1 (edited by aaron.vogel 2022-06-16 04:03 PM)

Topic: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

UPDATE 06/16/22:
I've been keeping the list up to date as listings go out of date.

I've also the Btech radios in favor of Radioddity GM-30's as the USB-C charging is a lot more flexible. They're also easier to work with and generally seem like a better radio.


UPDATE 06/06/21:
2 quick notes based on recent conversations with people who've bought from the lists and had a little trouble:

1) There is a short adapter cable that comes with the PTT/radio harness. This needs to be used to connect the helmet kit. The helmet kit is configured for CTIA pin wiring, while the PTT/radio harness is configured for OMTP pin wiring. The adapter cable switches up the the wiring so they work together.

2) When setting up the GMRS radios (not applicable to the MURS radios) make sure to go into the settings and change your output power to HIGH. Even with an external antenna you're not gonna get very far on the LOW power setting for GMRS. Probably fine for in the pits, but you definitely will have issues getting out and back to a car on track.

UPDATE 04/19/21:
I've added another option for radios. The Radioddity GM-30 is a fully Part-95e licensed radio, just like the BTECH GMRS-V1. There's 2 reasons I added it and 1 reason I haven't completely replaced the BTECH.

I added the GM-30 because 1) they're a bit cheaper. 2 is the minimum you need (pit + car) and you can get the GM-30 pair for $80 with a programming cable, vs $70 for one Btech and 2) they're charged via USB-C, so powering them in-car is a lot easier with a simple 12v->5V buck converter, which they're making now with a direct USB-C cable.

I didn't remove the Btech (yet) because the GM-30 is not yet supported by Chirp for programming. I also don't actually have one in hand to test yet, but the reviews in general are pretty good.

SO, if you want to have a cleaner install or cheaper (but still full-featured) radios, try out the Radioddity GM-30 pair from the list. If you want better programming support (for now) stick with the BTECH.

UPDATE 8/24/19:
Since everything is now 3.5mm TRRS connectors it seemed like it should be super easy to get the audio from the helmet and radio to record to the in-car GoPro Hero4 I run. And it was! Here's the misc. cables you'll need to do so with one of the below kits: http://a.co/7jhljyO

Here's a video of the whole kit set up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lLbYXVCD70

UPDATE 8/15/19:
I recently went back to look for easier connectors for this kit and surprising found a setup that would work with the the standard TRRS plugs found on the combo earbud/mic cables for most smart phones. I've updated both the Amazon idea lists below and the lists here to reflect the changes.

Original Post
Okay, since there's a couple of threads active on the topic now, I figured I'd make a full Amazon idea list of our radio setup. It is essentially plug and play (there is 1 modification required, you just have to remove a connector pin from a cable with angle-cutters). It runs on GMRS so you REALLY SHOULD get a license. Seriously, it is stupid easy. But other than that if you can change the channel on your TV you can use these radios.

Anyway, here's the setup:

GMRS Endurance Racing Radio Kit
http://a.co/90kmxPM

It includes:
2x Radioddity GM-30 handheld radios (plus programming cable)
1x 12v -> 5V USB-C buck converter to power the radio from the car

PLUS
1x Mag-mount antenna
4x Helmet kits
1x Radio harness
1x radio holder for mounting in the car
1x Helmet extension cable (the PTT button cable on the radio harness is short, so you'll need to mount the radio on the dash or near the steering wheel, thus the extension cable to get back to the helmet)

Feel free to ask questions, but for the most part it is pretty self explanatory. Oh, and please do read the notes on each item in the list.


MURS Endurance Racing Radio Kit
http://a.co/1s1Sstq

It includes:
2x BTECH MURS handheld
1x Mag-mount antenna
4x Helmet kits
1x Radio harness
1x radio holder for mounting in the car
1x Helmet extension cable (the PTT button cable on the radio harness is short, so you'll need to mount the radio on the dash or near the steering wheel, thus the extension cable to get back to the helmet)
1x Battery eliminator (lets you plug the car radio into a 12 volt outlet in the car. You may need to get one of these separately)

The differences are:

  • Positive: You don't need a license to use the MURS kit.

  • Neutral: All the radios are limited to 2 watts, unlike GMRS radios which allow for radios up to 50 watts, but that's kind of moot because my other kit only has 2 watt radios as well.

  • Negative: I have no idea how crowded these channels are. You're limited to the 5 channels that MURS has instead of the 20-some-odd for GMRS

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

Does this really work?

1998 Ford Ranger 4.0 High Output
Organizers Choice Award Thompson Motor Speedway 2017
Class C Winners NHMS 2018
Hit'em With the Hein

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

stano316 wrote:

Does this really work?

This is exactly the setup we run in our car and it works great, that's why I shared it.

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

I think I may give this a shot. Thanks!

1998 Ford Ranger 4.0 High Output
Organizers Choice Award Thompson Motor Speedway 2017
Class C Winners NHMS 2018
Hit'em With the Hein

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

aaron.vogel wrote:

Okay, since there's a couple of threads active on the topic now, I figured I'd make a full Amazon idea list of our radio setup. It is essentially plug and play (there is 1 modification required, you just have to remove a connector pin from a cable with angle-cutters). It runs on GMRS so you REALLY SHOULD get a license. Seriously, it is stupid easy. But other than that if you can change the channel on your TV you can use these radios.

Anyway, here's the setup:

https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.acco … RVUYTNPJP9

It includes:
2x BTECH GMRS handheld
1x Mag-mount antenna
4x Helmet kits (include PTT button)
1x radio holder for mounting in the car
1x PTT extension cable (this is the one that needs to be modified by removing a pin)

Optional:
1x Midland blister-pack GMRS handhelds

Feel free to ask questions, but for the most part it is pretty self explanatory. Oh, and please do read the notes on each item in the list.


Y'all have any concerns running this system without a FCC GMRS license? i cant seem to find anything online that says you can get in trouble for running the system without the license unless someone reports you to the FCC.

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

waffle_stomp wrote:

i cant seem to find anything online that says you can get in trouble for running the system without the license unless someone reports you to the FCC.

you can get away with most crimes if nobody calls the police!

https://www.fcc.gov/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_M … #Licensing

"THE WONDERMENT CONSORTIUM"
Everything dies baby that's a fact,
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back?

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

waffle_stomp wrote:
aaron.vogel wrote:

Okay, since there's a couple of threads active on the topic now, I figured I'd make a full Amazon idea list of our radio setup. It is essentially plug and play (there is 1 modification required, you just have to remove a connector pin from a cable with angle-cutters). It runs on GMRS so you REALLY SHOULD get a license. Seriously, it is stupid easy. But other than that if you can change the channel on your TV you can use these radios.

Anyway, here's the setup:

https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.acco … RVUYTNPJP9

It includes:
2x BTECH GMRS handheld
1x Mag-mount antenna
4x Helmet kits (include PTT button)
1x radio holder for mounting in the car
1x PTT extension cable (this is the one that needs to be modified by removing a pin)

Optional:
1x Midland blister-pack GMRS handhelds

Feel free to ask questions, but for the most part it is pretty self explanatory. Oh, and please do read the notes on each item in the list.


Y'all have any concerns running this system without a FCC GMRS license? i cant seem to find anything online that says you can get in trouble for running the system without the license unless someone reports you to the FCC.

Except we actually do have a license so... no, no concerns on our part. The license is $70 for 10 years, no test... if you're balking at that I'm shocked you don't bitch about the $50 "race license" that Lemons charges...

8 (edited by Guildenstern 2018-09-27 02:54 PM)

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

derekste wrote:
waffle_stomp wrote:

i cant seem to find anything online that says you can get in trouble for running the system without the license unless someone reports you to the FCC.

you can get away with most crimes if nobody calls the police!

https://www.fcc.gov/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_M … #Licensing

This is something I seemed to have to explain to a student like once a semester when they would get all worked up about OMG how do I know when I'm exactly 500 feet under a cloud?

"Dude, there aren't FAA traffic cops out there hiding in the clouds waiting to catch you. If you do something really wrong you'll know it by being on fire and falling out of the sky, the rules are there as guidelines to help you think safe. You only get punished for them when you screw up hard enough to get noticed. Which if you try your best to follow the rules, you won't."

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

aaron.vogel wrote:
waffle_stomp wrote:
aaron.vogel wrote:

Okay, since there's a couple of threads active on the topic now, I figured I'd make a full Amazon idea list of our radio setup. It is essentially plug and play (there is 1 modification required, you just have to remove a connector pin from a cable with angle-cutters). It runs on GMRS so you REALLY SHOULD get a license. Seriously, it is stupid easy. But other than that if you can change the channel on your TV you can use these radios.

Anyway, here's the setup:

https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.acco … RVUYTNPJP9

It includes:
2x BTECH GMRS handheld
1x Mag-mount antenna
4x Helmet kits (include PTT button)
1x radio holder for mounting in the car
1x PTT extension cable (this is the one that needs to be modified by removing a pin)

Optional:
1x Midland blister-pack GMRS handhelds

Feel free to ask questions, but for the most part it is pretty self explanatory. Oh, and please do read the notes on each item in the list.


Y'all have any concerns running this system without a FCC GMRS license? i cant seem to find anything online that says you can get in trouble for running the system without the license unless someone reports you to the FCC.

Except we actually do have a license so... no, no concerns on our part. The license is $70 for 10 years, no test... if you're balking at that I'm shocked you don't bitch about the $50 "race license" that Lemons charges...

Although word on the street is GMRS licensing will go away soon because the FCC hates looking impotent since so many non-licensed people use it already.

Write your Congressperson. They don't care one way or the other and you may be the only person saying anything when it comes time for re-authorization.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

In 2010, the FCC proposed removing the GMRS license requirement as part of other changes, but it didn't make it through Congress. Probably because nobody cared enough to notice.(https://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2010/06/a_summary_of_the_fcc_proposed_changes_to_gmrs_and_other_services.html)

25X Loser - Delinquent Racing - '86 Rust-Tite Merkur - 9 years (when do I get to stop?).

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

billybobster wrote:

but it didn't make it through Congress. Probably because nobody cared enough to notice.

All day to day operations of the US congress in a nutshell.

"Huh? thing that won't get me either re-elected or voted out? Whatever, when's Tee Time?"

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

What kind of range do you get out of this setup?

Jeremy
Failed Contraception Racing

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

How does the FCC license work?  Does everyone on the team need to get a license or just one person?

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

jjmoonen wrote:

What kind of range do you get out of this setup?

No Idea, more than lots, but less than 3 miles? Never tested it. I do know there's no dead spots at Gingerman.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

britully wrote:

How does the FCC license work?  Does everyone on the team need to get a license or just one person?

Yea every operator needs it.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

aaron.vogel wrote:

Okay, since there's a couple of threads active on the topic now, I figured I'd make a full Amazon idea list of our radio setup. It is essentially plug and play (there is 1 modification required, you just have to remove a connector pin from a cable with angle-cutters). It runs on GMRS so you REALLY SHOULD get a license. Seriously, it is stupid easy. But other than that if you can change the channel on your TV you can use these radios.

Anyway, here's the setup:

https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.acco … RVUYTNPJP9

It includes:
2x BTECH GMRS handheld
1x Mag-mount antenna
4x Helmet kits (include PTT button)
1x radio holder for mounting in the car
1x PTT extension cable (this is the one that needs to be modified by removing a pin)

Optional:
1x Midland blister-pack GMRS handhelds

Feel free to ask questions, but for the most part it is pretty self explanatory. Oh, and please do read the notes on each item in the list.

I bought this set up for the race in Houston.  Is there a good tutorial available online?  The manual assumes I already know what I am doing, which is very much not the case, and I don't even know what most of the vocabulary is.  "Squelch" sounds interesting, but don't know what that entails.  I am just looking to make this as idiot-proof as possible, and also wondering whether our channel will be overrun by other teams trying to talk too (as there are only a couple of dozen GMRS channels).

17 (edited by aaron.vogel 2018-12-09 04:46 PM)

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

Hey, sorry guys, I stopped getting notices for this thread for some reason... anyway, answers:

jjmoonen wrote:

What kind of range do you get out of this setup?

Enough for most tracks, few miles from car to pits, maybe a mile pits to car. YMMV. Sonoma and Thunderhill cause some issues depending on car/spotter placement and hills, but generally nothing too problematic. Those "35 mile range" claims of various blister-pack radios are 100% theoretical and not at all real-world.

britully wrote:

How does the FCC license work?  Does everyone on the team need to get a license or just one person?

GMRS license is for "immediate family", so if you're racing with your dad or brother or whatever then you can share a license. Otherwise yeah, anyone getting on the horn under GMRS frequencies SHOULD get their own license.

I did just realize that BTECH makes a MURS version of this.. downside is fewer frequencies to try if there's a lot of traffic, up side is 0 license requirements... so maybe consider swapping that for the GMRS version... SHOULD work totally interchangeably with the one I listed.. you'd have to get other MURS radios (or just multiples of this) for the pits to be compatible... http://a.co/d/7mNnQrX

Maybe I'll make a MURS version of this kit and update the post...

britully wrote:
aaron.vogel wrote:

Okay, since there's a couple of threads active on the topic now, I figured I'd make a full Amazon idea list of our radio setup. It is essentially plug and play (there is 1 modification required, you just have to remove a connector pin from a cable with angle-cutters). It runs on GMRS so you REALLY SHOULD get a license. Seriously, it is stupid easy. But other than that if you can change the channel on your TV you can use these radios.

Anyway, here's the setup:

https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.acco … RVUYTNPJP9

It includes:
2x BTECH GMRS handheld
1x Mag-mount antenna
4x Helmet kits (include PTT button)
1x radio holder for mounting in the car
1x PTT extension cable (this is the one that needs to be modified by removing a pin)

Optional:
1x Midland blister-pack GMRS handhelds

Feel free to ask questions, but for the most part it is pretty self explanatory. Oh, and please do read the notes on each item in the list.

I bought this set up for the race in Houston.  Is there a good tutorial available online?  The manual assumes I already know what I am doing, which is very much not the case, and I don't even know what most of the vocabulary is.  "Squelch" sounds interesting, but don't know what that entails.  I am just looking to make this as idiot-proof as possible, and also wondering whether our channel will be overrun by other teams trying to talk too (as there are only a couple of dozen GMRS channels).

There's soooo many youtube videos out there that cover a bunch of different stuff.. I'd spend some time just browsing on there...

For the SUPER basics:

0) You need to be in channel mode to actually use these radios to transmit. They are receive only in frequency mode (RTFM). To change between the two hold menu while powering the radio on.

1) Squelch is for telling the radio when to stop playing what its receiving based on the power of the transmission. There's always a certain amount of background "noise" on any frequency, but usually very low power. Squelch tells the radio at what power it should "open up" and start playing what its hearing. For this setting you basically want it as low as possible. Turn it down until you hear static, then turn it back up a bit. If you have this turned up too high you won't hear anything unless the transmitting radio is super close.

2) Avoiding other users. There's actually 2 parts to this:

  • Obviously the first step is to try and find a channel that no one is on. This can change even as the race weekend goes by, but this is the best way to start. After you find an empty or low-traffic channel, setup a CTCSS tone or "privacy tone" on all the radios. This doesn't make your transmissions "private" as the naming from some manufacturers might suggest, but is like a second kind of squelch. When set up, CTCSS tones tell the radio to only "open up" when a certain sub-audible tone is transmitted from another radio. This lets multiple teams use the same channel without hearing each other all day - if using different tones. There's one caveat though... different manufacturers call these tones different codes (just like different manufacturers sometimes call the same frequency different "channels"). Use this handy chart to help figure out which channels / codes you should be using: https://www.k0tfu.org/reference/frs-gmr … mystified/

  • Second, everyone should be using the "busy channel lockout" feature in conjunction with CTCSS tones. This feature prevents the radio from transmitting when it senses there's traffic on the frequency/channel even if it isn't "opened up". For example: if Team A and Team B are both on Channel 12, but Team A is using CTCSS tone 77.0 and Team B is using CTCSS tone 67.0 they won't hear each other. However, if Team A is transmitting, and Team B starts to transmit, one of a number of not awesome things will happen: 1) both teams will hear garbled nonsense, 2) Team B will come in more powerfully than Team B due to transmitter strength or proximity and "walk over" Team A mid-transmission (rude) or 3) Team B won't be heard at all because their signal was weaker than Team A, but they won't know it because there's no indication they weren't heard. None of these are good scenarios. The solution is "busy channel lockout." The result of the above scenario if Team B had busy channel lockout on would be Team B would hear a beep that would indicate the channel was busy and their transmission was not sent. They'd know to try again in 10-20 seconds when the other team is hopefully done with their transmission.

Otherwise there isn't a whole lot you need to do changing settings. Play around with the radios and RTFM and you should be good. If you come up with specific questions I'll try to pay better attention to this post in the future...

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

Or, stay open and just transmit when you don't hear someone else talking.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

Guildenstern wrote:

Or, stay open and just transmit when you don't hear someone else talking.

I'm partial to concentrating on driving and not the irrelevant chatter in my ear. When we first started using these we did that, but it got old quick.

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

Never really noticed a distraction. Not like my ears are doing anything more important in a loud race car anyways.

Good thing we can still hear people using CTCSS, and really with our rig, we don't have to worry about getting stepped on by them either.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

21

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

thanks for this list. we used this kit last year but the PTT button got wrapped up in the steering wheel coming down the ridge complex (last few turns) so we went without.  this year I re-wired it to use the old cruise control buttons on the steering wheel by finding the clockspring wires.  this works fine even with the higher resistance cruise buttons.  The wiring of the helmet kits is decent gauge and stranded so it's easy to do.

I also re-wired the helmet portion to use a standard 3.5mm TRRS cable so I could use an extension and it would pull free more easily when getting out.  I matched the CTIA/apple pinout for the TRRS 3.5mm connector so this also allows use of earbuds with mic, this actually works great, but can blast your ears if you don't turn the radio down enough

here is the female 3.5mm TRRS connector I used on the radio side:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KFP0HBG/

and this TRRS extension:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RXNV0NS/

and these monoprice cables for male ends to splice (these are pretty thin gauge and had cheesy coated stranded wires, I would try another next time, but they did work):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZBUDRM/

pinouts are easy to find, I used this link and cut apart the cables, then probed the cut wires with a meter to ID them:

https://ham.stackexchange.com/questions … -connector

I made the cuts near the PTT button, and then on the helmet side of the weird connector, so the part that plugs into the radio itself is not modified.  it could also be done on the other side of the cables to reduce the number of connectors

google "ctia trrs" for the 3.5mm side.  two of the wires inside the radio harness, black and green, were both ground, so I tied them together.  and L+R on the TRRS side both get tied to the single speaker output of the radio.  I didn't need any capacitor to get the earbuds mic to work, not sure if the cables had one already or what.  Technically TRS could work (you only need 3 pins on the 3.5mm cable) but you'd have a non-standard 3.5mm connection then that wouldn't work with iphone earbuds

my usual thing is to use a few layers of harbor freight marine heat shrink over the splices, the soldered joints are weak but 3+ layers prevents them from bending and I've had great luck with this method

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

z0r wrote:

thanks for this list. we used this kit last year but the PTT button got wrapped up in the steering wheel coming down the ridge complex (last few turns) so we went without.  this year I re-wired it to use the old cruise control buttons on the steering wheel by finding the clockspring wires.  this works fine even with the higher resistance cruise buttons.  The wiring of the helmet kits is decent gauge and stranded so it's easy to do.

I also re-wired the helmet portion to use a standard 3.5mm TRRS cable so I could use an extension and it would pull free more easily when getting out.  I matched the CTIA/apple pinout for the TRRS 3.5mm connector so this also allows use of earbuds with mic, this actually works great, but can blast your ears if you don't turn the radio down enough

here is the female 3.5mm TRRS connector I used on the radio side:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KFP0HBG/

and this TRRS extension:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RXNV0NS/

and these monoprice cables for male ends to splice (these are pretty thin gauge and had cheesy coated stranded wires, I would try another next time, but they did work):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZBUDRM/

pinouts are easy to find, I used this link and cut apart the cables, then probed the cut wires with a meter to ID them:

https://ham.stackexchange.com/questions … -connector

I made the cuts near the PTT button, and then on the helmet side of the weird connector, so the part that plugs into the radio itself is not modified.  it could also be done on the other side of the cables to reduce the number of connectors

google "ctia trrs" for the 3.5mm side.  two of the wires inside the radio harness, black and green, were both ground, so I tied them together.  and L+R on the TRRS side both get tied to the single speaker output of the radio.  I didn't need any capacitor to get the earbuds mic to work, not sure if the cables had one already or what.  Technically TRS could work (you only need 3 pins on the 3.5mm cable) but you'd have a non-standard 3.5mm connection then that wouldn't work with iphone earbuds

my usual thing is to use a few layers of harbor freight marine heat shrink over the splices, the soldered joints are weak but 3+ layers prevents them from bending and I've had great luck with this method

Very cool! Thanks for sharing this. You have any pics of the setup or the making of it?

I actually just found this option as well: https://www.amazon.com/BTECH-Connector- … B019YJMRZS

It looks like the PTT cable is somewhat fixed length (coiled though...) so you'd have to mount the radio on the dash and run the headset extension to the driver... not that big a deal...

23 (edited by gus 2019-08-11 06:18 PM)

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

Since we're sharing our radio setup secrets, here's my build list: http://a.co/e0cdXQw
Plus switchcraft connectors (same thing rugged uses):
https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=sc3486-nd
https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=sc1040-nd

My setup goes like this;
- Put a 6.35mm male on each helmet headset with a short pigtail of the fat LyxPro cable, secured to each helmet with a sticky cable tie mount.
- Chop the kenwood style radio connector off a helmet headset and replace the PTT button and headset connectors with 3.5mm audio connectors.
- Use off the shelf flexible 3.5mm audio extension cables to bring the PTT button up onto the steering wheel.
- Put a 6.35mm female on the fat LyxPro cable and run it up to the left hand side of the drivers seat.
- Put an NMO mount in the roof and screw on a quality Laird antenna.
- Cover every individual wire connection in glue filled heat shrink, then each bundle in more glue filled heat shrink, gap-filled with hot glue if necessary.
- Build a spare of the in-car harness and a few spares of the helmet headsets for new/clumsy drivers.

Soldering to the thin enamel coated audio wire can be a pain, but once you get used to burning off the enamel with hot solder it actually quite each to solder the wires.

I had two of the cheap amazon female 6.35mm connectors fail before switching to the switchcraft ones, and one electret microphone fail, but otherwise this has been a really solid setup. We get full radio coverage at Sonoma, The Ridge and the Thunderhill 5 mile from our lawn chairs in the pits.

All the 6.35mm connectors follow the the NASCAR style pin-out. We put a driver from another team in our car a few races ago and having his (expensive "rugged") headset just work with our radios was a great thing.

If anyone is interested in the Baofeng config files I would be happy to share my GMRS config files, although since you will want to pick a different CTCSS/DCS code I would caution just loading up anything off the internet without customizing it.

24 (edited by aaron.vogel 2019-08-12 05:11 PM)

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

gus wrote:

Since we're sharing our radio setup secrets, here's my build list: http://a.co/e0cdXQw
Plus switchcraft connectors (same thing rugged uses):
https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=sc3486-nd
https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=sc1040-nd

My setup goes like this;
- Put a 6.35mm male on each helmet headset with a short pigtail of the fat LyxPro cable, secured to each helmet with a sticky cable tie mount.
- Chop the kenwood style radio connector off a helmet headset and replace the PTT button and headset connectors with 3.5mm audio connectors.
- Use off the shelf flexible 3.5mm audio extension cables to bring the PTT button up onto the steering wheel.
- Put a 6.35mm female on the fat LyxPro cable and run it up to the left hand side of the drivers seat.
- Put an NMO mount in the roof and screw on a quality Laird antenna.
- Cover every individual wire connection in glue filled heat shrink, then each bundle in more glue filled heat shrink, gap-filled with hot glue if necessary.
- Build a spare of the in-car harness and a few spares of the helmet headsets for new/clumsy drivers.

Soldering to the thin enamel coated audio wire can be a pain, but once you get used to burning off the enamel with hot solder it actually quite each to solder the wires.

I had two of the cheap amazon female 6.35mm connectors fail before switching to the switchcraft ones, and one electret microphone fail, but otherwise this has been a really solid setup. We get full radio coverage at Sonoma, The Ridge and the Thunderhill 5 mile from our lawn chairs in the pits.

All the 6.35mm connectors follow the the NASCAR style pin-out. We put a driver from another team in our car a few races ago and having his (expensive "rugged") headset just work with our radios was a great thing.

If anyone is interested in the Baofeng config files I would be happy to share my GMRS config files, although since you will want to pick a different CTCSS/DCS code I would caution just loading up anything off the internet without customizing it.

This is great, thanks for sharing! The one thing I'd suggest though, is the Baofeng GMRS radios are the same price and won't require programming. And they're easy enough to change CTCSS on the fly. Just a little simpler for newbies and keeps people from running the risk of getting off-freq.

Re: $250 Ready-to-race radio kit - Now with GoPro connections!

SO... got a little curious and did some more Amazon searching. Came up with an all-TRRS kit straight out of the box. No soldering required, no yanking pins out of connectors.

MURS (no license required) Version: http://a.co/1s1Sstq
GMRS ($70 10-year license required) Version: http://a.co/90kmxPM

I'll update the parts lists in my first post.