Gearing up for Baja 1000?

[talltroy]

Hey there, so I am filming and somewhat being a support crew for the upcoming Baja 1000. My "partner" will be ironmanning it on a motorcycle, but that is beside the point. My question today is what sort of radio systems are used in the Baja, and what kinds do I want to put on my truck?


Happy trails.

 

[1leglance]

You can spend money on a "race radio" from a number of companies that will work in the 150 mHz range.
But honestly since you are here on Expo and might enjoy remote area travel it is very much worth getting your tech level ham license (stupid easy) and then getting good 2m radio for around $100 and good antenna then search "open freq mod" and go for it.
I own Yaesu radios and did this for the Mexican 1000 and it was super easy. Not only did I end up with a great radio for use in the USA but a better than normal "race radio" for use in Baja

 

[talltroy]

You can spend money on a "race radio" from a number of companies that will work in the 150 mHz range.
But honestly since you are here on Expo and might enjoy remote area travel it is very much worth getting your tech level ham license (stupid easy) and then getting good 2m radio for around $100 and good antenna then search "open freq mod" and go for it.
I own Yaesu radios and did this for the Mexican 1000 and it was super easy. Not only did I end up with a great radio for use in the USA but a better than normal "race radio" for use in Baja

Awesome, thanks!

That said, I'm a person with very little radio knowledge at all, so what exactly do I need to purchase? Is 2M a form of ham radio?

 

[gary in ohio]

Carefull with 2m in the Baja 1000.. Know what is legal in the country your operating. IS your US ham license legal in mexico. Second, If there is any "commerical" nature to your filming or support then ham radio would not be a good option. Also I question the ability of many ham radio to take the rough pounding a baja rig might encounter.

 

[uli2000]

You can spend money on a "race radio" from a number of companies that will work in the 150 mHz range.
But honestly since you are here on Expo and might enjoy remote area travel it is very much worth getting your tech level ham license (stupid easy) and then getting good 2m radio for around $100 and good antenna then search "open freq mod" and go for it.
I own Yaesu radios and did this for the Mexican 1000 and it was super easy. Not only did I end up with a great radio for use in the USA but a better than normal "race radio" for use in Baja

Do not operate on amateur radio frequencies in Mexico unless you have the proper permits. Your US ham license is not recognized in Mexico. Doing so could get your equipment confiscated and you fined and possibly put in jail. Here is info on how to do it. As the author says in the first paragraph, Lots of paperwork, money, and patience are needed. I'd find out from another team what the process is for operating on those VHF buisness frequencies most of the race teams use. As big as Baja is, they may have a streamlined process for racers to use those frequencies legally. Honestly, I think a better option would be to rent a couple of satellite phones.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...I'd find out from another team what the process is for operating on those VHF buisness frequencies most of the race teams use. As big as Baja is, they may have a streamlined process for racers to use those frequencies legally. Honestly, I think a better option would be to rent a couple of satellite phones.

From another team...

We have an ICOM "race radio" in our race car, basically companies like Rugged Radios and PCI have a recommended frequency list they pre-program the radios with but it is the wild west as far as who is operating where as few if any are actually licensed on one particular freq. Some are pretty set, i.e. race ops, Weatherman, BFG pits, Baja Pits, etc all have their pit frequencies you can tune to when you are coming into to work with them. All of our chase cars use modded 2M units, zero issues. We used satellite issues as a total backup but if you are in the moving race car they are 100% useless and for spectators and chase teams, you won't have any contact with your team, other teams, pits or emergency coms, so overall their function is about nil. Race comms pretty much fly in the face of amateur radio laws and regs but they have been doing so for many years and I've never heard of a single issue.? Our team is I suspect somewhat unique to most as we are all ticketed radio operators, most teams just by the ready to run radios and worry about racing

 

[Tumbleweed]

Realizing this post is old but Kurt's post hit the nail on the head. I have over 10 years experience chasing class 7,8, and Trophy trucks over Baja and however you want to look at it-this is how it is done. I have yet to hear of one problem regarding radio use in Baja with any authorities. Frequency assignments seem to go by courtesy more than having a frequency assigned. PCI or Rugged can help with that although they don't assign them, just use their advice.
One poster commented on the fact that Ham radios might not be rugged enough for Baja. Milspec radios were made for that scenario. My Yeaesu 2800M is over 20 years old now and has survived 10 Baja 1000 races, 8-10 500 races, dozens of Calif, Nv, Az races, two trips up the Alcan highway and more. At least two times it was duct taped and bungied into Robby Gordon's racerig when his radio quit. Never had a single problem with it.

 

[unseenone]

WOW-- neat stuff there tumbleweed. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Seldom]

Awesome, thanks!

That said, I'm a person with very little radio knowledge at all, so what exactly do I need to purchase? Is 2M a form of ham radio?

I evolved in to ham radio for a jeep club that used ham vhf for comms. The other comments about amateur radio (ham) in Baja are correct not legal. That said, the Weatherman channel is VHF but not in the "amateur radio ham band. Bit of history here about "Weatherman " here https://www.pciraceradios.com/pages/weatherman-celebration-of-life
legendary comms support for Baja Races. @ 151.625 MHz Please note a hand held 5 watt radio will be of no use to call anyone unless they are within couple of miles (terrain will either help (top of a hill) or hurt (in a canyon) 50 watt mobile units are line of sight dependent too. In the past weatherman relay was on top of a 10,000 foot peak but even this will not reach the full length of baja. no your limitations. There are other
"race radio" frequencies aka channels. The US ham radio will have to be modified to transmit outside of the VHF ham band (144-148 MHz) also see Weatherman relay etiquette...https://www.pciraceradios.com/pages/weatherman-relay-etiquette
hope this helps someone...a bit late for 2023's 1000....

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Awesome, thanks!

That said, I'm a person with very little radio knowledge at all, so what exactly do I need to purchase? Is 2M a form of ham radio?

So what did you end up with, did it work?

 

[toddz69]

I evolved in to ham radio for a jeep club that used ham vhf for comms. The other comments about amateur radio (ham) in Baja are correct not legal. That said, the Weatherman channel is VHF but not in the "amateur radio ham band. Bit of history here about "Weatherman " here https://www.pciraceradios.com/pages/weatherman-celebration-of-life
legendary comms support for Baja Races. @ 151.625 MHz Please note a hand held 5 watt radio will be of no use to call anyone unless they are within couple of miles (terrain will either help (top of a hill) or hurt (in a canyon) 50 watt mobile units are line of sight dependent too. In the past weatherman relay was on top of a 10,000 foot peak but even this will not reach the full length of baja. no your limitations. There are other
"race radio" frequencies aka channels. The US ham radio will have to be modified to transmit outside of the VHF ham band (144-148 MHz) also see Weatherman relay etiquette...https://www.pciraceradios.com/pages/weatherman-relay-etiquette
hope this helps someone...a bit late for 2023's 1000....

And now the traditional Weatherman radio relay has been consigned to the dustbin of history. SCORE is using sat phones, Starlink, etc. for everything now.

Todd Z.