Headsets for competitions

[N*A*M]

I've decided that radio communication between driver and spotter is a good asset and now I'm looking for cost effective solutions.

What do people think about using small UHFs with a headset accessory attached? Could possibly get away with spending $100-150 that way. Seems cheaper than a lot of commercial 2-way products.

[RUFF]

Prob with UHFs is it will only take another person to be on the same channel interfering and you may as well be yelling at each other again.

We use a simple digital cordless phone system. That has a few modifications to accept headsets. Works unreal. Wes was waiting on B4 at the finals to get a breakdown card signed while i was down doing repairs and it was like he was still standing right beside me. Was maybe 150mtrs apart. It probly cost around $200 to set up.

[N*A*M]

is the handset to handset talk functionality special to certain digital cordless phones or generally available?

[RUFF]

is the handset to handset talk functionality special to certain digital cordless phones or generally available?

Not sure. Im pretty sure these are panasonic ones. But as long as they have a base station and can talk to eachother through intercome they should work fine.

Mine doesnt look much like a Phone system any more as i fitted most of it into a Zippy box and just have the phones in a bum bag.

[Tiny]

is the handset to handset talk functionality special to certain digital cordless phones or generally available?

Not sure. Im pretty sure these are panasonic ones. But as long as they have a base station and can talk to eachother through intercome they should work fine.

Mine doesnt look much like a Phone system any more as i fitted most of it into a Zippy box and just have the phones in a bum bag.

hmm sounds ok, we have being using uniden wioth the sub channels and a VOX headset but the vox is shit.....mainly for the spotter who can mostly click a PTT a little easier than a driver with all hands full, but the phone syst would be A1 me tinks

[RUFF]

The other problem with UHF is it cant Receive and Transmit at the same time.(Although i have heard of this modification being done) So you can either talk or listen. With the Digital phones you can do both. It looks a little redneck when you see the set up but it works great.

[N*A*M]

so it was a phone with no headset facility and you cracked the cover open to splice a headset in?

[RUFF]

so it was a phone with no headset facility and you cracked the cover open to splice a headset in?

Yep i will try and get some pics of it for you.

[RUFF]

Ok this could take some time and i may not finish these details tonight.

First i will start with the zippy box.
Inside this box are,
The Main Base station and Charging system,
The second phone base station and charging system,
A 12volt - 6 volt transformer,
A 10amp fuse,
An LED so i know when its powered up,
And 2 power outlets that are wired to both of the charge systems in the base stations.

Then there is a lighter socket to supply 12 volts to the system.

This Box needs power at all times while the system is in use. I have this mounted in-between my seats. Between stages we plug the 2 phones into this so they charge. Although we have not had the batteries go flat yet we dont take the chances.

Some people here would have seen this system at the W.E.Rock finals but it was not as refined as it is now. I basicaly had the 2 base stations Zip Tied to the passenger seat and we had to sit the phones in the holder to charge them.

[RUFF]

Now the Phone. It is a Panasonic. Model #KX-A143ALW. Im sure other styles will work as well.

First we pulled it apart and removed the speaker and mike from it. Then just soldered wires on where they used to attach and drilled a hole for these to run externally. Then we did the same for the charge points. These are real simple for this because the board inside has everything written on it.
On mine i have a 1watt amplifier for the speakers in the helmet as the speakers we have are just not load enough. Wes's unit does not have the Amp as the earpiece he has works a lot better but this type wouldnt fit inside the helmet. His is just a generic VOX style earpiece and mike.

The Piece of PVC tube in the pic is so you can slide the phone inside this and there is no chance of hanging up the phone as the keys are protected.

Also the Amp has an on off switch as the battery in it(9Volt) is not re-chargable and i havent got around to sorting this out yet.

[RUFF]

Then we have the Mike and earphones I use in my helmet. It was bought from Revolution Race Gear and is just a DIY system. It has 2 earphones. Only one pictured.

[RUFF]

Thats basicaly it. I thought it would have taken more time to detail this.

So if you have any skills at all in soldering or just working out how things work it should be a simple and very cheap system.

The only Annoying thing with this is we need to call each other before we can use it. But its actually quite funny when you pull up to the start line and you have to make a phone call before you start

This system prob cost around $300 Total and most parts were bought from Tandy. I forgot about the Mike and earphones on my helmet. I think they were around $100 on their own.

Any Questions?

[andrew e]

very clever.

[N*A*M]

thanks tony. good tech.

[Wooders]

That's awesome Tony.
We'd previously played with the regular vox headsets (like everyone else), we have moved to Throat mikes which although they have the same delay as regular vox - they don't transmit heavy breathing or crowd noise etc - only when the navi is talking......although they take a bit of getting used to wearing as they feel like they are strangling you
Be interested if something similar could be spliced in to the phone setup....hmmmmm

[RUFF]

Yeah Wooders this set up still has all the heavy breathing and whinging that the rocks i want him to move are too heavy or he is tired or thirsty and worse thing is i cant just talk over him so i cant hear it

[Pauwolf]

So you have 2 phones as well as the base station, Tony. Trying to get an picture of your setup so I can make on for myself

Paul

[Strange Rover]

I wouldnt bother doing the phone thing again.

You can buy the real thing from OPW (Peter Antunac) - I think its called a Rock Talk (imported from the US). I believe that this would be a cheaper way to do it also especially once you try to buy decent headsets and amplifiers to get the equivalent thing with the phones.

Sam

[-Scott-]

Another option?

Saw a Harris Scarfe sales brochure today with a 4 pack of UHF radios for $99. If they're this set they have 38 channel CTCSS, remote headset and VOX capability.

At those prices, buy a set and both spotter and driver have two each (one send, one receive) on separate channels, with VOX, headsets and CTCSS enabled. Both can talk at the same time, and using CTCSS reduces the chances of somebody else "breaking in" on you.

Mic on one and earpiece on the other could be a bit of a hassle...

Scott

[moose]

my missus(kym) put it to ABT sean at OZ rock , (they had the really cool 2way jobbie !!! )
buy a few sets & offer them for rental at events !!!!
seans eye,s clicked up $$ signs !!!
so we will see wat eventuates !!!

[Roctoy]

my understanding of this Tony, is that you are using the 'paging' function between handsets to talk to each other?????

[RUFF]

my understanding of this Tony, is that you are using the 'paging' function between handsets to talk to each other?????

Yes.