Finally got around to writing up what we have learned on Lemony comms setup. Hope this helps someone. Feel free to ask more questions.
We went with the cheapo lemony Midland setup and after 7 races...seems to be pretty dialed in. Our car is Gen 1 RX7, so the thing is a hornets nest and radio volume was a problem for us. Here are details I sent to another guy who picked up a helmet from me. Under $500 for full setup. sorry for the length, but I tried to be complete.
Radios. Get 4. I know it seems like 2 should be enough, but trust me, you will want 4. We are even thinking about getting another 2. They generally come in sets of 2, and amazon is best place to order from. You have two options.
- Midland GXT1000VP4. This is what we use. They work well. Should be able to find 4 with charger stand, 12V cord and cheapo crew headsets for ~$100. Batteries last a long time, but very little warning before running out.
- Midland GXT2000VP4. This is newest version. They add a few things like "HD dynamic range for loader sound". Might be useful, but I am not certain. They are ~$15 more per radio.
Headsets for Crew. Just use the ones that come with the radios. Or use plug in a standard set of ipod headphones into the signal out part of a handset and use that to listen and talk into the radio. That is actually even better. We bought a fancy over the head crew setup, but we rarely use it. Kind of bulky to wear and you have to take it on and off to talk to other people when not talking to driver.
Headsets for Drivers. Buy 4 or 5 MIDLAND RADIO AVPH2 Closed Face Helmet Headset Kit w/boom mi (MID-AVPH2). You will need one for each helmet and I recommend getting a spare. They are about $35 each, which is more than other off brand ones which say they are compatible with Midland. Don't believe it, they won't work right. Trust me...we have tried plenty and only the Midland AVPH2 ones work they way you need them to.
Amplifier for the audio to driver. Our car is loud, yours may be quieter, but this cheap addition is so worth it. You can get almost any kind with 3.5mm jack, but we bought FiiO A3 Portable Headphone Amplifier and have been super happy with it. $65 on amazon. There are cheaper versions that I suspect work just as well.
Power outlets for the car. Get one or even two 12V cigarette lighter splitters. We have one that splits into 3 outlets (so you can plug 3 12V plugs in) and we run out of space and then end up using plugs that run two USB's. My advice would be get two splitters so you have 6 DC outlets. Go pros, amplifier, radios, etc, etc. Seems like we always run out of plugs. They are cheap. like $15 to $20 on amazon.
Cords to go from your driver headset to your amplifier and to go the the PTT button (that you mount on steering wheel...don't try it on gear shift, that sucks). These are cheap but can be tricky to find. You need three. none of them need to be very long.
One 3.5mm extender (one male end, one female end) to go from the 3.5mm plug on the dual headset plug to the amplifier. the 3.5mm plug is for the speaker.
One 3.5mm extender (two male ends) to go from the amplifier to the 3.5mm hole in the Radio handset in the car
One 2.5mm extender (one male end, one female end) to go from the 2.5mm plug on the dual headset plug to the 2.5mm hole in the radio handset in the car. The 2.5mm plug is for the microphone from the driver to the radio.
Radio holder for the car. Get a Racing Radio box to clamp on roll cage and put your radio in. Well worth it or you are always trying to keep your radio from flying around the car. Here is one from Amazon for $30 plus shipping - Racing Radios Warehouse RBOX Radio Box. Should be able to find on ruggedradios or other racing radio sites.
Installation tips:
1) Mark a line on the quick disconnects on all the headset units with silver sharpie or some bright paint or fingernail polish to help you line them up when connecting. But remember, you are going to be plugging different helmets into and out of the same PTT button that stays in the car. So pick a PTT button and wire harness, plug in a headset and mark it. Then plug in next headset to that same PTT and mark that. Once done, mark your spare PTT buttons. This will save you lots of bent pins.
2) Install the one PTT button in the car, and toss the others that come with the other headsets in the spares box. You won't need those unless you break the one in the car. You just unplug and plug in when drivers change. Mount it on steering wheel for thumb control. If you have a stick shift, probably best to put it near left thumb.
3) Run constant power to the radio and to the amplifier in the car (through the 12v plugs). Nothing worse than being halfway through the race and having radio go dead. they generally last a long time on a charge, but hard to know when they are fully charged.
4) Spend some time installing headset and mic in helmets. You will see on the helmet i gave you some holes in the inside of front of helmet. this is for a small ziptie to go around the mic. mandatory or it falls off if you just use sticky tape. You will also notice slits in the two helmet ear pieces. This is where we slide in the sticky ear speakers. Putting them inside the material of the helmet ensures they don't come off when putting the helmet on and off. Lastly, you will see a tiny hole drilled in side of helmet. This is for ziptie to hold the cords so when you accidentally yank on them, the whole thing doesn't fall apart.
5) PTT disconnect that connects to helmet headsets. Find a good place to mount this in the car where helpers can plug and unplug easily when drivers are getting into and out of the car. We have ours in the center of the car so the plug is to the drivers right. I think if we could find a way to do it on the drivers left, it would be better and easier to get to. Several times we have forgotten to plug in during driver change and ours is impossible to reach by the driver while driving. IF you could figure out a spot for driver to reach in case it gets unplugged, that would be ideal.
Last thing...antenna. We actually run our system on the "h" setting with no external antennae and it seems to work well at all the tracks except thunderhill which is 5 miles and a lot of hills and places where radio reception fades a little. I know you can get an external antennae to hook up to the radio, but we have never felt like we needed it. Even at thunderhill we get 3/4's of the track with good reception which works fine. 2 mile tracks we get full track reception.
Good luck!
