Merry Christmas from the Rugged Radios Family! Travel safe, have fun, and eat a lot!

The VX6000 with remote head provides the ultimate in power and installation options. With 110 Watts of power, the VX600 boasts superior range to maximize your coverage on long distance race courses. The compact remote head can be mounted virtually anywhere, providing easily accessible and fully functional radio controls while the powerful base unit can be mounted out of sight and out of the way. Comes complete with hardware, brackets, and cabling for easy installation.

For a limited time we are offering this radio for only $1308, that’s $327 below retail! Now’s the time to upgrade your current system to one best suited for long distance desert racing!

I have a set of the RH-5R radios. We have helmet kits to go with them.
We are having very poor performance out of them.
We have used them in the dunes three trips now, and on trails several times.
Will be driving along (anywhere, even in the middle of nowhere) and they will out of the blue make loud popping noises that are doubly loud when it’s in your helmet.
There is a lot of static, and the range is not good at all.
I bought the long range antennas, that just made it worse.
We’ve tried VHF & UHF, and tried changing the channels. Nothing makes it any better.
The cheap set of Motorola walkie talkies we have works better than these.
I know Rugged is the brand of choice, so I’m open to the idea that it’s user ineptitude, but we have tried everything we know to try.
If anyone out there can give us some help, it would be appreciated.

Hey guys! It’s time for our second annual 12 Days of Rugged sales event. Starting Monday, we’re going to have a different special each day. These days will each focus on a different group or set of items, such as Moto Monday, or Intercom Kit Day. We’ve put together a nifty calendar that explains what day is going to have what special or sale. Check out the calendar and plan which day you want to purchase based on what you’re wanting to get.

We also have an added bonus! Each morning during the 12 days at 8am pst, we’ll be hiding 3 presents on our website. These presents could be anywhere, but when you find one, click on it quick! It will reveal a coupon code for either store credit, or a free gift. Now keep in mind these coupon codes are good for one use only, so when you find one use it quick as someone else might try to claim it before you. If the present you find is for a free gift, you will need to add that item to to your cart, then use the coupon code to claim the free gift.

Click the image below to check out the calendar! Plan accordingly for maximum savings!

One advantage of the RH-5R radio over many other radios, is that is that you can program a frequency into the radio without any special tools or programming. The front keypad makes the RH-5R “face programmable” which can be a big help for race teams and families who need to load a frequency in the middle of nowhere. No laptop or programming cable is required!

How channels/frequencies are displayed on a RH-5R
For those familiar with the RH-5R, you probably already know it can display either a numerical readout:

or “alpha” tag:

Alpha tags refer to the short letter label for a frequency. The RUGGED channel on your radio is just a reference for the assigned frequency 156.675. Life is just easier to refer to a name label than a series of numerical digits.

With the method we’ll be reviewing, you will not be able to program a channel name (alpha tag) in the field. However, you will be able to load a frequency into the radio and permanently store it. Your RH-5R will display you custom saved frequency as either the frequency numerically (i.e. 156.675) or by its channel number (i.e. CH-127). To add an alpha tag, you will need a computer, programming cable, and software.

Programming instructions:
First, you need to decide which channel you’re going to save the frequency to. The radio can hold 128 channels, and with the stock programming we provide, channels 1-42 are already taken, so you can program from channel 43 through 127.

Ready to try?
• Turn the radio on and get to “Frequency Mode.” In Frequency Mode, the display shows the frequency number. In “Channel Mode”, it displays the corresponding channel name (alpha tag), such as “RUGGED”. If your radio is showing channel names, simply press the orange VFO/MR button to toggle to the numeric display.

• To the left of the frequency, there’s a little arrow. We want the arrow next to the top frequency, so if the arrow is next to the bottom frequency press the “A/B” button and the arrow will switch to the top:

• Now type in the frequency you want to program into the radio.

The next few steps need to be done somewhat quickly because the radio will “time out” and exit the menu if no buttons are pressed within 10 seconds. It may help to read and familiarize yourself with the next few steps before attempting.

• First press MENU. Press 27 to get to the menu setting that says “MEM-CH”:

• Press the “MENU” button to make that little arrow drops to the bottom line:

• Now assign the channel number you want for this frequency. For this example we’ll say 127. You can either press up or down to get to channel 127, or simply type “127” into the keypad:

• As soon as you have entered the channel, press the MENU button once. This will shift the little arrow back to the top line next to “MEM-CH”:

• Press EXIT

• Switch back to channel mode by pressing “VFO/MR” button

Now, look at your screen and you’ll see to the right there’s tiny channel numbers. Refer to these to scroll to your channel number:

Congrats! You have just successfully saved a custom frequency to a channel on your radio! Any time you wish to go to your channel, you can either press up or down until you’re there, or type in the channel number you set it to.

Here’s a quick reference you can use if you need to quickly go through that same process. With the radio in frequency mode (numeric display) and the arrow on the top line:

• ENTER YOUR FREQUENCY

• [MENU]

• [2] [7]

• [MENU]

• ENTER CHANNEL NUMBER

• [MENU]

• [EXIT]

• [VFO/MR] (to change back to channel mode)

If you need advice or help with this process, don’t hesitate to get a hold of me either here, or through PM. I’m always happy to help.

Black Friday is coming up, and you bet we’re going to be having some good specials. Now’s the time to start loading your shopping cart with all that equipment you’ve been waiting to get. If you have any questions about stuff you are interested in, give us a call before Black Friday so you’re prepared when the sale starts. Also, click the image below to sign up for our newsletter to get notified of our specials we’ll be having.

Did you know that most sanctioning bodies are requiring a head and neck restraint to race in 2016? We want to help you not only stay legal, but stay safe with the Necksgen Rev. Receive $100 store credit when you purchase a Necksgen Restraint system from us at retail price. The rebate will be in the form of store credit that can be used on any Rugged Radios product. Rebate form must be submitted within 30 days of purchase, limit 2 rebates per person, offer expires December 31st 2015. Click the image below to check out the Necksgen Rev. The link to the rebate form is on that page. Here’s to having a safe 2016 race season!

I spoke with you guys at the SEMA show and am interested in a starter kit. For now I am looking at 2 of the small blue handheld radios, 2 helmet kits and if possible push to talk buttons for the steering wheels. I am a little confused on what to get. I plan on upgrading to intercom systems for each car later, for now I just need to talk car to car. Can you give me a parts list and a price if possible. PM or post here is fine. Thanks.

Prices so low it’s scary! Site-wide 15% off means extra savings on equipment you need before going on a Halloween trip. Order today to get it in time for Halloween weekend. As if that wasn’t enough, we’re also doing our annual Rumpkin Scavenger Hunt for store credit, more details here.

Are you guys ready to do some Rumpkin hunting this year?