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Whats really sad is the amount of folks on this forum that encourage folks to break the rules. Regardless if its uncertified radios, using non gmrs frequencies like ham. Then on top of it it we tell folks dont worry no one cares or can do anything. What happened to be a stewardess of the hobby/service ? Lately this forum isn't much better than the prepper forums out there.

No strawman to it. It might NOT have been what you were referring to, but I can promise you that even today with statewide 700/800 radio systems the ARES guys STILL 100% believe that they should have access to that system and every analog public safety repeater on the air. And it's not just the ARES crowd. The number of average hams that 100% believe that little blurb in part 97 about 'any means at your disposal' means talking to the Po Po is completely acceptable and expected. I had this discussion with a couple hams about 10 years ago. They were adamant that was what it meant. I had to talk to the FCC on business related stuff and ask them as a side question about it and that is exactly what they said. Ham operators can use any HAM frequency in the ham allocation during an emergency. But that was it. They went further to state that modifying a Part 97 (ham) radio was against the rules and at no time should a part 97 radio be used on part 90 frequencies. They also said that even if they were using commercial part 90 radios, that without prior authorization being issued that they would be in violation. They emailed me all of this and I actually printed it out and had it laminated and would stuff it in the face of the hams that were convinced they were authorized by the regulation to talk to the public safety dispatchers on their channels, from their personal radios, if there was an emergency. I run into this about once a month. Someone will bring a radio into the shop they want loaded with public safety frequencies they got from radio reference. Half of the stuff isn't even on the air any more. Hell, some of it I pulled from service. We just tell them that they need letters from the fire chief / sheriff / someone on letterhead with an MOU and we will be happy to program them in. Without the MOU in hand they get nothing.

The Garmin Rino screen actually gets brighter and easier to see in bright direct sunshine.

In this sort of application, there is something to be said for commercial radios. It was mentioned 'did I just bump the channel knob' and that's a thing if you have one. Personally I would be looking at a CDM750 for this specific application and dealing with the 4 total channels that can be programmed in it. I realize that as you travel track to track and races to race that others might be on the same channel and you might need to move. But 4 channels should actually be enough to have something usable for the event. Of course the high dollar race teams all have a licensed frequency, so they don't tend to have issues with others interfering with their comms. The other thing with a CDM750 or similar radio is the quality of construction. Race cars are not luxury sports sedans with leather and adjustable 'comfort systems'. They beat you and vibrate and generally are a rough ride. I remember the difference in my Camaro just building in the cage and tying the subframes (unibody 2nd gen). Even with the mostly stock suspension system the car suddenly rode more like a log wagon and less like a pony car. And the solid motor mounts didn't help much either. CDM750's are dirt cheap since they are only 4 channels. No one wants them, they all want the CDM1250s and 1550s. I would be interested to hear how that radio holds up in a purpose built race car over time.