This weekend's project was wiring the radio into the race car. Basically, I took a walkie-talkie and cable-tied it to the roof and roll cage so that it hangs upside-down with the volume knob within easy reach of the driver, and the antenna is unobstructed. Then, I hard-wired it into the car's electrical system so we don't have to mess with batteries. Then, I wired the microphone and headphone jacks on the walkie-talking to the switchboard that's mounted in front of the shifter. I also wired in a "push-to-talk" button within easy reach of the driver. Next, I made an adapter that allows us to plug the drivers' school standard Chatterbox headset into the mic and headphone jacks that are in the switchboard. Now we have headphone and mic built into our helmets that plugs quickly into the dashboard during driver changes. The push-to-talk is within easy reach.
Below is my helper. She thought it was a lot more fun to wear the helmet inside the car while I talked around the neighborhood to assess the range.
The first switch on the board controls the radio. The middle switch will soon be wired to a homemade cool suit system. The 3rd switch will operate a pump that provides drinking water to the driver.
Again, Caroline demonstrates the radio button in the photo below. Note radio mounting in the top of the photo. Also, be sure to admire that nice-looking 5-pane rear view mirror that Patrick installed. That's a Northern Tool special that literally spans the entire width of the car.
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