RuggedRadios.com Takes The Confusion Out Of Communications
Story & Photos By: Staff Of UTV Sports Magazine
There are a few things in life that are genuinely simple to do, while instantly producing dramatic results; communication can be one of them. Whether it is talking with your significant other about what’s for dinner, or with your kids about what chores they need to do, clear and concise communication makes most things quite easy to understand. Like having a poor radio signal, the message can be lost in interpretation, and that can lead to confusion and frustration.
Although we can’t help you with your personal communication skills, we can help you with the communication system in your UTV. Depending on where you look there can be a lot of different options, and within those options, there are even more variables, making the purchase of a communication system convoluted and frustrating. We are here to help you cut to the chase and make this simple.
First and foremost, you have to look at what system(s) your riding buddies are using. There is no point in spending money on a system that isn’t compatible with the systems of your riding group. If you generally ride without a group, there may be no reason at all to spend time installing a radio. If single car ventures are your thing and you just want to be able to communicate with a passenger, a basic intercom might be best. But wait, do you want to enjoy music while cruising? Some intercom systems play music through an auxiliary input, some have bluetooth capabilities, and some have none of the above.
As you can see, the options are seemingly endless and can be somewhat confusing if you’re new to all of this. The team at Rugged Radios have realized this confusion, and have been working on simplifying things. We recently jumped on ruggedradios.com to see exactly how easy they’ve made the process. Knowing the basics such as we are equipping a two seat UTV, our friends are all already equipped with VHF mobile radios, and that we like to have quality sounding music while we ride, tells us where to start. Clicking on the “Complete Kits w/Radio” tab begins to narrow down our options. Rugged supplies all of their kits with the RM-60 VHF mobile radio with 60 watts of power, so we know we should have 20-30 miles of radio range, if we install it correctly.
The next step is choosing an intercom, and there are two simple selections here. The RRP660 intercom is a solid choice for those that want a reliable yet affordable unit, still able to play music but a wired audio source input will be needed. We opted for the RRP696 intercom kit, as this model offers built in bluetooth connectivity for easy wireless control over your tunes, and the ability to stream those pesky phone calls while out on the trail. They both feature a built in amplifier to help boost the quality of sound flowing to your ears.
Now that the main choices have been made, the next decision is between headsets or helmet kits. For those in helmet law states, such as California, you are required to wear a helmet while riding in a UTV making your decision of helmet kits pretty straight forward. If you are in a state with no helmet laws like ours, you have the option of the “Ultimate” headsets, or the “AlphaBass” headsets that feature an additional bass speaker in each ear cup for more full and rich sound, and the ability to turn the bass up or down as desired. Arizona allows us to ride our UTVs on the street as long as they are registered correctly, and although we always wear our helmets when riding in the dirt, putting a helmet on to drive to work or run to the store isn’t ideal. We opted for the AlphaBass headsets for premium sound on our commute to work, and our helmets were already wired to work with this communication system. So a win-win for us!
We’ve easily made it through the confusing areas of selecting your communication system, and it is now time to select the install kit for your specific machine. Since this will be installed in the 2019 Polaris RZR XP Turbo S Velocity, we need to select the mounting plate for that model. Rugged spends a ton of time doing R&D on mounting solutions that are easy for you to install in your garage, are cost effective, as well as having good fit and finish, and the mount for the Turbo S was no exception.
Now that we have everything we need, the check out process was simple, especially when you have the boss’s credit card. A few days later our shipment arrived, and after opening all the boxes, it’s clear Rugged makes sure to include everything you possibly need for a quick and simple install. So instead of hours on the web researching and ordering 20 different part numbers, you can go to RuggedRadios.com and in 5 clicks, and a payment, your complete system will show up at your door ready to install. Clear and concise. Now we just have to work on that philosophy with our significant others and we’ll all be communication masters!
