[RuggedRadios]

Here at Rugged Radios, we take a lot of pride in our products. Nothing makes us happier than seeing a proud SXS owner take the time to do a clean and professional looking install of our intercom/radios systems. This thread is being started to allow you guys to show off your craftsmanship and ingenuity. We encourage you to post pics, explain your install, or even provide advice to others who are inspired to "Rugged-ize" their Rigs. As always, never hesitate to ask questions, show off, or discuss.

 

[Black Cat]

Here is my setup I try to subscribe to the KISS Concept (Keep It Simple Steve). I did not like the original position
of the stock gauge, That is where the GPS goes as the passenger is the navigator at time. So I did the speedo
relocate to the column as shown in this pic with a 5" Lowrance chart plotter:

The project is not for the electrically timid as it requires splicing and dicing of the original cat harness:

Well as time progressed I found a good deal on two of the 7" Lowrance units and decided
it was time to upgrade and leave room for future radio / intercom:

Fast forward to the radio / intercom I like the RR 660 unit as it had an additional jack up front and as
you can see the back is not readily available:

I did a custom PTT system (4 post terminal bar on the top left) This allows me
multiple PTT buttons for both channels, Future plans call for a wireless PTT
on the steering wheel and a hard wired one on the passenger grab bar .:

I covered all the wires with split wire loom and sealed all connections with die-electric silicone
prior to the final install:

Now for cables to the BTH headsets, the nice thing about removable harness pads is it gives
you a great place to hide the wires. the middle wires are covered by the shoulder bag. Tech tip
to those who don't have a removable harness pad - use the sharp end of a test light to separate
the fibers of the harness just enough to get a small wire tie in there:

The finished product:

Can You Hear Me Meow?

More to this and some of my other accessories install can be found here:

http://www.wildcatforums.net/forum/wildcat-general-discussion/7079-cat-eyes.html

 

[SandSissy]

^^^^^^ You have waaaaay more skills than I could ever hope to have. You shud take a road trip out here. I have beer, you have skills, it's a match made in heaven!!!!!!

 

[Black Cat]

As the beer consumption increases the skills decrease.. I would be happy to do a road trip your way but I might not make it out of Nevada

I might add a tech tip here, if you look at the passenger harness you will see the quick release jack. This provides you a quick exit when the headset is used in conjunction with a half helmet. However you loose the PTT feature of the headset and have to resort to the other PTT buttons..

 

[Black Cat]

Another tech tip,

Run all of your communication devises wiring (Both + & -) directly to the battery to reduce ground loop
noises. In my case I used a separate fuse block to feed the GPS. Intercom and radio :

Come on guys post up some pics and share your ideas / questions.

 

[bblitz]

Come on guys post up some pics and share your ideas / questions.

We would, but................some over-achieving prick blew the curve right out of the water!

Mine looks EXACTLY like the setup above, just without the nice color coordinated bracket, clean harness, thoughtful layout, and awesome implementation...yup, otherwise just like it!

 

[RuggedRadios]

Hahaha bblitz. To be honest, BlackCat's write up on another thread (Cat Eyes) was the reason I started this thread. So he had an advantage. But I thought somebody would have tried to one up him by now, not just roll over and accept it.... lets see what you got anyways.

 

[Rob1334]

[h=2]Garmin Rino's for Radio for driver/passneger[/h]

Anyone use these? Our groiup has these and they are nice for talking back and forth and displaying locations when they do update their position. They work aweosme when we are snowmobiling and keeping track of our group.

Has anyone tried to use these next to each other for talking while driving? What all is needed to run these in helmet communications, I guess I would be ok with push to talk, maybe a push button on the steering wheel and hardwire it all within the UTV by plugging the helmet com wire in to the utv, and in say the door bag keep the GPS and plug the other side of the wiring in there.... if that makes sense haha.

Is this the route to go or is there a cheaper route to achieve comms while driving? Sometimes with these radios it seems if youa re too close that they have a little problem with "seeing" each other. I just found rugged radios site and they have a LOT of parts not even sure where to begin... I guess I want a place to plug in my GPS in one of the bags where you can still pull it out and look at once in a while or have setup on ram mounts, and then be able to quick connect into a wired harness through the wildcat to that GPS.

I am thinking some kind of 3.5mm jack to go from the GPS which will be powered elsewhere, the wire ran through the wildcat to somewhere maybe in the center section up to where the harness bar is or one of the fancy plugs they have that attatch to the rollcage, quick connect there, and then the in helmet speaker and mic. What else am I overlooking?

If this gets too complicated i'll just hit the driver and yell at him, I don't want to spend $500 for a setup that is pretty basic or over complicated....

Thanks​

 

[RuggedRadios]

I'm pretty sure what you're looking for is this right here. It's a full helmet kit that connects to the Garmin Rino and it comes with everything you need to be able to communicate with a PTT through your Garmin. As far as installation into the Wildcat goes, you may need to get a couple longer cords and mounting plugs, which of course we do sell on our website, or if you prefer, you can call in and speak with one of our really helpful salespersons who can help you figure out exactly what you need. Who knows, you might even get hooked up for being a Wildcat forum member.

 

[Rob1334]

That is a good start, I think I could work with that.... I will have to check it out this weekend when we pick it up exactly how I would like it wired and how and where I would mount the GPS units... that is a great start... thanks!

 

[Rob1334]

So some of you more radio knowledgeable people.. I know sometimes when the radios are this close they have issues communicating, and hit and miss. So what is the other option as far talking to each other or what do you "plug into" to talk.

 

[bblitz]

One of Ruggeds intercomms...I use a 357.

 

[Black Cat]

Update:

I got the PTT switch mounted on the OSHO bar.. I used a generic horn button and sealed the back with a plug wire boot that I filled with the hot melt gun. This is tied into the terminal strip shown in my original photo's on pge. 1. I used an outdoor rated 18 ga cable which automatically retracts back into the dash via an attached small bungee cord.

 

[bblitz]

But it's not color coordinated...you're slipping dude!

 

[BMan]

We would, but................some over-achieving prick blew the curve right out of the water!

Mine looks EXACTLY like the setup above, just without the nice color coordinated bracket, clean harness, thoughtful layout, and awesome implementation...yup, otherwise just like it!

^^^This! LOL! Seriously though Steve Fawesome City Limits on your install sir! Nice!

Our setup is sort of a work in progress. Since Steve the "over achiever" set the curve to high for our work in progress I'm just going to babble about our setup. We'll have to step up our game or have Steve make one of those fancy center consoles for our Wildcat.

Our Rugged Radio Setup:
1. We had the Rugged Radio techs program in our own dedicated TCR (Team Chaos Racing) Channel into all of our radios. They now even display TCR on the LCD panel. How cool is that!
2. 1 Vertex 2200 50 watt Base unit setup in the pits is used by our Pit Crew Coordinator who coordinates our pit crew activities. At times we may have multiple rigs on the course at the same time.
3. 1 Vertex 2200 50 watt unit is mounted in the glove box of KitKat our Wildcat and the antennae uses the flag mount hole. Not mods needed to the hole. We have bluetooth helmet coms and will be integrating it into the Vertex unit with PTT soon.
4. 1 Vertex 2200 50 watt unit is mounted in the center console of our unlimited trail class Jeep which has the Rugged Radio's fully integrated wired helmet setup and PTT.
5. 1 HF370s 5 watt handheld unit is used by our mod trail class Jeep. Another Vertex 2200 setup maybe a future purchase for it.
6. 1 HF370s 5 watt handheld unit is used for pit crew, leadership team and/or spotters who keep visuals on rigs at start/finish line to see if they can spot any issues with the race rigs.

Kudos to the Rugged Radio's Team!
I can't speak high enough about the customer service and support Team Chaos Racing has received from the team at Rugged Radios! Thanks for taking care of us ya'll!

 

[Black Cat]

But it's not color coordinated...you're slipping dude!

Actually is was a lighting issue (dang sunshine anyway ) Man this is a tough crowd

 

[bblitz]

Actually is was a lighting issue (dang sunshine anyway ) Man this is a tough crowd

Whew! I knew there had to be a reasonable explanation...you had me worried!

So, did you get my PM? Are you coming out to Moab anytime between the 5th-15th? I'm still not sure where we're camping yet, I'm waiting to hear back from my brother. Hopefully he scouted out some good spots last week when they were there for ROTR.

 

[Black Cat]

Whew! I knew there had to be a reasonable explanation...you had me worried!

So, did you get my PM? Are you coming out to Moab anytime between the 5th-15th? I'm still not sure where we're camping yet, I'm waiting to hear back from my brother. Hopefully he scouted out some good spots last week when they were there for ROTR.

PM sent

 

[Black Cat]

Tech Time Kitties,

Here's some fuel for thought on your intercom / radio setup (based on recent events at a CO High "Altitude" Trip):

If you use headsets or helmet kits with your comm devices the comm gets quit when you take your headsets off. Depending on your application you might want either the RR ext amp & speaker setup or a toggle switch wired into the system along with an external radio speaker. This would allow you to hear incoming radio communications when your outside doing repairs.

I can see where the DSP would pay off in a high wind / engine noise environment, also driving in dark forest growth sucks up the signals so crank up the power and have a b/u comm plan.

One thing for certain, these things are amazing

 

[Phydeaux]

I understand the need for crew to driver racing communications. But for us normal boogerheads? I'm not interested in what a passenger has to say. Hold on and keep your mouth shut while I try something here. Oddly, this didn't go over too well when I took my wife for a ride.

RLW