors and some parts from Sampson Racing Communications. This system worked absolutely perfect and we had full communications the entire weekend.
Fantastic info. Thanks.
Paging Tom Suddard. Baofeng sounds really familiar. Is this what we used in the first LeMons Miata? I had been searching high and low to find what was used then because it worked great. Had no luck. But this rings a bell.
What frequencies are you using with the Baofeng? They'll transmit across a wide range, with varying legality but more practically varying antenna characteristics.
The stock antenna on them is particularly bad...
@jh36 I think I have a couple spare if you just want for a couple events.
All race radio stuff sucks unless you spend cubic dollars. You get a marginal improvement for your dumptruck full o' cash.
Pretty much everything will last a race but all of the cables seem to be fragile no matter how much you spend. We do four or so endurance events a year and it seem that we're replacing or repairing cables every few races. PTT buttons seem to last a year.
We've been doing this for a decade and we still can't find a long term reliable solution using Motorola CP200 radios.
@Ed yes! Baofeng UV-5R for the win. We still use them and they work great.
I use those Baofengs for off-road communication between rigs and they work great. Not the same as a race track but the radios hold up fine.
In reply to kevinatfms :
Killer info...thanks a ton! Ed has a spreadsheet going so we can build our system taking into consideration what I have in my bag of toys already.
This is extremely helpful...thank you!
In reply to paddygarcia :
That is really nice of you. We are interested in having a radio in our regular NASA races too, so will probably just spring for the entire setup. If the team has a legit use for two more units, I will shout out to you. Again, very nice of you!
My pleasure. If you program them for the right frequencies and match the antenna to the frequency they should be fine.
Using the recommended Baofengs and using the parts we have, it looks like we can get in for around $500 which works with the budget. Game on!
paddygarcia said:What frequencies are you using with the Baofeng? They'll transmit across a wide range, with varying legality but more practically varying antenna characteristics.
The stock antenna on them is particularly bad...
@jh36 I think I have a couple spare if you just want for a couple events.
One of our teammates bought the FCC license. So we were sort of covered as far as legality(although i dont think it would have mattered).
Used GMRS standard channels(1-19) and used CHIRP software to set them. We tried three frequencies the whole weekend and found that channel 4(can look up the exact frequency when i get home) which no one else was using.
The stock antenna wasnt as bad as we thought. We did have the long range antenna setup but the first day we tested how far the regular antenna went and it was from the North Paddock all the way to the front VIR gate. So it did its job without issue. We swapped to the long range antenna just in case though for the races and didnt have a problem. For the $20-$30 a long range antenna cost, it may be worth it.
Agreed on GMRS legality: sort of, whatever. Well played staying out of the amateur bands
Baofeng does make a compliant, preprogrammed 30 channel GMRS radio, which would avoid some of the setup shenanigans.
Supposedly GMRS means fixed antenna but miklor (https://www.miklor.com/COM/Review_UV5X.php) says you can remove it. Opposite connector from the programmable radio but that set of 4 listed above has both flavors.
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